National Kool Aid Day – Aug. 21, 2026

Expected National Kool Aid Day Deals

While we await official 2027 promotions to drop, history shows that National Kool Aid Day often inspires a wave of sweet deals and nostalgic marketing. Look for major retailers like Walmart and Target to feature discounts on Kool-Aid packets, pitchers, and related summer beverage supplies. Grocery stores such as Kroger and Safeway may offer buy-one-get-one deals or special pricing on multi-packs. Fast-food chains might even roll out limited-time, Kool-Aid-inspired beverages, following trends seen with brands like Sonic Drive-In. Keep an eye on the official Kool-Aid brand social channels for potential giveaways or recipe contests. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as August approaches.

History of National Kool Aid Day

Kool-Aid is the official soft drink of Nebraska. Kool-Aid, an American brand of powdered drink mix, now owned by Kraft Heinz, was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska. Perkins was always fascinated by chemistry and liked to invent things. As a boy, he worked in his family’s general store after school and experimented with concoctions in his mother’s kitchen. He became interested in a new powdered dessert mix called Jell-O that came in Six Delicious Flavors. His childhood friend and future wife, Kitty Shoemaker, introduced the product to him. He then persuaded his father to carry the Jell-O line in the store.

Later, Perkins finished high school and set up a mail-order business to sell the products he had created. In 1920, he and his wife moved to Hastings, a better distribution point for his business. Perkins produced a bottled, concentrated drink mix, Fruit Smack, which also came in six delicious flavors like Jell-O’s. In 1927, he developed a method of removing the liquid from Fruit Smack — due to problems with bottle packaging — so the remaining powder could be packaged in envelopes. He designed and printed the packaging himself, with a new name Kool-Ade, which later became Kool-Aid.

Kool-Aid was first sold to wholesale grocery and candy stores for 10 cents per packet and came in six flavors: cherry, grape, lemon-lime, orange, raspberry, and strawberry. In 1929, Kool-Aid was distributed to grocery stores throughout the country. In 1931, due to high demand, Perkins concentrated on Kool-Aid, moving production to Chicago. During the Great Depression, the price of Kool-Aid halved to five cents a packet. In 1953, Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods by Perkins. Within a year, the well-known Smiling Face Pitcher trademark was introduced, and later the Kool-Aid Man burst onto the scene: “Oh yeah!”

How Businesses Can Celebrate National Kool Aid Day