Slurpee Day Date in the current year: July 11, 2024

7-Eleven is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores with headquarters in Dallas, Texas. It has over 78,000 stores in multiple countries and territories, including Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Vietnam.

The history of 7-Eleven dates back to 1927, when John Jefferson Green of Southland Ice Company began selling basic products (bread, eggs, milk) from an ice house storefront in Dallas with permission from Joe C. Thompson, one of the founding directors of Southland.

Thompson eventually bought the company and turned it into a chain of retail convenience stores operating under the name Tote’m Stores. The franchise adopted its current name, 7-Eleven, in 1946 to reflect is new unprecedented hours of operation (7 am to 11 pm).

Slurpee is the signature product of 7-Eleven and its subsidiary convenience store chains A-Plus and Speedway. It is a carbonated frozen drink (slushy) that has been available at all 7-Eleven stores since the mid-1960s.

Frozen beverages were created thanks to Omar Knedlik, who invented a machine for making frozen drinks and founded The Icee Company in 1958. 7-Eleven tried out Icee machines in its stores and struck a deal with The Icee Company that allowed it to sell slushies in its stores. To avoid direct competition, 7-Eleven was required to sell the product under a different name. That’s how Slurpee was born.

7-Eleven began to sell Slurpees in 1966. Since then, Slurpee has become the most well-known brand owned by the company and one of the most popular frozen drinks. More than 11.5 million Slurpees are consumed by 7-Eleven, A-Plus and Speedway customers around the world every day. Unsurprisingly, 40% of the drinks are sold during the summer months.

7-Eleven launched Slurpee Day in 2002. The chain celebrated its 75th anniversary by giving customers a free Slurpee. The event was originally named 7-Eleven Day, but customers consistently referred to it as Slurpee Day, Free Slurpee Day or National Free Slurpee Day, so 7-Eleven eventually relented and officially renamed the holiday.

Slurpee Day is 7-Eleven’s way to show appreciation for their customers by giving them their favorite drink for free. Every year anyone can get a free small Slurpee drink from a 7-Eleven store. In 2022, 7-Eleven gave out free Slurpees for eleven days to celebrate their 95th anniversary!

So if you’re a fan of Slurpees, don’t miss your chance to get a free drink on July 11 (just be prepared to wait in line because you surely won’t be the only one celebrating). Slurpee Day is the perfect occasion to try a new Slurpee flavor or enjoy a special limited-time-only flavor that 7-Eleven usually offers on Slurpee Day.