The company was originally incorporated in 1945 as Florida Foods, Inc, then later became Vacuum Foods Corporation.[3] It employs over 1,900 people and has over $2 billion in sales (1997 est.).[4]
In 1945, the National Research Corporation (NRC) of Boston, Massachusetts, developed a method of dehydrating medical products for use in the U.S. war effort. The US Army wanted to extend this process to nutritious food, so NRC created a new subsidiary, the Florida Foods Corporation. Led by John M. Fox,[5] Florida Foods Corporation won a government contract worth $750,000 for 500,000 lb (227,000 kg) of powdered orange juice for the war.[4] The war ended and the contract was canceled before the factory could be built, but with investment, the company moved forward with a product.[4]
Rather than selling powder to the public market, the company decided to create frozen orange juice concentrate, using a process that eliminated 80 percent of the water in orange juice. A Bostonmarketing firm H. A. Loudon Advertising came up with the name Minute Maid, implying the juice was quick and easy to prepare.[4]
The first shipment took place in April 1946. The same month, the company was renamed Vacuum Foods Corporation.[3] With limited funds for advertising, Fox himself went door to door giving free samples, until demand skyrocketed.[4] In October 1948, TIME magazine announced that entertainer Bing Crosby was to employ a 5-day a week radio show to promote Minute Maid. The magazine article gave further details:
"Minute Maid (retail price: 29¢ a pint and a half) got into the field first in 1945, at a new $2,300,000 plant in Plymouth, Fla. With little cash to advertise, it lost $450,262 the first two years. Last year it finally turned the corner. Says Vacuum’s President John M. Fox: “Why, this orange juice thing is the wonder of the grocery world. Ask anybody.” Anybody in the frozen food industry agreed—and Birds Eye, Snow Crop and others began to put out their own concentrate. Nevertheless, Vacuum’s sales increased so much that President Fox announced last week that the net profit for its last fiscal year was $179,865. Demand is so great, said Fox, that Vacuum has had to allocate shipments and is thinking of setting up a California plant. The shortage temporarily takes some of the bloom off the Crosby deal. But Vacuum hopes to step up output enough to fill the new orders Crosby will bring in. And in the scramble for the new market, Vacuum figures that Crosby is just the Pied Piper needed to lure customers away from the old brand names."[6]
The Crosby radio show ran until October 1950 and the ability to purchase fresh-tasting orange juice at any time of year, far from where oranges are grown, proved popular, and led to the company's national success.[4]
In October 1949, the company adopted the name Minute Maid Corp.[4] In late 1954, Minute Maid purchased rival Snow Crop.[7]
The Minute Maid company was purchased by Coca-Cola in 1960.[4]
In 1967, Minute Maid relocated to Houston, Texas, and joined with Duncan Foods to form the Coca-Cola Foods division.
[8]
In 1970, the company was involved in a scandal in the United States about bad housing, often referred to as "slave quarters", and working conditions of Minute Maid farm laborers in Florida. The United Farm Workers stepped in to support the workers. NBC reported on the issue in a 1970 documentary called Chet Huntley's Migrant: An NBC White Paper.[9] In response to the bad press and a boycott in Florida, the company established a program that improved the workers' situation.[citation needed]
In 1973, the company released its first ready-to-drink, chilled orange juice product in the United States, entering an "orange juice war" with Tropicana.[4]
In 1996, the company's name was changed from Minute Maid Corp. to The Minute Maid Company.[4]
The Coca-Cola Company sold its Minute Maid orange groves in Florida in 1997. The United Farm Workers again took the side of the orange growers during this time.[10]
In 2001, the Minute Maid division of Coca-Cola launched the Simply Orange brand, which "uses a computer-modeled blending of citrus sources with the intent for the consumer to enjoy a uniform taste year-round".[5]
Former logo used since 2017.
In 2002, Minute Maid bought the naming rights to re-brand the Houston Astros ballpark from Enron Field to Minute Maid Park.[8]
In 2003, Minute Maid's division fully merged with Coca-Cola North America.[8]
Pure Squeezed Orange Juice, Pulp Free Pure Squeezed Orange Juice, Home Squeezed Style Orange Juice, Original Orange Juice, Pulp Free Orange Juice, Low Acid Orange Juice, Apple Juice, Apple Grape, Grapefruit Juice, Fruit Blend, Tropical Orange, and Mixed Berry
Simply Orange Juice
Fortified Juices
Original Orange Juice with Calcium and Vitamin D, Orange Tangerine with Calcium and Vitamin D
100% Orange Juice - Orange Juice drink with 100% orange juice
100% Apple Juice - Apple Juice drink with 100% apple juice (Granny Smith)
Red Sensation - 100% juice drink made with apple, raspberry, and blackcurrant juices
Minute Maid InCase Juice Drinks
Banana-Pineapple - enhanced with vitamins and calcium
Banana-Cherry -Blackcurrant - enhanced with vitamins and calcium
Minute Maid Nectar Juice Drink
Tropical - juice drink made from orange, apricot, guava, mango, passion fruit and sugar
Minute Maid In The Cafe
Orange
Strawberry
Apple
Tomato
Raisin
Peach
Dominican Republic
Simply Lemonade
In the Dominican Republic Minute Maid came to market in December 2007 with orange flavor, and in May 2008 launched the flavors of raspberry, apple and strawberry, in summer 2009 and launched the flavors of pear and carrot.
