Gatorade

Gatorade is a non-carbonated Sports drink marketed by PepsiCo. Originally made for athletes, it is now often consumed by non-athletes as a snack beverage. The drink is intended to rehydrate and to replenish the carbohydrates (using Sucrose, Glucose, and Fructose) and electrolytes (Sodium and Potassium salts) depleted during aerobic exercise (particularly in the debilitating Florida climate).

History

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. 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.

The Florida Gator football team used Gatorade officially in 1967 and went on to win their first Orange Bowl title. They beat Georgia Tech, whose coach when asked why they lost replied: "We didn't have Gatorade. That made the difference." Gatorade was used officially in 1969 by the Kansas City Chiefs who attribute their Super Bowl title of that year to the University of Florida sports drink.

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 . In August 2001 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.

Along with Johnson & Johnson, Gatorade is one of the founding sponsors of the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

The Gatorade dunk

In what has become an America sporting tradition, coaches on winning teams are often "dunked" by their players emptying coolers full of Gatorade drink and ice over their heads. This tradition was begun in 1986 by members of the New York Giants NFL team, who caused a media frenzy by adopting a practice of dunking head coach Bill Parcells with the Gatorade cooler after wins. The team would go on to a record of 14-2 in the season, and won Super Bowl XXI on January 25, 1987. Quaker Oats management — at the time the company producing Gatorade — was not involved in beginning this tradition, which has been carried on and occurred after numerous notable sporting victories in multiple American sporting codes.

In 2005, ESPN sports business writer Darren Rovell published a book entitled First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat into a Cultural Phenomenon, a history of Gatorade, in which he documented the story behind the Gatorade dunking phenomenom.

Composition

Gatorade contains Water, Sucrose and Glucose-Fructose syrups, Citric acid, Sodium chloride, Sodium citrate, Monopotassium phosphate, and flavoring/coloring ingredients. It supplies 127 mg/l of Potassium and 464 mg/l of Sodium, and 59 g/l of carbohydrates (in the form of sugars).

Gatorade also markets an Energy Formula and an Endurance Formula. The Energy Formula was introduced in 2000 and contains more simple sugars and Carbohydrate for quickly available Energy needed during athletic competition. As a result, this formula is sweeter than regular Gatorade. It comes in 12-fluid ounce Plastic bottles in the U.S. The Endurance Formula contains more of the electrolytes than the typical Gatorade formula, and was introduced in 2004. The added electrolytes are necessary for replenishing what the body sweats out during extended periods of exertion, especially in hot weather. Because of this, the Endurance Formula tastes more salty than original Gatorade.

In 2003, Gatorade introduced Propel, a "fitness water". Propel is sweetened with Sucrose syrup, Sucralose, and Acesulfame potassium, so as to have less Food energy per serving than Gatorade. It was marketed for those who are more concerned with simply rehydrating than with gaining energy. Propel has the same electrolytes as Gatorade, along with some vitamins.

Gatorade revealed the Gatorade Energy bar in 1999. This energy bar was Gatorade's first foray into solid foods, and was introduced to compete with PowerBar and Clif Bar. Gatorade Energy Bars contain a large proportion of Protein in addition to its carbohydrates. The bar is mainly made up of puffed grains and rice syrup, common components of energy bars.

Gatorade Sports Science Institute

The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is a facility for researching Athletics, Hydration, and the "Science of sweat". The headquarters are in Barrington, Illinois and were established in 1988. The facility has laboratories especially for studying Nutrition, Exercise physiology, and Biochemistry.

Competition

Gatorade's main competition is POWERade, made by the Coca-Cola Company. Kool-Aid also holds a fair share of the consumers. All Sport used to be a competitor until PepsiCo acquired Gatorade's maker, the Quaker Oats Company, in 2001, ending the need for an unpopular sports drink to compete against the original.

