William Woodroofe and to a lesser extent, Bruce Randall, founded the business in 1878 in
Norwood, South Australia. The factory was sited at a natural spring, which was the source of water for the firm's products. Woodroofe's innovative products and aggressive marketing saw them operate successfully as a regional independent soft drink producer for over a century. The most popular flavour was, and continues to be,
lemonade. In the 1970s, the growth of national producers and increasing popularity of international brands (particularly
Coca-Cola) resulted in Woodroofe facing increasing challenges to its market position. The business was family owned until it was acquired by
Adelaide businessmen
Michael Harbison and Tim Hartley. They reinvigorated the business, including introducing new flavours, such as fruit flavoured mineral water. Briefly, they bottled
RC Cola under licence. Kathy and
Michael Harbison (later
Lord Mayor of Adelaide) co-purchased Woodroofe in the 1980s, along with the Hartley family, and Kathy Harbison was involved in the day-to-day running of the operations. In 1983, they floated the business as a public company on the
Adelaide Stock Exchange. Subsequently, the
South Australian Brewing Company purchased the soft drink manufacturing activities and they onsold the business to
Cadbury Schweppes, who closed the historic Norwood factory and relocated production to their facility at nearby
Payneham. In 2009, Schweppes was acquired by
Asahi. Today, Woodroofe soft drinks continue to be marketed as a regional brand in
South Australia. Asahi/Schweppes closed the Payneham operations in 2016 and shifted their production to Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Perth. ==Flavours==