7 Up

7 Up (also written as 7Up or Seven Up) is a lemon-lime soda without caffeine that first appeared in 1928. In the United States, Keurig Dr Pepper owns the brand and its recipe; PepsiCo owns the rights everywhere else. While PepsiCo handles distribution in most countries, Britvic—PepsiCo's official UK distributor—handles it in the United Kingdom.

History

Charles Leiper Grigg created 7 Up. In 1920, he founded the Howdy Corporation in St. Louis.

He developed the lemon-lime formula in 1928, and the drink launched the year before the 1929 stock market crash. The "SEVEN-UP" trademark was granted in 1928, and a 1929 ad featured a flying "7up" logo. From 1930 to 1931, the product was called "7up Lithiated Lemon Soda," with a tilted "up" in the logo and on paper labels.

A common story claims the drink was originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda," but investigations have found little evidence that name ever existed. "Bib-Label" actually referred to a paper tag hung around the bottle neck, not the drink's name. The soda did originally contain lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug, as one of many patent medicines popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1936, the federal government forced the manufacturer to drop several health claims, and because lithium was no longer an ingredient, the name was shortened to just "7 Up" in 1937.

The name's origin is unclear. Britvic says it comes from seven main ingredients; others suggest the number referred to lithium's atomic mass (about 7). Britvic also claims the name referenced the seven-ounce bottles 7 Up used, while Coca-Cola and most other sodas came in six-ounce bottles.

The founding families kept 7 Up private until 1978, when they sold it to Philip Morris. In 1986, Philip Morris split the business: PepsiCo bought the international division, and an investment group led by Hicks & Haas bought the U.S. operations. In 1988, 7 Up merged with Dr Pepper in the U.S. to form Dr Pepper/Seven Up; Cadbury Schweppes bought that combined company in 1995.

In 2008, the Dr Pepper Snapple Group spun off from Cadbury Schweppes. In 2018, Keurig Green Mountain acquired Dr Pepper Snapple Group, creating Keurig Dr Pepper. In 2026, that merger will effectively reverse after KDP's 2025 purchase of JDE Peet's and the subsequent separation of its coffee and beverage businesses.

Formula

7 Up's formula has changed several times since 1928. In 2006, the U.S. version was reformulated to be marketed as "100% natural": the chelating agent calcium disodium EDTA was removed, and sodium citrate was replaced with potassium citrate to lower sodium. This version contains no fruit juice and, in the U.S., is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Some public health groups challenged the "natural" claim because of how HFCS is made. In 2007, after the Center for Science in the Public Interest threatened a lawsuit, 7 Up stopped calling itself "100% natural" and instead promoted "100% Natural Flavors." This controversy doesn't affect other countries, like the UK, where HFCS isn't commonly used in foods, including 7 Up. In 2011, 7 Up began test marketing "7 Up Retro," sweetened with sugar instead of HFCS, with labels reading "Made With Real Sugar."

Barbecue sauces and marinades

Variants in the U.S. include Regular and Low Calorie. Internationally, there are other versions. In 2007, Cadbury Schweppes partnered with Vita Food Products to produce barbecue sauces and marinades flavored with Dr Pepper, 7 Up, and A&W Root Beer.

Advertising campaigns

In the 1930s, metal pedestrian crossing signs reading "Drink 7up Safety First" appeared in many U.S. cities. In the 1950s, "Fresh-Up Freddie," a rooster mascot created by Disney, appeared in commercials, teaching viewers how to host parties with plenty of 7 Up. Freddie, voiced by Paul Frees, resembled a mix of Panchito Pistoles and the Aracuan Bird from The Three Caballeros, often wore human clothes, and appeared in 1957 Zorro commercial breaks, where he fought Pete the Cat. In the late 1960s and 1980s, Geoffrey Holder starred in the "Uncola" ad campaign, contrasting 7 Up with colas by holding cola nuts in one hand and a lemon and lime in the other, calling them "Uncola nuts." In 1987, 7 Up introduced...