The Massive Beverage Company That Owns Gatorade

Gatorade is a popular beverage among athletes, gym goers, and just those who want to replenish electrolytes due to the drink's sodium and potassium content. Today, you can pick and choose your favorite Gatorade flavors, and there's even a money-saving powdered Gatorade option on the market, but the drink got its start with just one recipe back in 1965 thanks to Dr. Robert Cade, who was a kidney disease specialist through the University of Florida at the time. Within just a year, the drink had become a staple part of Florida Gators' workouts and games, and by 1967, the rights were sold to a company called Stokely-Van Camp. Today, the drink is owned by PepsiCo, but it was first purchased by Quaker Oats from Stokely-Van Camp in 1983. The PepsiCo ownership came in 2001, when the soda brand acquired Quaker Oats. It's been the owner of Gatorade ever since.

PepsiCo never purchased Gatorade specifically, but once it finalized the deal with Quaker Oats, brands like Cap'n Crunch Cereal, Aunt Jemima (now known as Pearl Milling Company), and Gatorade came with it. The deal was finalized for $13.4 billion in stock rather than a cash deal.

Quaker Oats had been a household name since the late 1800s, when it gained notoriety for putting recipes on the back of its containers. Purchasing Gatorade proved to be a smart move for the brand, because between Gatorade's 1965 inception and when Quaker Oats sold it to PepsiCo in 2001, the product grew to be worth a whopping $2.2 billion on its own.

It took nearly 20 years for Gatorade to reach the eight-figure mark, but the 1980s and 1990s saw a massive rise in the sports drink. By 1983, the brand was worth around $100 million. It controlled more than 80% of the sports drink market at the time. Then, by 1991, that number had climbed to about 90% of the market, with Gatorade having done $600 million in sales the year prior. In 2025, Gatorade made more than $7 billion in sales. 

Most importantly, Cade, the original creator, plus others who were involved in the drink's invention are still reaping the benefits. In 2015, the Gatorade Trust royalties, which are monies that go to those involved in Gatorade's creation, surpassed $1 billion. The specific details of the royalty agreement for the founders isn't known, but University of Florida receives 20% of the royalties and had earned $281 million from the drink by 2015.