 Gatorade logo Gatorade is a non-carbonated sports drink marketed by PepsiCo. Originally made for athletes, it is now most often consumed by non-athletes as a snack beverage. Gatorade was created by Dr. Robert Cade and Dr. Dana Shires at the University of Florida in 1966 and named for the university's football team, the Gators. The drink is intended to rehydrate and replenish the carbohydrates (using sucrose, glucose, and fructose), salts, vitamins, and minerals depleted during aerobic exercise (particularly in the debilitating Florida climate).
Dr. Cade entered into an agreement with the Indianapolis-based fruit and vegetable canning company Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. (S-VC) to produce the product, which he had already patented. In 1973 Cade and S-VC settled a lawsuit with the University of Florida, which had claimed the University owned the rights for the drink's formula. Since that time the University has received more than $80 million in Gatorade royalties.
Only a year after its commercial introduction Gatorade was reformulated, as its initial recipe contained the sweetener sodium cyclamate, which was banned by the FDA. [1] (http://chemcases.com/gatorade/gatorade21.htm)
Marketed with dramatically perspiring athletic imagery, the drink became popular with non-athletes, and dietetic and low-sodium versions were added to the Gatorade product lineup.
The Quaker Oats company bought S-VC in 1983, after a bidding-war with rival Pillsbury. Quaker licensed manufacturing of Gatorade in some worldwide markets to PepsiCo, but sued Pepsi in Australia in 1998, alleging Pepsi had misappropriated Gatorade trade secrets to manufacture its own sports drink, All Sport. Quaker won the Australian case [2] (http://ww5.cch.com.au/atp/atp465.html). In December 2000 Pepsico acquired Quaker (after another bidding-war, this time with arch rival Coca-Cola). Both bidders valued Quaker largely because of the contribution of the Gatorade brand.
New flavor introductions
Gatorade typically introduces new flavors in early January. Here are the most recent additions to the Gatorade family:
1967
1983
1990
1997
- Glacier Freeze
- Riptide Rush
1999
- Fierce Melon
- Fierce Berry
- Fierce Grape
2001
- Passion Fruit
- Starfruit
- High Tide
2002
- Strawberry Ice
- Lime Ice
- Orange Ice
- Cascade Crash
2003
- Extremo Tropico
- Extremo Citrico
- Extremo Mango
- Watermelon Ice
- Berry Citrus
- Strawberry
2004
- X-Factor Fruit Punch + Berry
- X-Factor Orange + Tropical Fruit
- X-Factor Lemon-lime + Strawberry
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