Hawaiian Punch

Leo's Hawaiian Punch was created as an ice cream topping syrup in 1934 by A.W. Leo, Tom Yeats, and Ralph Harrison in a converted garage in Fullerton, California. It originally contained 5 fruit juices: orange, pineapple, passion fruit, guava and papaya - all imported from Hawaii. Although customers later discovered that it made an appealing drink when mixed with water, Hawaiian Punch (with "Leo's" name omitted) was only available wholesale in gallon glass jugs to ice cream parlors and soda fountains. The original company was named Pacific Citrus Products (PCP).

In 1946, Reuben P. Hughes purchased the company and renamed it the Pacific Hawaiian Products Company and quickly set about making Hawaiian Punch Base available directly to consumers in 1 quart glass containers. The immediate post-war period saw the introduction of ready-to-serve Hawaiian Punch in 46 oz tins (1950) & frozen concentrate (1955). Sometime around 1954 the brand was expanded to a 2nd flavor, Sunshine Yellow. The original red Hawaiian Punch became the "Rosy" flavor. At that same time a sixth fruit flavor, apricot puree, was added to the formula. The Sunshine Yellow flavor omitted the orange juice of the original and replaced the original red food coloring with yellow. By 1955 Hawaiian Punch had become a national brand.

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company bought Pacific Hawaiian in 1962 and later transferred it to its newly acquired Del Monte subsidiary in 1981. Procter & Gamble bought Hawaiian Punch from Del Monte Foods,[2] spun off from RJR Nabisco in 1989, a year later. Procter & Gamble sold Hawaiian Punch to Cadbury Schweppes in 1999.[3][4] Dr Pepper Snapple was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008. In 2018 Dr Pepper Snapple merged with Keurig Green Mountain to become Keurig Dr Pepper.

In 1962, the Atherton-Privett ad agency created a 20-second commercial to advertise Hawaiian Punch drink. The commercial was produced by John Urie and Associates in Hollywood. Jean Guy Jacques was the director; Bob Guidi and John Urie designed the two characters, Punchy and Oaf. Ross Martin did Punchy's voice, "Hey! How 'bout a nice Hawaiian Punch?" and John Urie did Oaf's line, "Sure". Rod Scribner animated the commercials. Sam Cornell also worked on the later versions. Oaf never learned to say "No" and he was always punched. The commercial ended with Punchy leaning on a can of Hawaiian Punch, saying, "Wasn't that a refreshing commercial?" The commercial won many awards. After airing in February 1962 on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, the Punchy commercial was so special that Jack Paar said, "Let's play that again... the second time is free." The Punchy and Oaf characters were used in the product's commercials well into the 1980s, and again for a period in the early 1990s.

Hawaiian Punch also featured in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis theme park maker video game in the Kiosk and Rest Area.

• Official website
• History of Hawaiian Punch