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1910–Present · San Juan · Inventor • Agricultural Professor

Inventor of the original Coco López cream of coconut, born in 1910 in San Juan. López Irizarry was an agricultural professor at the University of Puerto Rico. In the early 1950s, using grant funds awarded to the university by the government, he worked on developing a practical way to extract cream from coconut pulp, which at the time was a difficult process. By blending coconut cream with a precise proportion of natural cane sugar, he created the original Coco López. The product soon became a key ingredient in the famous piña colada, which made its first appearance in 1954. López Irizarry became a millionaire, and Coco López expanded internationally, with distribution in approximately 50 countries, including markets in Europe, Japan, Central America, and the United States.