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In 1972, Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden, and Arnold Greenberg founded Unadulterated Food Products in Valley Stream, Long Island.
Their part-time fruit juice business for health food stores grew into Snapple.
In 1987, Unadulterated Food Products launched Snapple.
The drink's fizzy bubbles distinguished it from standard apple juices at the time.
The founders combined "snappy" (referring to the carbonation's crisp taste) and "apple" to create the name "Snapple”.
That same year in 1987, Snapple launched its first tea product—a lemon-flavored iced tea.
It was a smart move as its tea drinks became their top-selling product line.
In 1991, Snapple launched TV commercials starring employee Wendy Kaufman reading real customer letters on camera.
Her natural warmth and direct responses to fans made Snapple feel like a friend.
The personal approach fueled Snapple's sales growth throughout the early 1990s.
Thomas H. Lee bought Snapple for $140 million in 1992.
Lee, who ran the investment firm THL Partners, saw untapped value in Snapple.
Eight months later, he listed Snapple on the New York Stock Exchange, selling shares to public investors.
In 1994, Quaker Oats bought Snapple for $1.7 billion.
The sale earned Lee’s investment group $900 million in profit.
Quaker Oats failed to make Snapple work within their business.
Their distribution system, built for shelf-stable cereals and sports drinks, clashed with Snapple's need for cold storage and rapid delivery.
Store shelves sat empty while drinks warmed in warehouses.
By 1997, Quaker Oats cut their losses.
They sold Snapple to Triarc for $300 million—a $1.4 billion loss on their initial purchase.
It was one of costliest deals of all time.
Triarc sold Snapple to Cadbury Schweppes three years later for $1.45 billion.
Under Cadbury Schweppes' ownership, Snapple operated as part of the company's beverage portfolio alongside brands like Dr Pepper and 7 Up.
In 2008, Cadbury Schweppes split its beverage business from its candy operations, forming Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
This company later merged with Keurig Green Mountain to create Keurig Dr Pepper, which owns Snapple today.
Snapple signed a $166 million contract with New York City's public schools in 2003, becoming the only company allowed to sell drinks in school vending machines.
Inside schools, water fountains gave way to Snapple machines stocked with fruit drinks and bottled water.
Supporters celebrated the money flowing to classrooms, while critics pointed to rising childhood obesity rates and questioned whether schools should profit from selling sugary beverages.
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