The Sour Story Behind Gatorade's Discontinued GatorGum

We may know Gatorade best for its colorful sports drinks, but that's not the only product this brand has offered over the years. Gatorade actually created its own chewing gum in the 1970s, banking on the idea that the purpose of chewing gum is to stimulate saliva production and combat dehydration.

GatorGum was sold in the flavors lemon-lime and orange, which were also Gatorade's first drink flavors. Unfortunately, we're now left to forever wonder if the next GatorGum flavor would have been fruit punch (the third Gatorade flavor) because the gum was discontinued in 1989.

As it turns out, GatorGum being discontinued boiled down to manufacturing contracts. The gum was originally produced by Fleer Corporation, with the contract between Fleer and Gatorade expiring in 1989. Sometime after the contract ended, however, Mueller Sports picked up the gum and rebranded it as Quench Gum. Quench continued marketing itself as being a solution to dry mouth during workouts.

To be clear, GatorGum production ceased in 1989, so any GatorGum you might see floating around today is a few decades old. That being said, chewing gum doesn't technically expire -– it only becomes increasingly brittle –- so if you manage to get your hands on GatorGum, you could still try it if you so choose.

Alternatively, you could try Quench Gum for a somewhat similar experience to that of GatorGum. One member of the GatorGum Facebook group commented that Quench "[isn't] bad," and that they would use it if GatorGum never returns.

Today, Quench Gum comes in a variety of flavors, including orange, lemon, grape, and fruit punch, and can be found online on places like Amazon in electrolyte-boasting variety packs. Sure, you may not find it among the most popular chewing gums at the grocery store, but for those who miss the days of GatorGum, it might be the next best thing. At least you'll get the basically same flavors.