Leonard Marsh | Snapple cofounder, 80
Leonard Marsh, 80, cofounder of the Snapple beverage brand, died Tuesday. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. of Plano, Texas, which now owns Snapple, on Thursday confirmed Mr. Marsh's death. He died at his home in Manhasset, N.Y., the New York Times reported.
Leonard Marsh, 80, cofounder of the Snapple beverage brand, died Tuesday. The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. of Plano, Texas, which now owns Snapple, on Thursday confirmed Mr. Marsh's death. He died at his home in Manhasset, N.Y., the New York Times reported.
Snapple began in New York in 1972 as Unadulterated Food Products, which sold natural fruit juices to health-food stores. Mr. Marsh, a window washer who would later serve as chief executive officer of Snapple, launched the business on the side with his brother-in-law Hyman Golden and childhood friend Arnold Greenberg.
The trio didn't introduce the brand name until 1980.
Snapple was considered a leader in the "new age" beverage movement. Its unusual flavor combinations of tea and juice, along with quirky advertising, were a hit with consumers who were demanding drinks with natural ingredients.
Quaker Oats Co. bought Snapple for $1.7 billion in 1994. - AP