Big Gulp facts for kids
Big Gulp translite at a Speedway on Neville Island in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States in 2022.
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| Type | Fountain drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | 7-Eleven, A-Plus, Speedway, Stripes Convenience Stores |
| Distributor | 7-Eleven |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1976 |
The Big Gulp is a very large fountain drink sold at 7-Eleven stores. You can also find it at other stores like A-Plus, Speedway, and Stripes Convenience Stores. The name "Big Gulp" first referred to the original 32-ounce size. But now, there are many different sizes available, from smaller to even bigger!
Contents
The Story Behind Big Gulp Drinks
How the Big Gulp Started
The idea for the Big Gulp came about in 1976. A man named Dennis Potts worked for 7-Eleven in Southern California. He was looking for ways to help stores sell more drinks. The Coca-Cola Company suggested something new: a 32-ounce cup. This was a huge size at the time!
Back then, a regular Coca-Cola bottle was only 16 ounces. Even the largest fountain drink at McDonald's was just 20 ounces. So, a 32-ounce cup was truly massive.
From Idea to Big Success
Dennis Potts was not sure about the giant cup at first. But he agreed to send 500 of them to a 7-Eleven store in Orange County. To his surprise, the store sold all the cups in just one week! This success led 7-Eleven to offer the Big Gulp all over the country.
Soon after, 7-Eleven changed the cups. They went from milk carton-shaped cups to the round design we see today. The Big Gulp became so popular that car makers even had to change how they designed cup holders in cars!
Choosing Your Gulp Size
The name "Big Gulp" was chosen because it was the biggest drink available anywhere. 7-Eleven worked with the Sanford Advertising Agency to create the name and slogan. The slogan was: "7-Eleven’s Big Gulp gives you another kind of freedom: Freedom of choice."
Over time, 7-Eleven introduced even larger sizes:
- In 1986, the Super Big Gulp came out, holding 44 ounces.
- In 1989, the Double Gulp arrived, which was 64 ounces (later changed to 50 ounces).
- For special times, they offered the X-Treme Gulp and Team Gulp.
- The Team Gulp is the largest, holding an amazing 128 ounces! It is still the biggest fountain drink in the world.
7-Eleven also made a smaller version called the Lil' Big Gulp. It holds 22 ounces and was first just called "Gulp."
Self-Service Revolution
Just like the famous Slurpee drinks, Big Gulps were first poured by 7-Eleven employees behind the counter. But by the mid-1980s, something big changed. Fountain machines were moved to the main part of the store. This meant customers could fill their own drinks!
The Big Gulp became the first self-service fountain drink. This idea was so popular that it became the standard for the entire industry by the 1990s.
Later, when 7-Eleven bought other store chains like A-Plus, Speedway, and Stripes, they brought the Big Gulp to those stores too. The Big Gulp cups simply replaced the old fountain cups at those locations.
