The ‘80s and ‘90s saw a drastic rise in brightly colored, fun-packaged, sugar-laden beverages. One of the most iconic of these brands that still exists today is Hawaiian Punch. But this fruit-flavored concoction did not start life as a children’s beverage. In fact, it wasn’t even a beverage.
Hawaiian Punch was developed in 1934 in a garage in California. It was created by A.W. Leo, Tom Yeats, and Ralph Harrison from tropical fruits they imported from Hawaii through their company, Pacific Citrus Products, and marketed as Leo’s Hawaiian Punch. What they developed was not a drink but a thick, fruit-flavored syrup that was sold to ice cream parlors and soda shops as an ice cream topping.
The company was purchased by Reuben Hughes in 1946 and renamed Pacific Hawaiian Products. By this time, consumers had realized that diluting the syrup with water made a tasty drink. Hughes capitalized on this consumer creation and began selling the syrup directly to consumers in quart-sized bottles. Hawaiian Punch was now marketed not just as an ice cream topping but also as a drink mix and flavoring for children’s milk. By 1950, Hawaiian Punch came in 46-ounce ready-to-drink cans. In 1955, it could also be purchased as a frozen concentrate.
In 1962, the Hawaiian Punch brand was purchased by the tobacco company, R.J. Reynolds. As the public became more aware of the dangers of nicotine and government restrictions increased, some tobacco companies began to expand into sugary beverages. Hawaiian Punch was primarily being sold as a cocktail mixer when R.J. Reynolds acquired the brand. The company shifted its marketing to children and moms, using the same advertising tactics it had used to sell cigarettes. The cartoon mascot, Punchy, was placed on school merchandise and made into toys. Extensive research was done to make this a product that left consumers wanting more rather than quenching their thirst. Color and flavoring additives originally developed for cigarettes were added to the drink to make it more desirable. R.J. Reynolds also expanded how people could consume Hawaiian Punch, such as through powdered mixes and juice boxes.
After changing hands a few more times, the company is now owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper. Hawaiian Punch is still a popular kids’ drink that now comes in multiple flavors, and can be found in gallon-sized jugs in the juice aisle of most grocery stores. Given the history of this sweet beverage, a more appropriate location would be with the desserts.
Crystal Kelly is a feature writer for Bizarre Bytes with those unusual facts that you only need to know for Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy, or to stump your in-laws.
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“What were the original ingredients in Hawaiian Punch? History. Leo’s Hawaiian Punch was created as an ice cream topping syrup in 1934 by A.W. Leo, Tom Yeats, and Ralph Harrison in a converted garage in Fullerton, California. It originally contained 5 fruit juices: orange, pineapple, passion fruit, guava and papaya—all imported from Hawaii.”
So it originally was a healthy syrup for Ice Cream toppings. Imagine a Hawaiian Punch Snow Cone! Unfortunately, when they decided to make Hawaiian Punch a beverage, they diluted the juice with water, added sugar, citric acid, guar gum and red dye, since water became the main ingredient (now 90%) and has no color, flavor, or taste. Leave it to big business to mess it up. Water is cheap. Have a glass.