On October 2, 1965, Gatorade was invented at the University of Florida. The sports drink was originally created for the university’s sport teams the “Gators” as a way to help replenish carbohydrates and electrolytes athletes lost during activities. In the Florida heat many of the athletes were having trouble, so assistant football coach, Dewayne Douglas, went to Dr. James Robert Cade and his team, doctors H. James Free, Dana Shires, and Alex de Quesada to solve the problem.

The original drink was made from water, sodium, sugar, potassium, phosphate, and lemon juice. The drink didn’t taste that good, so it was hard for the athletes to consume. It was tested by some players during practice games, but it couldn’t be said whether it helped or not. It gained its prestige, though, and soon it became a commercial product produced by Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. In the same year (1969), Gatorade became the official NFL sports drink.

In 1983, Gatorade was purchased by Quaker Oats Company for 220 million dollars. It became a worldwide drink before it was bought by PepsiCo in 2001. Gatorade is now worth 48 billion dollars.