Ramón Lopez-Irizarry (July 25, 1897 – October 8, 1982) was an educator and scientist who invented an easier way to extract the cream from the coconut pulp and developed the original formula of Coco López.

Early years

Ramón López-Irizarry, born in

Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Cabo Rojo (, ) is a city and municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropolitan area as well as the larger Mayagüez–San Germán–Cabo Rojo Combined Statistical Area. H ...

, was a professor of agricultural sciences at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and ...

. In the late 1940s, the

Government of Puerto Rico The government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government with separation of powers, subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. The main problem was extracting the coconut cream from the pulp which was a difficult task. López-Irizarry discovered an easier way by blending the cream from the hearts of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

coconuts with an exact proportion of natural

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and ref ...

. He named the product which he developed ''Coco López''. López-Irizarry kept the ingredients of the product a secret. The project was so successful that López-Irizarry soon left the University and commercialized it. Coco López became the basis for the famous piña colada drink, which made its first appearance in 1954. The piña colada is also known as the "Official Beverage of Puerto Rico".

Later years

López-Irizarry was very successful. He packaged his product at the Industrias La Famosa canning factory, owned by Wilbert Parkhurst and family, for years. In 1966, he sold the brand to the Parkhurst family who later forged a deal with David Ballachow to distribute the product in the United States.Slammed Magazine
/ref> Eventually the Parkhurst family sold the brand to the Borden company. López-Irizarry's Coco López can be found in

supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more l ...

worldwide.

Personal life

López-Irizarry was married to Georgina Ramírez-Banuchi and had four children: Rosabel, Myrna, Ramón and Jorge. He resided in Ocean Park, San Juan, where he spent his last years. Ramón López-Irizarry died a multi-millionaire on October 8, 1982.Famous Puerto Ricans
/ref>

Notes

References

External links