The Nostalgic Drink That Was Supposed To Be An Ice Cream Topping

If you were a kid growing up in the United States, at one point you likely enjoyed the tongue-staining, sugar-jolting pleasure that came with drinking Hawaiian Punch — and maybe still enjoy it today. This favorite beverage originated in the 1930s and found its audience quickly, becoming a household brand by the 1950s. Today, Hawaiian Punch is offered in 14 different drink varieties, including flavors like Green Berry Rush and Mango Monsoon, and it has also inspired an assortment of candies and other products. But maybe you didn't know that this famous flavored juice drink didn't start out as a drink at all — it was actually intended as an ice cream topping.

When Hawaiian Punch creators A.W. Leo, Tom Yates, and Ralph Harrison first developed the product, they planned to use their concoction as a tropical-flavored syrup for ice cream, a new offering from their Pacific Citrus Products Company. The product line also included mixers for bars, crushed fruits, sherbet bases, citrus oils, extracts, and emulsions. Originally known as Leo's Hawaiian Punch, the original syrup was a concentrate made from real tropical fruit juice shipped from the Hawaiian Islands and was marketed to restaurants, manufacturers of ice cream, and soda fountain establishments in the vicinity of their Fullerton, California headquarters. 

But what started out as a mere topping for ice cream wasn't destined to stay that way.

People who had tried the syrup discovered Leo's Hawaiian Punch was darn tasty when mixed with water and consumed as a beverage. At the time, the original product was only available for wholesale purchase, and the concentrate had not yet been marketed to the public as a drink but that would soon change.

In 1946, the Pacific Citrus Products Company changed hands and was renamed the Pacific Hawaiian Products Co. New owner Reuben P. Hughes heard the cry of consumers who loved enjoying the syrup in the form of a drink, and soon enough, quart-sized bottles of the concentrate were available in grocery stores. That was followed by 46-ounce cans of ready-to-drink Hawaiian Punch in 1950, along with a new mascot, Punchy, who was famous foro his "How about a nice Hawaiian Punch?" slogan.

Other products have joined the family over the years, including cans of frozen concentrate, ready-to-mix powdered punch, single-serve bottles, juice boxes, freezer pops, candy chews, cotton candy, and even candy canes. The Hawaiian Punch brand has also undergone multiple acquisitions and is now sold under the umbrella of Keurig Dr Pepper. But rest assured, that sugary flavor you enjoyed as a kid is still alive and well if you're looking to get nostalgic with a retro drink trend.