Slush Puppie
.svg) Branding for Slush Puppie products | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food and beverage |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Will Radcliff |
| Owner | J&J Snack Foods |
Slush Puppie (stylized as SLUSH PUPPiE) is a slush beverage created in 1970, and marketed both directly by the Slush Puppie division of J&J Snack Foods, and through its Slush Puppie distributors in the United States.
A Slush Puppie has two major components; the base and the flavoring. The base is made from a special syrup that is mixed with water and then frozen. This creates a mixture resulting in pellets of ice in a sweet liquid. The taste is simply that of the flavored syrup. The brand's mascot is a white puppy named Chilly Dog wearing a blue shirt with the letter "S" and a knit hat.
History
Slush Puppie founder Will Radcliff (1939–2014) decided to start the company after seeing a slush-making machine at a Chicago trade fair in 1970.[1] Radcliff, his sister and their mother came up with the name "Slush Puppie" (based on hush puppy) while sitting on their front porch in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2]
The business started from a home address in Cincinnati and progressed to a single door small warehouse, to a manufacturing plant/warehouse, to a candy and tobacco distributor, to a front door repair shop, to finally a showplace building that overlooks the city of Cincinnati.[3] As the company expanded, Radcliff added additional product lines, including Thelma's frozen lemonade, Pacific Bay Smooth-E, and Lanikai Frozen Cocktails. Under Radcliff, Slush Puppie grew to $25 million in annual sales.[1]
Radcliff sold Slush Puppie to Cadbury Schweppes for $16.6 million in 2000.[1][4] Slush Puppie was then acquired by J & J Snack Foods, a food manufacturer based in New Jersey, on May 30, 2006.[1][5]
References
- ^ a b c d Vitello, Paul (2014-09-22). "Will Radcliff, 74, Creator of the Slush Puppie, Dies". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
- ^ Sewell, Dan (2014-09-23). "Will Radcliff: Businessman who made a fortune taking Slush Puppies from the US to shops round the world". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
- ^ "With marketing, new flavors, Slush Puppies do cold business" Archived 2022-09-12 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press in The Vindicator, January 26, 1998.
- ^ "Cadbury Buys Slush Puppie" Archived 2013-04-07 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 21 December 2000.
- ^ "J & J Snack Foods acquires Slush Puppie". Food Business News. May 30, 2006. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.