7 Up · Lablypedia

History

7 Up was created by Charles Leiper Grigg, who launched his St. Louis–based company The Howdy Corporation in 1920. Grigg came up with the formula for a lemon-lime soft drink in 1928, and the product was launched a year before the Wall Street crash of 1929. The trademark "SEVEN-UP" was granted in 1928, and a 1929 taste test advertisement featured a flying "7up" logo. The name became "7up Lithiated Lemon Soda" in 1930–1931, as indicated by the use of a logo with tilted "up" and historical paper labels.

An oft-repeated story is that the drink was originally called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda," but investigative reports find little or no evidence that a drink with this name ever existed. In fact, "Bib-Label" is not part of the name of the soda, but refers to the practice of hanging a piece of paper around the neck of a soda bottle like a bib.

The drink did, initially, claim to contain lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. It was one of a number of patent medicine products popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. In 1936 the federal government forced the manufacturer to remove a number of health claims, and because "lithium was not an actual ingredient", the name was changed to just "7 Up" in 1937.

The origin of the name 7 Up is unclear. Britvic claims that the name comes from the seven main ingredients in the drink, while others have claimed that the number was a reference to the lithium contained in the original recipe, which has an atomic mass of approximately 7. Britvic also claims that the name alluded to 7 Up being packaged in seven-ounce bottles when Coca-Cola and most other soft drinks were bottled in six-ounce bottles.

The 7 Up company was privately owned by its founding families until it was sold in 1978 to Philip Morris, which sold it in 1986 in two parts: the international division to PepsiCo and the US business to a group led by the investment firm Hicks & Haas. In the US, 7 Up merged with Dr Pepper in 1988 to form Dr Pepper/Seven Up; Cadbury Schweppes bought the combined company in 1995. In 2008 the Dr Pepper Snapple Group was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes. In 2018, The Dr Pepper Snapple Group was acquired by Keurig Green Mountain, forming Keurig Dr Pepper; in 2026, this merger will effectively be undone following KDP's 2025 acquisition of JDE Peet's and the subsequent separation of its coffee business and beverage business.

4 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

Formula

7 Up has been reformulated several times since its launch in 1928. In 2006, the version of the product sold in the U.S. was reformulated so it could be marketed as being "100% natural". This was achieved by eliminating the chelating agent calcium disodium EDTA, and replacing sodium citrate with potassium citrate to reduce the beverage's sodium content. This reformulation contains no fruit juice and, in the U.S., is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The manufacturing process used in the production of HFCS has led some public health and advocacy groups to challenge the ad campaign's "natural" claims.

In 2007, after the Center for Science in the Public Interest threatened to sue 7 Up, it was announced that 7 Up would stop being marketed as "100% natural". Instead, it is now promoted as having "100% Natural Flavors". The controversy does not extend to other countries, such as the United Kingdom, where HFCS is not generally used in foods, including 7 Up. In 2011, 7 Up began test marketing a formula, called 7 Up Retro, using sugar rather than HFCS. Container labels state "Made With Real Sugar".

Variants

United States

Regular

Low Calorie

International

Barbecue sauces and marinades

In 2007, Cadbury Schweppes entered into a licensing partnership with Vita Food Products to produce a line of barbecue sauces and marinades flavored with Dr Pepper, 7 Up, and A&W Root Beer.

Advertising campaigns

Metal pedestrian crossing markers saying "Drink 7up Safety First" were installed in many U.S. cities in the 1930s.

"Fresh-Up Freddie" was the rooster mascot for 7 Up in the 1950s. He gave viewers lessons about how to plan successful parties and picnics by having plenty of 7 Up on hand. The commercials were produced by Disney, giving the character the specific Disney look of the time. Freddie has been described as a hybrid of the rooster Panchito Pistoles from The Three Caballeros and the zany Aracuan Bird from the same film. He often was dressed in human clothes. Freddie also appeared in the 1957 Zorro TV series' commercial intermissions. In these commercials, Freddie fought with Pete the Cat. Freddie, who was featured in a small amount of merchandising, was voiced by Paul Frees.

In the late 1960s and 1980s, Geoffrey Holder appeared in television ads as part of 7 Up's "Uncola" ad campaign, designed to highlight differences between 7 Up and other soft drinks on the market with cola flavoring. In the ads, Geoffrey holds a pair of cola nuts in one hand and a lemon & lime (used to flavor 7 Up) in the other hand and describes them as "Uncola nuts".

In 1987, 7 Up introduced Spot, the red-orange dot in the 7 Up logo anthropomorphized into a mascot. The character was used heavily in advertising and licensed items across the U.S., including the 1993 platformer video game Cool Spot, and its 1995 sequel, Spot Goes to Hollywood.

The cartoon character Fido Dido was instead used as the 7 Up mascot in international areas from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, and was reintroduced in international markets in the early 2000s. Since PepsiCo did not own the rights to 7 Up in the US, certain ads featuring Fido Dido were instead reworked to advertise the company's Slice brand of lemon-lime soda.

In the early 2000s, Orlando Jones served as the spokesperson for 7 Up in the United States in a series of commercials. Notably, one commercial had him wear a t-shirt that had 7 Up's then-slogan Make 7 Up Yours divided between the front and back with the double entendre on the back that featured the Up Yours part; 7 Up would sell the shirt through specialty retailer Spencer Gifts for many years.

Corporate sponsorship

In 1974, 7 Up became The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon's first corporate sponsor; this was at a time when its sponsorship was generally limited to trade unions and civic organizations.

7 Up became the primary sponsor for the Jordan Grand Prix Formula One team in 1991, where their distinctive green livery on the Jordan 191 placed 5th in the overall team standings. Notably, Michael Schumacher made his Formula One debut in the 191 at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix when he filled in for Bertrand Gachot. Because of its distinct color and design, the 7 Up Jordan 191 is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful Formula One cars of all time.

7 up sponsored Italian football club ACF Fiorentina during the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons. They were the sponsor on the banned 1992–93 away shirt that contained an accidental swastika in the shirt's design.