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Gatorade

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Gatorade is a non-carbonated sports drink marketed by the Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo. Originally made for athletes, it is now commonly consumed as a snack beverage. The drink is intended to rehydrate and to replenish the carbohydrates (in the form of sugars sucrose and glucose) and electrolytes (sodium and potassium salts) depleted during aerobic exercise, especially in warmer climates. [1]

History

Gatorade was created by Robert Cade, Harry James Free, and Dana Shires at the University of Florida in 1965 for the school’s football team and named after the university’s mascot, Gator Dan. 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 US $150 million[2] in Gatorade royalties.[1]

Only a year after its commercial introduction Gatorade was reformulated, as its initial recipe contained the sweetener cyclamate, which was banned by the FDA.[3]

The Gators football team, at the behest of head coach Ray Graves, began using Gatorade officially in 1967 and went on to win their first Orange Bowl title. They beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, whose coach Bud Carson, when asked why they lost, replied: "We didn’t have Gatorade. That made the difference."[4] Through his friendship with Graves, Hank Stram, head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, secured large amounts of Gatorade for his players; the Chiefs attributed their Super Bowl title of the 1969 season to the University of Florida sports drink.[1]

Marketed with images of dramatically perspiring athletes, the drink became popular with non-athletes, and dietetic and low-sodium versions were added to the Gatorade product lineup.[1]

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.[3] In August 2001, Pepsico acquired Quaker (after another bidding war, this time with arch rival Coca-Cola Company). Both bidders valued Quaker largely because of the Gatorade brand.[1]

Along with Johnson & Johnson, Gatorade is one of the founding sponsors of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. It is also the official sports drink of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Women's National Basketball Association, NBA Development League, National Hockey League, US Soccer Federation, Major League Soccer, and many other pro and college organizations, providing supplies of the drinks to the teams in all flavors available.[1]

Composition

Template:Infobox nutrition facts

The original Gatorade contained water, sucrose (table sugar) and glucose-fructose syrups, citric acid, sodium chloride (table salt), sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, and flavoring/coloring ingredients. Some Gatorade flavorings use brominated vegetable oil to provide stability to the flavor emulsion[5]. Gatorade supplies 127 mg/l of potassium and 464 mg/l of sodium, and 59 g/l of carbohydrates (in the form of sugars). The current (2006) Gatorade panel claims that Gatorade rehydrates athletes better than water because the flavor makes it easier to drink.

Gatorade also markets an Energy Formula and an Endurance Formula. The Energy Formula was introduced in 2000 and contains more monosaccharides and carbohydrates for quick 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, introduced in 2004, contains more of the electrolytes (such as calcium and magnesium) than the typical Gatorade formula. The additional electrolytes replenish what the body sweats out during extended periods of physical exertion, especially in hot weather. Because of this, the Endurance Formula tastes saltier than original Gatorade.

In 2000, Gatorade introduced Propel Fitness drink. Propel Fitness Water is sweetened with sucrose syrup, sucralose and acesulfame potassium. Propel has the same electrolytes as Gatorade, along with some vitamins, which makes it similar to Vitamin Water. Propel Fitness Water with Calcium was introduced in 2006. Also, in 2006, Gatorade introduced its Rain flavor line, which features a lighter, crisp taste similar to its Propel line but which comes in the bottle size and shape as the original Gatorade. In late 2007, a lower-calorie line of Gatorade drinks, named G2, was released.[6]

Gatorade revealed the Gatorade line 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 corn syrup, common components of energy bars. Gatorade is meant to rehydrate one's essential loss of water through their body as a result of amino acid sweat.

Ingredients

From the most amount to least: water, sucrose syrup, high fructose corn syrup (glucose-fructose syrup), citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, glycerol ester of wood rosin, sucrose acetate isobutyrate, brominated vegetable oil (in Orange and X-Factor only), and various amounts of colourants such as yellow 5 or 6 and red 40, depending on the packaging.

Gatorade Sports Science Institute

The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is a facility for researching athletics and hydration. 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 potential sports drink consumers. [citation needed] CeraSport made by Cera Products Inc. is a non-glucose, rice-based oral rehydration and performance drink. All Sport is a competitor marketed by The Monarch Beverage Company, of Atlanta, Georgia. All Sport was marketed by PepsiCo until 2001, when Gatorade's maker, the Quaker Oats Company was acquired by PepsiCo. All Sport was sold off to the Monarch Beverage Company soon after. Also, Vitamin Water, now owned by The Coca-Cola Company, looks to gain more of the sports drink market with its iconic spokespeople (David Ortiz, David Wright, Brian Urlacher, Kasey Kahne, Tracy McGrady, 50 Cent, Lebron James, Ray Lewis, and Gilbert Arenas) and wide selection of formulas.

