End of the Line for Frozen Juice from Concentrate

Frozen juice from concentrate will be discontinued

A core memory from childhood is about to go the way of the rotary phone, the fax machine and CD player.

It's frozen juice from concentrate.

By April Minute Maid will discontinue producing frozen juices as consumer demand declines and tastes have changed.

I remember when we bought these canned juices and I would wait for them to thaw out for a bit before opening the can and turning it upside down for the bright orange cylinder-shaped slush to drop with a thud into the juice container before adding three cans of cold water and then mixing it with a wooden spoon. Voila! Instant orange juice.

Minute Maid makes not only orange juice, but also lemonade, Fruitopia fruit punch, and Five Alive juice blend.

But these days consumers don't want the hassle of having to make juice from concentrate when they can just buy it in a bottle from the supermarket, though juice consumption has fallen because of concerns of the amount of sugar in these drinks.

It turns out frozen juice has been around since World War II when food scientists had to improve food and beverage quality for American soldiers. 

Then when Bing Crosby collaborated with Minute Maid on an animated commercial featuring the juice in the late 1940s, the product took off in the domestic market.

But now nearly 80 years later, only 7 percent of consumers are buying frozen juice from concentrate; more people are drinking water or probiotic drinks like kombucha.

I'm the latter category of drinking water, but it was fun making orange juice back in the day...