Why Powerade Got Shut Out By Gatorade

In the battle of heavy hitters Gatorade and Powerade, the winner (by numbers) is clear. Today at Weird History Food, we are looking back at the genesis of he behemoth known as Gatorade, and how it forged a path for its more modern competitor, Powerade.
How did Gatorade come to be, and what of the battle of thirst quenchers? Join us as we get down into the dirty history of how all has played out!
#gatorade #powerade #weirdhistoryfood

[@LeandroFTW]

Blue Powerade hits the spot.

[@kaplezedrummer24ify]

Miss when McDonald's had that on tap

[@messyjesse1173]

​@@kaplezedrummer24ifythey don't anymore!? Haven't been in years. The tap was great. Five guys have everything flavor still

[@BMoney8600]

Blue Powerade is on tap at my work, it is so good!

[@427Cabriolet]

​@@messyjesse1173 sir it's been 6 years..... I used to mix a Blue powerade with a Sprite to get a Unlemonade Baja blast, love it

[@ftwsam2246]

It fell off NGL, I've had it recently, it has less flavor now.

[@rebasack21]

I was diagnosed with a kidney disorder which explained my struggle from my early teens to keep my electrolytes up in the healthy zones. For YEARS i drank gatorade simply because one of the few flavors i could stand came in powdered form which is way cheaper and way less plastic waste than buying 3-5 32oz bottles to drink per day. Today i drink mainly crystal light as i need to stay off sugar and the gatorade and powerade zero were AWFUL. Pickle juice is my drink of choice when i need a shot of salts. Its historically the OG sports drink and it doesnt take more than a shot or 2 to work. Fun fact about gatorade powder mix, do not mix into a cup of sprite, it had a mentos and coke type of reaction. im just glad the car window was open when i tried that.

[@GeeEm1313]

Do you drink it straight? I've never tried pickle juice before.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Fun fact I learned. The best drink when you work out for a hard time, to hydrate with is... Skim milk! According to science! Pedialyte, sports drinks, coconut water, freshly squeezed fruit juices, and finally mineral water came next in that order if I recall. Makes sense. You lose a ton after a hard exhaustive work out. They said the fats, protein. And various micronutrients in milk helped just edge the others out. Anyway it was just something I did not expect. Full milk is good too, but the fat to water protein isn't ideal. I think beer made the top ten, but they didn't specify if it was an ABV or one of those small beers. My bet it was a light beer. Or is it my hope? By the way. I said work out hard. Probably don't need to worry if you're in the office just typing.

[@Shortokeiki]

​​@@dianapennepacker6854 Skim milk makes a lot of sense. Milk is hydrating, has sugar, and skim is ofc low in fat

[@AlexSandul]

I mean they are mixing their sugar drink mix with soda...not sure hydrated is even their top 10 worries.

[@rebasack21]

@@GeeEm1313Yes. I already love dill pickles as a snack and one of my doctors suggested trying a shot or 2 of pickle juice for the muscle cramps i get. It really works great!

[@d1ehl.]

Nothing against the other narrator but this guy's voice is iconic. Any video he drops, must watch 👍🙌

[@FirebirdDude]

"Befoe we get started..." is the way he says it. He also has more humor in the inflection of his voice than the girl. Befoe sounds so pompous and I love it lol!!!

[@BitofAnything]

I glad you said it now Ik I’m not the only one😅

[@trevrah]

I agree, love his narration!

[@timthegem]

Yeah it's great software.

[@DazedandInsane]

Other narrator sucks

[@Howiesgirl]

I used to drink Gatorade Flow, but then it disappeared from my local stores. Idk if they quit making it, or my local stores just don't stock it anymore for some other reason. Now I'll generally buy Powerade because it's a good bit cheaper than Gatorade. But if there's a sale on Gatorade, I switch back. I'm not product loyal- I'm budget loyal.

[@aaronbrandon6729]

If Gatorade has been invented at Florida State, it’d be called Seminole Fluid.

[@ByTheStorm]

Lol.

