Our History

Banking on his 30 years of experience in advertising and merchandising, Grigg formed The Howdy Corporation, named for the Howdy Orange drink he pioneered.

Grigg spent more than two years testing 11 different formulas of lemon-flavored drinks. He settled on one that fulfilled the characteristics he sought: refreshing and thirst-quenching. Grigg introduced his new soft drink two weeks before the stock market crashed in October 1929. It was a caramel-colored, lemon-lime soda, which he positioned as a drink with a "flavor wallop" to market alongside the already-successful Howdy Orange drink.

It cost more than its competition. It also carried the burden of an unwieldy name, "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda," and it competed against more than 600 lemon-lime soft drinks already in the marketplace. In spite of all the obstacles, the new brand sold well. Shortly afterwards, Grigg changed the brand's name to 7UP.

Acknowledging the success of the 7UP trademark in 1936, Grigg changed the name of The Howdy Corporation to The Seven-Up Company. By the late 1940s, 7UP had become the third best-selling soft drink in the world.

In 1970, The Seven-Up Company introduced sugar-free 7UP, which was an immediate success among the growing number of calorie-conscious Americans. It was named
Diet 7UP in 1979.

In June 1978, Philip Morris acquired The Seven Up Company, then  sold the domestic operations to a private investment group in 1986. The company was merged with
Dr Pepper Company, and the new management team consolidated administrative functions of The Seven-Up Company at the Dallas headquarters of Dr Pepper Company. Manufacturing of 7UP products remained at the company's St. Louis facility.

In early 1987, Cherry 7UP and Diet Cherry 7UP were introduced. Marketed to young people, the new products were designed as light, refreshing additions to the prestigious family of 7UP brand products and met with instant success across the country.

With the March 1995 acquisition of Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Companies, Inc. by Cadbury Schweppes, 7UP became part of Cadbury Beverages North America.

In 2010, 7UP was reformulated with a crisper, cleaner taste and given a "ridiculously bubbly" new look.

Today, 7UP is part of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, an integrated refreshment beverage business marketing more than 50 beverage brands throughout North America.