Gatorade
It's from 1965, before you were born.
- Maker
- PepsiCo
- Type
- Sports drink
- Debuted
- 1965
- Origin
- University of Florida
As an Amazon Associate, OlderThan earns from qualifying purchases.
About
As of 2026, it's 61 years old.
Gatorade exists because the University of Florida's football team kept wilting in the heat and some researchers in 1965 decided to fix it with science and electrolytes — then named the result after the Gators, ensuring the most famous sports drink on Earth is also a permanent ad for one college.
It practically invented the category and definitely invented the 'Gatorade shower,' the beloved ritual of dumping an entire cooler on a winning coach.
Bright, salty, and weirdly heroic, Gatorade is the drink that turned 'rehydration' into a lightning-bolt-branded lifestyle.
Gatorade through the years
Developed at the University of Florida
Researchers create it to rehydrate the Gators football team.
Commercial sales begin
The Gatorade shower era
An NFL partnership and sideline coolers make it a sports staple.
