The Big Gulp was introduced in 1976 by Dennis Potts, the merchandise manager for
7-Eleven in the
Southern California market in the 1970s. Wanting to help lagging sales at the stores,
The Coca-Cola Company suggested to Potts that they use a then-unheard of 32 ounce cup (940 ml) for their drinks. At the time, the average
Coca-Cola bottle contained , while the largest fountain drink available was at
McDonald's at . Despite Potts's objections, he agreed to send a case of to a 7-Eleven location in
Orange County. Much to his surprise, the store sold out of the cups within a week, prompting 7-Eleven to expand the Big Gulp line nationwide. Shortly after the initial rollout of the Big Gulp, 7-Eleven changed suppliers and went from using cups that mimicked milk cartons to the current circular design, eventually forcing automakers to change the design of cupholders due to the Big Gulp's success. Called Big Gulp because it was initially the largest such drink available at any retailer, 7-Eleven eventually introduced larger sizes. In 1986, they introduced the
Super Big Gulp, followed by the
Double Gulp in 1989 (later reduced to ), and eventually as limited time offerings the
X-Treme Gulp and
Team Gulp. Much like the Big Gulp's sister
Slurpee line, the Big Gulp was originally served behind the counter by 7-Eleven employees. However, by the mid-1980s fountain machines were placed on the main sales floor and offered as a self-service option, making the Big Gulp line the first self-service fountain drink, something that would become the industry standard by the 1990s. Following the acquisition of rival chains such as A-Plus, Speedway, and Stripes, 7-Eleven introduced the Big Gulp line at those stores in a mostly cosmetic change, as the Big Gulp cups replaced those stores' existing fountain cups. ==Sizes==