Gatorade

Gatorade is a brand of sports drinks owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was developed in 1965 by a team of researchers at the University of Florida led by Robert Cade. It was originally made for the school's student-athletes, the Gators, to replenish the carbohydrates that they burned and the combination of water and electrolytes that they lost in sweat during vigorous sports activities. Stokely-Van Camp acquired the rights to produce and market the Gatorade brand in 1965 before the company was purchased by the Quaker Oats Company in 1983, which, in turn, was bought by PepsiCo in 2001. As of 2010, Gatorade is PepsiCo's fourth-largest brand, on the basis of worldwide annual retail sales. It competes with Coca-Cola's Powerade and Vitaminwater brands worldwide, and with Lucozade in the United Kingdom. Within the United States, Gatorade accounts for approximately 61.6% of market share in the sports drink category as of 2025.