In 1862, Melville Sewell Bagley, a native of Boston, USA, arrived in Argentina. He began to work in the pharmacy of "La Estrella", on the corner of Defensa and Alsina, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Monserrat.
In 1864, Melville Sewell Bagley, using oranges from an old farm located in Bernal, invented the ingenious formula for a drink that would revolutionize the lives of Argentines.
The launching of the brand was very original and avant-garde for the time. One day, the people of Buenos Aires began to see the streets painted with huge signs with the words "Hesperidin is coming". Curiosity invaded the 140,000 porteños of the time and people began to wonder what this product was. For more than two months, no one could decipher its meaning.
Finally, on December 24, 1864, Christmas Eve, the mystery was revealed in "La Tribuna", one of the most important newspapers in the country: "The best and most original appetizer in the world is born in Argentina and can already be bought". With a rather sweet entry, gradually balanced with the right amount of bitterness typical of a bitter, this liquid gold seduced the Argentine people with its soft and sweet taste.
Its success was so great that counterfeits or imitations of dubious origin began to appear immediately. Melville acted quickly and convinced the President of the Nation, Nicolás Avellaneda, of the need to create a trademark and patent registry.
On October 27, 1876 the registry was created and Hesperidina was the first trademark to be registered in Argentina. To further tighten the levels of "anti-piracy" control, Melville also printed Hesperidina labels at the Bank Note Company of New York.
