A University of Florida-made beverage looks to make a splash in the industry.
Pepsi Co. announced on Thursday that Gatorade will begin catering its product toward non-athletes. The company’s rebrand contradicts its origin story from Gainesville.
In 1965, Florida professor Dr. Robert Cade created Gatorade to help the Florida football team deal with dehydration issues from heat exhaustion. The brand grew from Florida to aiding teams worldwide, with the objective to hydrate athletes and enhance their performance.
A little over 60 years later, the beverage wants to hydrate the rest of the world.
Gatorade Lower Sugar contains 75% fewer grams of sugar than original Gatorade and targets non-athletes. It has become one of the company’s best-selling products after its release in March.
Gatorlyte Longer Lasting, which is expected to go on sale in 2027, offers three times the amount of electrolytes as regular Gatorade. The upcoming product is aimed at everyday consumers on long flights or rigorous work shifts that exert energy in their lifestyle.
The company wants to appeal to the rising demand for hydration drinks in the United States after consumers have become more mindful about their health in recent years. In turn, Gatorade is removing artificial colors from its powders later this spring and eventually, by the fall, it’ll do the same with its beverages Gatorade Thirst Quencher and Gatorade Zero.
The company wants to address the dehydration issue even non-athletes face in their daily lives, which parallels this rising consumer trend. To separate itself from rival beverages, Gatorade will begin clearly labeling which products hydrate better or longer than water with new packaging in the coming weeks, as well.
So even with major adjustments to cater to a different audience, Gatorade is ensuring that it’s still staying true to its original motive, born at the University of Florida. To that point, the old-fashioned Gatorade Thirst Quencher will not reduce its 48 grams of sugar or 18% of daily carbohydrates in the bottle to remain suited for athletes — originally Gator athletes.
