| Product type | Sports drink |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1958 |
Bengal Punch was a sports drink created in 1958 for the Louisiana State University football team.[1][2] It is believed to be the first sports drink ever created, pre-dating Gatorade by seven years.[3][4] It was created by Dr. Martin J. Broussard, the long-time LSU athletic trainer who served the university from the mid-1940s until the early 1990s.[3]
Bengal Punch later became a flavor of Quickick sports drinks.[4] The brand was popular throughout the Southeastern US with its main base as Louisiana and Texas. Quickick was formerly owned by Bud Adams, co-founder of the American Football League and former owner of the Houston Oilers, Tennessee Oilers and Tennessee Titans. The ownership of Quickick later resided with a group of businessmen based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana operating as QK Brands.[5] Until 2000, Quickick was bottled and distributed by various Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper and several other bottlers. After 2000, Quickick brought bottling and distribution in-house and all operations and facilities were located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