[@chrismayer3919]

😂

[@coyotelong4349]

Semin-ade 🤣

[@coyotelong4349]

Semin-ade 🤣

[@kennyoffhenny]

Well it is sweet & salty 🤷‍♂️

[@MS-wh5lt]

Cold lemon lime Gatorade on a hot Texas summer day just hits different

[@tanmaz8006]

🤢 I hate lemon lime .. Grape is the best 👌 .

[@Plantpuffbaby]

That flavor is banging! Sorry someone yucked your yum!

[@redline1916]

For anyone thirsty, that shit goes hard

[@BL-yt9fp]

Lemon lime is an exclusive flavor for those who are sick 😂

[@coyotelong4349]

It’s that hint of salt. It’s more thirst-quenching because it really does replenish the electrolytes better than water can

[@NASCARFAN93100]

When both were NASCAR Sponsors during the mid to late 2000s, They would put up Powerade bottles on top of the Race Winning Car in Gatorade Victory Lane only to get knocked off that said Car by the Driver during the celebration

[@xavierjuno4572]

Honestly this continues to be one of my favorite sponsorship stories from this sport ever

[@frankmenesch]

Powerade is still a thing in Australia. Nothing beats smashing a Mountain Blast Powerade when you're so hungover that you're on the verge of death.

[@hoyasfan459]

It still exists in the US. It doesn't have nearly the market share of Gatorade. However, Body Armor & Prime have cut into the market share of both.

[@coyotelong4349]

Mountain Blast has become the definitive flavor of Powerade, much in the same way Lemon-Lime became the definitive flavor of Gatorade

[@theanonymouschicken169]

Powerade dominates Aus/NZ and has a 58% market share while Gatorade has 33%.

[@PhantomFilmAustralia]

Gatorade had the far better marketing campaign. Powerade had better flavors. Staminade though was the far superior sports drink. I do miss the glass milk-bottle style of Gatorade though.

[@cherie..cherry]

Whaaa!!! Gatorade used to come in a glass bottle 😮??

[@PhantomFilmAustralia]

@@cherie..cherry You must be a young one.

[@BulyssesBwachowski]

@@cherie..cherryyou can see them at 3:30.

[@laurenmp7486]

@@cherie..cherry yep back in the day Gatorade was in glass bottles.

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Besides sports, fighting dehydration becomes crucial in heat waves. You can use simple hydration salts/tablets/capsules bought in a pharmacy if you don't want the sugars these drinks provide.

[@DragonKazooie89]

Also when you are sick

[@heidihobear]

Gatorade and powerade were both used in Star Trek especially deep space 9 to represent exotic drinks from quarks bar

[@LakeLyfe315]

The Like Mike campaign was so iconic

[@4sake123]

I know a lot of people hate it but I absolutely love the lime cucumber gatorade.

[@aerisvulkan2538]

Its really an underrated flavor

[@fugufishfive]

That’s one of my all time favorite too, I look for it all the time

[@coyotelong4349]

Yep, that and Melon

[@walgreenstothemoon]

I like green apple

[@PhilipPedro2112]

The cucumber hits good, especially during the hot Summer.

[@supermario530]

Cucumber Lime Gatorade is probably one of their best flavors ever

[@francisvalentinemixes5277]

Yes. Thank you. I was looking for this comment!

[@Gary_Le_Strange]

"cucumber water for customer only!". Sorry, had a Better Call Saul flashback moment

[@btetschner]

It is really good!

[@ghostmachine71]

that, and the Green Apple

[@btetschner]

2:09 For those milk-type bottles, some houses used to have "Milk Doors" that the milk man would use to drop off milk bottles.

[@ShepherdShang]

I'm surprised they didn't mention anything about Powerade changing their formula in the early 2000's. When I was a kid in the 90's Powerade had some kind of texture that made it taste more like a soda, while Gatorade tasted more watery to me. At some point in the early 2000's powerade's taste became more watery too. No idea what it was about or why it happened, but at that point there was barely any difference between them to me.

[@AnomieDomine]

I think it was lightly carbonated?

[@TehPwnographer]

@rememberingminnesotathat’s basically what it is lol

[@MrCantabrigian]

I was thinking the exact same thing!!!

