Sunny D was created in 1964 in Florida. In 1989 it was bought by Procter and Gamble (P&G) who carried out initial test marketing in 1997 on what was then called Sunny Delight.

In April 1998 Sunny Delight was launched in the UK.

Sunny Delight Light was launched in October 2000.

In 2002 the juice content of Sunny Delight was increased to 15% and no added sugar varieties were added, replacing the Sunny Delight Light variation.

Consumer research identified that most people called the soft drink Sunny D so, in 2003, the product was rebranded to Sunny D.

In August 2004 the Sunny Delight Beverages Company (SDBC) bought Sunny D from Procter and Gamble. One of the first initiatives of the new owners was to create the Sunny D Parents Advisory Group. This group was recruited during Autumn 2005 with the first meeting held in November 2005.