Gatorade

Gatorade — the drink that lost a coach the Orange Bowl.
 

In 1965 the Florida Gators head coach, Ray Graves, went to the university's medical school with a question nobody had properly answered: why were his players falling apart in the second half? A team of researchers led by Dr Robert Cade worked out that the men were losing far more fluid and salt in the Florida heat than they could replace by drinking water, and built a drink to put back exactly what the sweat took out. Ten players tested it through the 1965 season. It tasted, by most accounts, awful.
 

The proof came in January 1967. Florida met a higher-ranked Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl, came from behind, and won. Asked afterwards why his team had lost, Georgia Tech's coach Bobby Dodd gave reporters a line that did more for the drink than any advertising campaign since: "We didn't have Gatorade. That made the difference."
 

Cade offered the rights to the University of Florida. They turned him down. He sold instead to Stokely-Van Camp, a company then best known for tinned pork and beans, and the university spent the following years in court trying to claim back a share of what became one of the most valuable brands in the drinks industry.
 

Sweet and Glory stocks the American Gatorade range wholesale for UK retailers.
 

The Gatorade Range
 

The imported range is built around the full-size bottle, alongside smaller cans that suit grab-and-go and meal-deal positioning. Flavours run considerably bolder and more vivid than the versions carried by UK supermarkets, and include the Frost sub-line, known for a lighter, crisper profile than the standard range.
 

Individual flavours rotate with each shipment, so it is worth checking the current range for what is in stock now. UK compliance labels are supplied with every order.
 

Why Stock Gatorade?
 

Gatorade is a name customers already know, which means the shelf does not have to do any work introducing it. The brand does that job on its own, and the American flavours give a shopper a reason to pick it up rather than the familiar UK version sitting beside it.
 

The appeal is unusually broad and runs all year: gym-goers, students, shift workers, gamers and anyone simply after a cold flavoured drink. It sits equally well in a soft drinks chiller, a sports and fitness display, or an American imports section next to the sodas. Demand climbs through the summer and around the January fitness surge, so it rewards seasonal featuring. The colours are bright enough to earn attention in a display and on social media, which matters with the younger shoppers who drive most imported-drink demand.
 

For a full breakdown of the American Gatorade flavour range and what each one actually tastes like, read our guide to Gatorade flavours.
 

Frequently Asked Questions
 

Where does the name Gatorade come from?
 

From the team it was made for. The drink was developed at the University of Florida in 1965 for the Florida Gators football squad, and the name simply joined the team to what they were drinking. It was never intended as a consumer product at all — it was a piece of medical research aimed at one football team's second-half performance.
 

How is American Gatorade different from the UK version?
 

Mainly the flavour range. The American market supports a far wider and faster-changing line-up, including the Frost varieties and colours that are not distributed through UK retail. Bottle sizes also differ from the formats normally found on British shelves.
 

Why did Gatorade become so popular?
 

Because a rival coach endorsed it by accident. After Georgia Tech lost the 1967 Orange Bowl to Florida, coach Bobby Dodd told reporters his team had lost because they didn't have Gatorade. The quote was picked up nationally, and a drink that had been a university research project became a commercial product almost overnight.
 

Where can I buy Gatorade wholesale in the UK?
 

Sweet and Glory supplies American Gatorade wholesale across the UK with no minimum order, dispatched from our Manchester warehouse.
 

What is the minimum order for Gatorade wholesale?
 

There is no minimum order. The first parcel is free on orders over £150 ex VAT, with additional boxes charged at £7.10 each. Pallet delivery is free over £650 ex VAT. Everything is dispatched from our Manchester warehouse.