[@coyotelong4349]

@@AnomieDomine There was another drink called All-Sport that was lightly carbonated, actually All-Sport definitely had a moment in the 90s. It was delicious

[@chaseman94]

​@@coyotelong4349 didn't they used Shaquille O'Neal as their spokesperson ?

[@SeptemberMeadows]

My house between the two is which ever one is on a discount sale price. If I seriously need to rehydrate the choice is Pedialyte.

[@kinocorner976]

Blue Powerade, and Lime Gatorade when chilled, are just perfect.

[@ydworthy585]

Grape or any purple Powerade

[@cameroneridan4558]

Meanwhile, EVERYWHERE outside the USA: "what the fuck is a gatorade?"

[@CJBray_historyonaplate]

Us Canadians love it too. 😊 🤚 Howdy neighbour 😂

[@TGPDrunknHick]

Aussie. definitely have gatorade but, also have fucktonnes of powerade.

[@virginialeonor1144]

Nah we drink Gatorade in DR they know the difference

[@rickystarduster]

@@CJBray_historyonaplate not all canadians love it as it doesn't taste very good a better option is an iced coffee lol

[@ottovonbismarck1375]

Nah, Gatorade has made its way to Europe

[@coyotelong4349]

One of the rare times the Coca-Cola product just can’t compete with the Pepsi equivalent. Pepsi made the smart move buying Gatorade, an already-known and already established brand in its own right The sports drink category (Gatorade) and the citrus soda category (Mtn Dew) are the 2 categories that Coke has definitively lost in

[@hkiller57]

Hold up, you think mountain dee won the citrus beverage contest? Sprite is more popular than that

[@BeeBee-pl9ly]

​@@hkiller57sprite doesn't compete with mountain dew. It competes with starry aka Sierra mist

[@hkiller57]

@@BeeBee-pl9ly is sprite not a citrus soda?

[@BeeBee-pl9ly]

@@hkiller57 yes but it doesn't compete with Mountain Dew. Sprite is lemon lime while Mountain Dew isn't. Coca Cola has "Mellow Yellow" which competes with Mountain Dew. Sprite competes with 7UP and Starry.

[@hkiller57]

@@BeeBee-pl9ly i agree in that they dont taste similar and so arent competitors but the person i replied to said mtn dew owns the citrus soda market which is flat out untrue as that is a huge and varied market

[@CaseyMcGeorge]

Kids today just don’t get how hard that “Like Mike” commercial went in the early 90’s

[@waywardlaser]

Growing up in Canada in the 90s, Powerade felt a lot more present.

[@InflatableConan]

Remember those "spill-proof" Powerade bottles from the late '90s that had mini plastic slits in the neck of the bottle? It wouldn't even spill even when the bottle was accidentally knocked over without a cap on. I always thought that was the greatest invention. Bring that back.

[@angelam5782]

Throwing it back to when Gatorade came in glass bottles! I'd forgotten about that!

[@reeceypc]

Great video, I love learning about all these brands on my lunch break! Cheers from Nashville! ❤

[@Jllyrol311]

‘Be Like Mike’ still rips.

[@dralbora]

For those of us over 50 years of age, Gatorade, which is now in 28 ounces instead of 32 ounces, is what our doctors recommend us for our colonoscopy prep. With that association, I usually only buy the stuff once every five years.

[@danderson8431]

I can’t touch the lemon flavor after my last colonoscopy. They force you to drink like a gallon of it mixed with laxatives.

[@evolancer211]

Glacier freeze best flavor for sure

[@garymorgan3443]

Anybody remember Gatorade gum? Horrid stuff, as I recall.

[@laurenmp7486]

GatorGum!!! And yeah it didn't taste great.

[@StumptownRetro]

Powerade doesn’t seem vanquished outside of North America. Grew up in Germany and it is still dominant over there.

[@Rain20j]

I'm more partial to Powerade over Gatorade. At least for most of the flavors.

[@sherqyanstromain9580]

Battle of an era the great thirst wars never forget

[@moochieone1]

Every time I hear the word "electrolytes", I immediately think of the movie "Idiocracy". In certain parts of the movie, an assumption is made that just because a drink has electrolytes, it must be good for everything, including plants. However, in a central part of the movie, crops are diminishing and they cannot figure out why, even though they are feeding the plants "electrolytes".