Outside the United States the Lucozade energy drink (manufactured since 1927 by the pharmaceutical company now known as GlaxoSmithKline) competes with Gatorade and Powerade. Lucozade's formulation differs in that it uses primarily glucose and contains caffeine. The more direct competitor to Gatorade and Powerade is Lucozade Sport, however whilst Powerade and Lucozade are widely available in the United Kingdom, Gatorade is still quite a rarity and is only available at certain Pepsi vending machines.

Gatorgum

In the late 1970s and early 1980s (as well as the late 90s to early 2000s), Gatorade sold a brand of chewing gum called Gatorgum. The product, manufactured by Fleer Corporation, was available in both of Gatorade's original flavors (lemon-lime and orange) and was rather sour-tasting by normal chewing gum standards.

In the late 1970s, Stokley-Van Camp (owner of Gatorade prior to 1983) negotiated a long-term licensing deal with Swell and Vicks to market "Gator Gum." The gum, which had no functionality or ingredients of Gatorade Thirst Quencher, was discontinued in 1989 after the contract expired. Mueller Sports in Wisconsin manufactures a gum called Quench. It is based on Gator Gum but is not the same as what Stokley-Van Camp created.

Gatorgum's foil packaging advertised that the product "Helps Quench Thirst." Like all chewing gums, the product would not actually rehydrate the body on its own. However, it did contain electrolytes to assist the human body with the rehydration process.

G2: the Next Generation

Template:Infobox nutrition facts G2, otherwise known as "Gatorade 2" is the next generation of Gatorade drinks. It is a low calorie, low sugar, electrolyte beverage. G2, announced in late 2007, started out with three flavors: Orange, Fruit Punch, and Grape. The main difference between Gatorade and G2 is that G2 is meant for use off the court, or in between games, practices, and workouts.[citation needed] The main goal of the Pepsi Corporation releasing this product is to offset the losses from slowing carbonated-product's sales.

  • Perhaps the most notable presence of Gatorade is the "Gatorade Shower" (originally called The Gatorade Dunk) at the end of an American football game, where players from a victorious team grab the Gatorade cooler, sneak up behind the head coach, and pour the contents over his head. This tradition began in the mid-1980's when Harry Carson and Jim Burt of the New York Giants doused head coach Bill Parcells during the 1985 season. Burt's teammates picked up on this practice and popularized it during team's championship seasons of 1986-87. The tradition gained widespread popularity, and now coaches at all levels get the dunk.[7]
  • On the album, That's The Way It Is (3 disc box-set), Elvis Presley can be distinctly heard asking for Gatorade while performing in concert at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.
  • Gatorade's 1991 "Be Like Mike" ads featured Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, a North American basketball team (who had just won their first NBA championship). The ads began airing in August of 1991 and soon the phrase 'Be Like Mike' became a household phrase all over America. Bernie Pitzel, Creative Director of Bayer Bess Vanderwarker, Gatorade's Agency of record at the time, wrote the lyrics. Composers Steve Shafer and Ira Antellis wrote the music.[8] This ad was mimicked in Malibu Comics' short-lived Street Fighter comic, in which a commercial for a Gatorade-like sports drink was marketed with Ken Masters undertaking Jordan's role as spokesman for the product. "Like Mike" later became the title of a 2002 film.
  • The Connecticut legislature passed a law in 2006 that banned soda from being sold in public schools. Despite Gatorade's image as a health-conscious beverage, the drink was also banned.[9]
  • In Japan, a powdered drink mix has been marketed, similar to Gatorade. The brand name is "Pocari Sweat". (Source: Games Magazine)

Common substitutes

A number of "electrolyte replacement drinks" have been introduced in both commercial and non-commercial contexts. Two of the more popular home recipes are:

See also: Oral rehydration therapy

Gatorade can come in different colors and flavors.

Product Reviews

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Vaughn (2007-09-04). "The History of Gatorade". MrVaugn.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  2. ^ The Independent Florida Alligator: News - Gatorade inventor dies at age 80
  3. ^ a b "Gatorade 21. Stokeley'sResponse". ChemCases.com. Retrieved 2007-04-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ "Football Inventions That Shaped the Modern Game". 2007-09-06. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  5. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". gatorade.com. Gatorade. January 5, 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  6. ^ "Pepsi unveils low-calorie Gatorade 'G2'". money.cnn.com. CNN. September 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  7. ^ "How did the tradition of dumping Gatorade on football coaches begin?". Ask Yahoo!. Yahoo!. 2005-01-27. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ A more detailed account of the creation of the Be Like Mike campaign appears in Rovell, Darren (2006). First in thirst: how Gatorade turned the science of sweat into a cultural phenomenon. New York: American Management Association. OCLC 60393271.
  9. ^ Associated Press (2006-05-12). "Connecticut passes school soda ban: Designed to fight child obesity, law takes effect on July 1". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Switchel Recipe Internet Cookbook Drink Cider Apple Beverage Molasses Honey Ginger
  11. ^ [1]
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