| Slush Puppie | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Food and beverage |
| Founder: | Will Radcliff |
| Owner: | J&J Snack Foods |
Slush Puppie (stylized as SLUSH PUPPiE) is a slush beverage created in 1970, and marketed both directly by the Slush Puppie division of J&J Snack Foods, and through its Slush Puppie distributors in the United States.
A Slush Puppie has two major components; the base and the flavoring. The base is made from a special syrup that is mixed with water and then frozen. This creates a mixture resulting in pellets of ice in a sweet liquid. The taste is simply that of the flavored syrup. The brand's mascot is a white puppy named Chilly Dog wearing a blue shirt with the letter "S" and a knit hat.
Because of the glycerol, which prevent slushy drinks from freezing, it is not suitable for children under age four says the British Food Standards Agency.[1]
Slush Puppie founder Will Radcliff (1939–2014) decided to start the company after seeing a slush-making machine at a Chicago trade fair in 1970. Radcliff, his sister and their mother came up with the name "Slush Puppie" (based on hush puppy) while sitting on their front porch in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2]
The business started from a home address in Cincinnati and progressed to a single door small warehouse, to a manufacturing plant/warehouse, to a candy and tobacco distributor, to a front door repair shop, to finally a showplace building that overlooks the city of Cincinnati.[3] As the company expanded, Radcliff added additional product lines, including Thelma's frozen lemonade, Pacific Bay Smooth-E, and Lanikai Frozen Cocktails. Under Radcliff, Slush Puppie grew to $25 million in annual sales.[4]
Radcliff sold Slush Puppie to Cadbury Schweppes for $16.6 million in 2000.[5] Slush Puppie was then acquired by J & J Snack Foods, a food manufacturer based in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, on May 30, 2006.[6]