[@colerieger7300]

Water? Like from the toilet?

[@kuebby]

I never realized that the Frost flavors were for "thirst" over "sport." Those are the flavors I generally go for when I'm sick. The flavor is less intense and less sharp so it's less unpleasant when you throw it back up.

[@snailsaredumb9412]

The irony of all these comments who dislike the other narrator is that she did VA work for List25 and theRichest before they both got bought out and everyone ragged on this same guy whenever they couldn't get her, the same way they do about her now. I've followed this feud from channel to channel for almost ten years... still don't know their names

[@Nope_handlesaretrash]

That IS pretty funny. Different strokes different folks.

[@RavensSoTired4081]

So what, his voice is way better

[@TGPDrunknHick]

probably depends on the audience. I wonder if the demographics for those channels are significantly different or not.

[@tanmaz8006]

.. Powerade grape is great 👌 ..

[@btetschner]

3:26 That is Pete Carroll. He won the College Football National Championship both in 2004 (year I graduated grad school) and 2005 (my last year in the school system in that 20 year stretch, I was in the faculty network at the time).

[@cristiancepeda_yt]

In america yes, around the world no. In mexico poweraid rules and gatoraid tastes like medicine

[@leonflpqzhz4765]

Idk Wich part of Mexico you talking about but where I live looks like most people buy Gatorade even though it costs a bit more

[@cristiancepeda_yt]

@@leonflpqzhz4765 vives en mexico o nomas vienes a visitar con tus papis?

[@blaquenoise]

Pineapple Mango is was only a limited run from what I remember. Still it needs to be permanent along with Ecto Cooler. Also who remembers the sports drink 10K? On a side note I love all the house I go into while working pest control and seeing coke purist with all their memorabilia, but they have Gatorade instead of powerade.

[@Gary_Le_Strange]

I still remember the original Gatorade thirst quencher in powder mix. Move ahead a decade or so, we kept the mix on hand at the fire department tucked away high n dry in those big orange coolers, ready to be whupped up in hurried fashion to help restore fire crews to hydrated status.

[@btetschner]

8:59 #99 was my football jersey for most of my high school playing years. That is J.J. Watts, who also has the same middle name as I do (James). He was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, 2014, and 2015.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

I drink Powerade Zero all the time. But only when it goes on sale for 99 cents a bottle, lol. Perfect for after doing yardwork or other strenuous exercise...

[@vizual7390]

Gatorade isn't sold commercially in the UK and throughout Europe, whereas Powerade is. So any loss they're making on the US front they're more than making it up on the European front.

[@andrewhoman9177]

Gatorade held roughly 75% of the market share globally in 2023.

[@lawrencetalbot8346]

@@andrewhoman9177yeah I was going to say EU’s stupid ban hasn’t really affected their market share. The rest of the world clearly couldn’t care what the prissy hypocrites ban

[@dickcheese663]

WTF is a kilometer?

[@paddybm3245]

In Italy Gatorade is definitely available

[@haansolo6169]

It is not available in Germany

[@lazy_dad]

i love the japanese sports drink POCARI SWEAT. i think you should do an episode about that!

[@thecreativespirit]

Now the Powerade is the one always out of stock. the gatorade only has the zero sugar left on the shelf and the walmart employee said they been outta stock and dont know when they will be back ☠☠☠

[@KevinWindsor1971]

2:25 Is that Dr. Shires, or Foster Brooks? "Try my new drink. It's got bur-bur-bourbon in it".

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

@2:31 "It sort of tasted like toilet bowl cleaner" I gotta ask, how many times did he drank any toilet bowl cleaners to know its taste?

[@oxygon2850]

I have no idea what you're talking about... they're right next to each other on the shelf and I always choose Powerade over Gatorade?!

[@NewMessage]

Alligators hate the stuff. S'all I'm sayin.

[@btetschner]

9:42 In reference to Judy Garland, I am going to watch the film Easter Parade today! She stars with Fred Astaire in the film.