Flavors in the United States with known introduction dates

1967

  • Lemon-Lime (yellow)

1983

  • Fruit Punch (red)

1993

  • Iced tea with Lemon (light brown, discontinued)

1997

  • Frost Glacier Freeze (light blue)
  • Frost Riptide Rush (purple)
  • Frost Alpine Snow (white, discontinued)

1999

  • Fierce Lime (green, discontinued)
  • Fierce Melon (orange)
  • Fierce Berry (red)
  • Fierce Grape (dark blue-violet)
  • Midnight Thunder (black, discontinued)

2001

  • Passion Fruit (pink, discontinued)
  • Starfruit (light green, discontinued)
  • Frost High Tide (green, discontinued)

2002

  • Strawberry Ice (colorless, discontinued)
  • Lime Ice (colorless, discontinued)
  • Orange Ice (colorless, discontinued)
  • Frost Cascade Crash (blue)

2003

  • Cool Blue (blue)
  • Extremo Tropical Intenso (red)
  • Extremo Citrico Vibrante (yellow, discontinued)
  • Extremo Mango Electrico (orange)
  • Watermelon Ice (colorless)
  • Berry Citrus (red)
  • Fierce Strawberry (dark pink)

2004

  • ESPN the Flavor (red, discontinued)
  • X-Factor Fruit Punch + Berry (red)
  • X-Factor Orange + Tropical Fruit (red-orange)
  • X-Factor Lemon-lime + Strawberry (yellow-green)

2005

  • Lemonade (light yellow)
  • Raspberry Lemonade (pink)
  • Strawberry Lemonade (pink)
  • All-Stars Grape (dark blue-violet)
  • All-Stars Lemon-Lime (yellow)
  • All-Stars Berry (blue)
  • Cooler Orange (orange, limited edition)
  • Cherry Garcia (light red)

Year unknown

  • All-Stars Strawberry (red)
  • All-Stars Ice Punch (colorless)
  • All-Stars Tropical Punch (orange)
  • Citrus Cooler (Yellow-orange) (4th flavor, introduced during the 1980s after fruit punch)
  • Lemon Ice (colorless, discontinued)
  • Orange (Orange) (2nd flavor, introduced at some point during the 1970s)
  • Strawberry Kiwi (pink)
  • Grape (purple, discontinued)
  • Cherry Rush (Deep Red, Discontinued)

Flavors available outside the U.S.

  • Active
  • Alpine Snow
  • Antarctic Freeze
  • Arctic Snow
  • Apple
  • Apple Ice
  • Berry Citrus
  • Black Ice
  • Blueberry
  • Blue Bolt
  • Blue Raspberry
  • Blue Thunder
  • Cascade Crash
  • Challenge
  • Citrus
  • Citrus Cooler
  • Citrus Fruit
  • Citrus Water
  • Cool Blue
  • Cool Blue Raspberry
  • Cool Cascade
  • Extremo Citrico Vibrante
  • Extremo Mango Electrico
  • Extremo Tropical Intenso
  • Fierce Berry
  • Fierce Citrus Fruit
  • Fierce Grape
  • Fierce Lemon
  • Fierce Lime
  • Fierce Melon
  • Fierce Orange Cherry
  • Fierce Strawberry
  • Fruit Punch
  • Furia Intensa
  • Glacier Freeze
  • Grape
  • Grapefruit
  • Green
  • Green Apple
  • High Tide
  • Kiwi
  • Lemon
  • Lemonade
  • Lemon Chill
  • Lemon Ice
  • Lemon Lime
  • Lemon Mix
  • Lime Ice
  • Mandarin
  • Mango
  • Maracuya
  • Nespera
  • Orange
  • Orange Grapefruit
  • Orange Ice
  • Orange Mix
  • Passion Fruit
  • Peach Cooler
  • Pink Grapefruit
  • Pro
  • Purple Rain
  • Raspberry
  • Red
  • Red Orange
  • Red Tornado
  • Riptide Rush
  • Sky Blast
  • Strawberry Ice
  • Strawberry Kiwi
  • Strawberry Passion Fruit
  • Strawberry Watermelon
  • Tangerine
  • Tropical
  • Tropical Burst
  • Tropical Fruit
  • Tropical Storm
  • Watermelon Ice
  • White Ice
  • Wild Water Rush
  • X-Factor Fruit Punch + Berry
  • X-Factor Lemon Lime + Strawberry
  • X-Factor Orange + Tropical Fruit
  • Xtra

Energy Formula flavors

  • Fruit Punch
  • Grape
  • Orange

Endurance Formula flavors

  • Fruit Punch
  • Lemon-Lime
  • Orange

Propel flavors

  • Berry
  • Black Cherry
  • Citrus Fruit
  • Grape
  • Kiwi-Strawberry
  • Lemon
  • Melon
  • Peach
  • Orange

Energy Bar flavors

  • Berry (discontinued)
  • Chocolate
  • Chocolate Chip
  • Peanut Butter
  • Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip

Dan Georgiakis   Index

This page is based on the Wikipedia article ''Gatorade''. It is licensed under the GNU free documentation license.

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