Friedrich Eduard Bilz (June 12, 1842 – January 30, 1922) was a German naturopath who was a native of Arnsdorf

Penig

Penig is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Zwickauer Mulde, 19 km northwest of Chemnitz. Penig housed a concentration camp during World War II....

 in the Kingdom of Saxony

Kingdom of Saxony

The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...

. As a merchant of a Kolonialwarenladen (shop offering non-European goods) in Meerane

Meerane

Meerane is a town in the Zwickau district of Saxony, Germany. It lies midway between the towns of Chemnitz and Zwickau.As of 31 December 2008, there were 16,517 inhabitants...

, Bilz became interested in naturopathic medicine. In 1888 he published Das Neue Naturheilverfahren (The New Natural Healing) which became very popular and was translated into twelve languages.

In 1895 Bilz founded a health spa at Radebeul

Radebeul

Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...

, which was soon expanded into a large sanitarium. In the early 20th century he constructed a Licht-Luft Bad (a large outdoor swimming pool) at the sanitarium that became known as the "Bilzbad". In 1911 he displayed a Wellenmaschine (wave machine) at the International Hygiene Exhibition

International Hygiene Exhibition

The International Hygiene Exhibition was a world's fair focusing on medicine and public health, held in Dresden, Germany, in 1911.The leading figure organizing the exhibition was German philanthropist and businessman Karl August Lingner, who had grown wealthy from his Odol mouthwash brand, and was...

 in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, which was soon installed at Bilzbad during the following year.

In 1902 Bilz created a soft-drink named Bilz-Brause, which was a beverage consisting of mineral water

Mineral water

Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...

 and citrus juice that was served to patients at the sanitarium. After forming a partnership with local industrialist Franz Hartmann, the name was changed to Sinalco

Sinalco

Sinalco is a brand of non-alcoholic drinks founded in 1902, with sales in more than 40 countries.In 1902, German scientist Friedrich Eduard Bilz invented "Bilz Brause", a sherbet powder, and started to sell it in partnership with industrialist Franz Hartmann...

, and the drink was marketed worldwide.