[@simshengvue4642]

I never see anyone drinking Gatorade anywhere, only Powerade

[@cristiancepeda_yt]

Exactly

[@____________838]

Where in the world?

[@ggallintedtalk]

Good

[@cristiancepeda_yt]

@@____________838 anywhere not first world or america

[@____________838]

@@cristiancepeda_yt that’s exactly what I was expecting

[@BerserkingKantus]

I like blue Powerade better than any Gatorade.

[@howyoudurrinhunneh]

Blue Powerade in restaurants > Gatorade

[@cardboardempire]

The last time I had a sports drink, they came in glass bottles

[@MrRobot1984]

All Sport? In high school football we were drinking All Sport till it disappeared from shelves. I remember “Grandpa Shaq” commercials

[@btetschner]

All-Sport was so good!

[@laurenmp7486]

Gatorade doesn't have flavors, it has colors. You don't go looking for fruit punch, you look for red, you ask for the red if a friend offers to get you one.

[@lilq4593]

Glacier freeze and lemon lime Gatorade. Cool blue is up there as well.

[@TurdFergurson]

Has anyone seen lemon lime Body Armor anywhere? That was my favorite but I haven't seen it in YEARS!

[@btetschner]

9:42 One year when I was in elementary school, our school performed the play The Wizard of Oz for the Spring program.

[@thomaslynch1853]

I didn’t know they made Powerade freezicles! I’m going to look out for that next time I’m at the grocery store

[@rangerannie5636]

My dad was friends with Mr Stokely because they both worked at the University of Florida at Gainesville. I went to Brownies with Mr Stokely's daughter. I remember my dad drinking and testing Gatorade before it ever came on the market.

[@cyberleone00]

Powerade is suddenly a thing in the netherlands

[@tr4phous376]

In Germany also very big

[@cyberleone00]

@@tr4phous376 but it used to be aquarius which was a better name tbh

[@btetschner]

A+ video! LOVE IT! Amazing topic and history!

[@iamlowkeyedits]

when you live in the tropics and food poisoning is regularly real, nothing replaces fluid faster in a satisfying way than gatorade. from my personal experience. and if you gotta chunder, it doesnt taste worse.

[@philipgallagher69420]

they had blue powerade at the fountain in the cafe in college. boy that blue gatorade got me through a shit ton of mornings after a long night out. shahtaht blue powerade

[@imustbecrazy5626]

Gatorade in the 80s was awesome. Came in a glass bottle. No high fructose corn syrup in anything then.

[@mr.waffles8739]

I used to be a Gatorade type of guy when I was doing some sport or labor, but now I just put electrolyte powder in my water and I'm good to go

[@youraquainstructor3791]

8:39 Love Dr. Berg…glad you incorporated his content with yours. He pretty much dispels the mystery behind each one & doesn’t recommend either one!!😂😅

[@alexelectricx]

Drinking an orange gatorade as we speak! :D

[@Niterider73]

I'm surprised Gatorade ice wasn't mentioned. Loved that stuff

[@btetschner]

Eating ANOTHER Weird History Holiday food! Eating Frosted Sugar Cookies with Easter Designs on them*†...while watching this Weird History video! * Inspired by the Weird History Food video "How A Mediocre Cooke Crumbl'd The Competition" † The cookies are in the shape of eggs and the frosting is green on one and pink on the other.

[@budderpecan4185]

That's weird I live in Central Illinois and it's fairly popular at my old workplace and I see them on the shelves in places. They just came out with some sour flavors over in a dollar store near me. (I don't really like the green apple sour one I tried though.) The fruit punch and orange flavors are my favorites. : )

[@DankRedditMemes]

Gatorade is also cheaper than any other sports drink on the market in my area

[@dav8388]

Grape Powerade is my go to, but If the store doesn't have any then Cool blue Gatorade is my next option.

[@tylerwhorff7143]

I like both! Fruit punch is my go-to but if there's a lot of flavors available I go for Arctic Blitz Gatorade (which is supposed to be watermelon/lavender flavor according to the website, personally I feel like it tastes like laundry detergent as a beverage which I like???) or Strawberry Lemonade Powerade. It's like just the right amount of sour and really hits especially in summertime.

