Powerade is a sports drink created and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company since 1988. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, which is owned by PepsiCo since 2001.

History

Powerade was created by the Coca-Cola Company and first released in 1988. The company developed the soft drink as an alternative to sports drinks, which were becoming more and more popular. Powerade was originally marketed to athletes, who needed a drink that would keep them hydrated during strenuous workouts.

In 2000, Powerade became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside Aquarius, another sports drink made by Coca-Cola. It is a rival of another sports drink, Gatorade. In July 2001, the Coca-Cola Company launched a new formula for Powerade including vitamins B3, B6 and B12, which play a role in energy metabolism.

In July 2002, the Coca-Cola Company started in Toogoolawah by updating the bottles of the standard Powerade (previous logo styling) to a new sport-grip bottle.[citation needed] The redesign came to North America in 2005.

In 2002, the Coca-Cola Company introduced Powerade Option to the United States, in response to Gatorade's popular Propel. Option is a "low Calorie sports drink" that is colorless and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium, to provide sugar-conscious consumers with another rehydration choice. Powerade Option took 36% of the Fitness Water category behind Propel's 42%.[citation needed]

In 2007, Powerade Zero was released, a sports drink with electrolytes, which contains no sugar, no calories and no carbohydrates.

In 2007, Coca-Cola acquired Fuze Beverage, a leading energy drink company.

In June 2009, the Coca-Cola Company bought Glacéau, owner of brands such as VitaminWater and SmartWater for $4.1 billion. Since then, the company has also given its Glacéau management team control of its Powerade sports drink brand.[citation needed]

Competition

Powerade's main competitor is Gatorade marketed by the Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo. Gatorade, which was branded at the University of Florida in 1965, was the first commercially available sports drink in the United States. It now holds a commanding share of the market. As of 2011, Gatorade held a 70% market share compared to Powerade's 28.5%.

All Sport is a competitor marketed by All Sport, Inc. and distributed by Jel Sert. All Sport was marketed by PepsiCo until 2001, when Gatorade's maker, the Quaker Oats Company was acquired by PepsiCo. All Sport was sold to the Monarch Beverage Company soon after. Powerade and All Sport have each been distributed through their own direct store deliver channels. It was subsequently purchased by Gary Smith, the Chairman & CEO of All Sport, Inc. of Austin, Texas.

Outside the United States, the Lucozade energy drink (manufactured since 1927 by the pharmaceutical company now known as GlaxoSmithKline) competes with Powerade.[citation needed] Lucozade's formulation differs in that it uses primarily glucose and contains caffeine. The more direct competitor to Powerade and Gatorade is Lucozade Sport.

Sponsorships

Ingredients

United States

Mountain Berry Blast flavor:

Fruit Punch flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Natural flavors
  • Medium-chain triglyceride
  • Modified food starch
  • Glycerol ester of rosin
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Allura Red AC (Red 40)

Grape flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Natural flavors
  • Artificial flavors
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Allura Red AC (Red 40)
  • Brilliant Blue FCF (Blue 1)

Lemon Lime flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Natural flavors
  • Gum acacia
  • Glycerol ester of rosin
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Tartrazine (Yellow 5)

Orange flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Natural flavors
  • Gum acacia
  • Glycerol ester of rosin
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Tartrazine (Yellow 5)
  • Sunset yellow FCF (Yellow 6)

Strawberry Lemonade flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Natural flavor
  • Gum acacia
  • Glycerol ester of rosin
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Allura Red AC (Red 40)

Island Burst flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Natural flavors
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Modified food starch
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Medium-chain triglycerides
  • Tartrazine (Yellow 5)
  • Allura Red AC (Red 40)

Melon flavor:

  • Water
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Citric acid
  • Electrolytes Salt Sodium citrate Magnesium chloride Calcium chloride Monopotassium phosphate
  • Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
  • Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
  • Natural flavors
  • Medium-chain triglycerides
  • Modified food starch
  • Sucrose acetate isobutyrate
  • Calcium disodium EDTA
  • Tartrazine (Yellow 5)
  • Brilliant Blue FCF (Blue 1)

Germany

Source (ingredients for Mountain Blast flavor):

Criticism

Like its main competitor, Gatorade, Powerade is made with sugar, syrups, and salt. One Powerade ad campaign stated that Powerade's ION4 is superior to Gatorade, due to it being the only complete sports drink on the market. The claim, made by Coca-Cola, the parent owner of Powerade, was contested by PepsiCo, the parent owner of Gatorade, as deceptive and false. A Manhattan federal court judge ruled in favor of Powerade in August 2009, stating that SVC had "not shown either a likelihood of irreparable injury or a likelihood of success on the merits".

External links