[@rumatadestora]

The first two minutes sound like an experiment Vault-tec would do to the people inside their vaults lol

[@mylet2658]

Went to Alaska and took a tour of glacier, I was amazed when the color of the lake was exactly of glacier freeze. I guess that is where Gatorade got that color from

[@omniXenderman]

Im fairly certain Gatorade has actually saved my life on multiple occasions 😂

[@elizabethramsey9295]

Years ago our high school used to have a Coke machine that students could purchase diet sodas and Powerade. I used to have to stifle a giggle before telling a student their teeth and tongue were turning blue while they drank the Berry Blast flavor. Meanwhile the school district received a “cut” from the sales from the Coke soda machines

[@reznorms81]

Maybe in USA but here in north Italy I still see powerade in every shop, probablymore than gatorade now that I think about it, same when I traveled around EU.

[@jerranspearman3369]

good video

[@donovanwhite2841]

Gatorade will always be number 1 🐊

[@Stonerman135]

Powerade's biggest problem is everyone views it as "knock off Gatorade" because Gatorade is the OG sports drink and Powerade didn't do enough to distinguish themselves from Gatorade.

[@hepler228]

Poweraid is definitely making a comeback now

[@patrickwong4824]

For all the Europeans, remember the Gatorade Pro Cycling team back in the early 90s.

[@essentialjordan23]

Riptide Rush is the GOAT Gatorade flavor.

[@giancarlovelandrez3413]

we used to mix gatorade with alcoholic beverages. glad we survived

[@Aqua_Xenossia]

Powerade and especially BodyArmor’s Zero offerings absolutely blow away anything Gatorade’s ever offered, so while Gatorade may have the lion’s share, the real king is a bottle of orange clementine BodyArmor 💕

[@RudieObias]

Since he was already endorsing Coca-Cola, imagine if Powerade snagged Michael Jordan instead of Gatorade. Or if Pepsi managed to steal away MJ from Coke 👀

[@kameljoe21]

Gatorade/Powerade needs to push into the zero sugar market harder. There are so many people chugging these drinks that do not need them. Because the flavors are quite good people drink them daily. Its super hard to find good low calories flavor drink mixes. I have stopped drinking these drink mixes and have switched to the lower calorie single serve mixes and use 4 packet per gallon of water and have found them to be far better. 40 calories vs 850 calories per gallon. Huge advantage if you want to lose weight. Zero sugar soda will also drop the calories by large margins.

[@btetschner]

1:31 George Clooney directed the film Boys In The Boat (2023), which premiered on my 44th birthday. It was about the legendary row team from the University of Washington. Years ago I went on an epic date in which we stopped by the University of Washington.

[@sarahkatie7497]

Are you married Ben??

[@btetschner]

@@sarahkatie7497 I am not married...so your chances are good ;)

[@adamwarlock2099]

Anyone old enough to remember All Sport from the 90's? I'd drink it just to drink it, not just as a sports drink. I have seen any anywhere for decades. I have no idea what happened to them.

[@Joker-no1uh]

Don't forget about All Sport. That shit was fire.

[@btetschner]

I don't know how popular it was outside of our area, but All-Sport was a third-place finisher in our area.

[@thomas_the_cat]

its all about marketing... gatorade got the biggest, most popular endorsers, especially during the 90s... and it stuck with the consumers even until now

[@kameljoe21]

Please do one on Brawndo.

[@Gravy_Nolastname]

Personally I think Powerade generally tastes better than Gatorade, and it has much less sugar

[@BeeBee-pl9ly]

It's the exact opposite. Powerade is sweeter and uses HFCS

[@josel1325]

I loved the blue Powerade as a kid

[@Ttran778]

I'm actually old enough to remember the old gatorade gum, when they stopped using glass bottles, when Powerade released their own specialty squirt bottle (which sucked) and when Gatorade frost was released. Holy crap 😂

[@lisajimenez2365]

I scrolled along hoping someone else mentioned the gum! How could they forget to mention that?