Hong Kong
Minute Maid Pulpy orange juice
Minute Maid grapefruit juice
Minute Maid lemonade juice
Minute Maid aloe vera juice
Minute Maid apple juice
Iceland
Minute Maid is sold under the brand name Tropi by company Vífilfell.
India
Minute Maid Pulpy Orange Drink - Orange Juice drink made from concentrate.
100% Orange Juice - Orange Juice drink with 100% orange juice
100% Apple Juice - Apple Juice drink with 100% apple juice
100% Tomato Juice - Tomato Juice
100% Mulityfruits - Multifruits
New Zealand
In New Zealand, Minute Maid is marketed as Keri Juice Co.[16]
Keri Apple
Keri Kitchen Pineapple
Keri Pulpy Pineapple
Keri Pulpy Orange
Keri Cranberry
Keri 50% less sugar
Pakistan
Minute Maid entered the Pakistani market in 2008. Here they have used the same advertising concept as they have used in India i.e. "where is the pulp?".
Minute Maid Pulpy Orange
Minute Maid Pulpy Tropical
Minute Maid Pulpy Nimbu/Lemon (Launched in 2012 and discontinued the same year)
Minute Maid Pulpy Mango-Orange, with real pulp bits
Minute Maid Pulpy Four Seasons, with real pulp bits
Minute Maid bite
Peru
Frugos
Romania
Marketed under the brand Cappy and has the following assortments:
Cappy Orange
Cappy Peach
Cappy Sicilian Red Orange
Cappy Pear
Cappy Sour Cherry
Russia
Minute Maid is marketed under the brand "Моя семья" (eng. "My family"). Also Minute Maid Pulpy Orange is selling under the brand "Добрый" (eng. "Kind")
Spain
Minute Maid AntiOx - Combination of fruit juices with antioxidizing properties.[18]
Orange, Raspberry and Haw, Pineapple, Blackcurrant and Plum
Minute Maid Clásicos - Unsweetened fruit juices.[18]
Orange, Peach and grape, Pineapple and grape, Multifruit
Minute Maid Duofrutas - Mix of fruit juice, skimmed milk and vitamins.[11]
Mediterranean, Tropical
Minute Maid Limón&Nada - Lemonade drink available in Spain.[19]
Classic, Mint.
Minute Maid Selección - Fruit juices and nectars.[18]
Minute Maid SojaPlus - Drink with fruit juice and soy.[18]
Latin fruits
United States
A carton of Minute Maid Premium: Berry Punch.
Minute Maid Premium Orange Juice and Premium Blends (Frozen & Refrigerated) - Fruit drinks[11]
Original, Original + Calcium, Country Style, Extra Vitamin C and E plus Zinc, Kids+, Home Squeezed Style, Home Squeezed Style + Calcium, Pulp-Free, Low Acid, Light, Orange Tangerine + Calcium, Orange Passion + Calcium
Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry Flavored Blend of 5 Juices - This product was the target of a 2014 false advertising lawsuit. POM Wonderful, a company selling 100% pomegranate juice sued the Coca-Cola company because the Minute Maid product contains only .3% pomegranate juice and 99.4% apple juice.[20][21]
Minute Maid Heart Wise - Orange juice drink naturally sourced with plant sterols.[11]
Apple Juice, Fruit Punch, Grape, Orange Tropical, Orange, Mixed Berry, Lemonade
Minute Maid Juice To Go - Juice drink marketed in plastic bottles to drink on the go.[11]
Apple, Apple Cranberry, Apple Cranberry Raspberry, Apple Grape, Berry, Citrus Blend, Cranberry, Cranberry Grape, Cranberry Lemon, Fruit Punch, Grape, Graprefruit, Lemon Raspberry, Orange, Pineapple Orange Juice, Raspberry Strawberry
Minute Maid Just 10 - Fruit punch flavored juice drink.[11]
Minute Maid Enhanced - Mango Tropical, Strawberry Kiwi, Pomegranate Berry 12-oz PET, all enhanced with yerba mate for a natural energy lift; 27% juice blend[11]
Minute Maid Lemonades and Fruit Drinks - Fruit drink.[11]
Minute Maid Multi-Vitamin - Orange juice enriched with vitamins.[11]
Minute Maid Premium Juices & Cocktails
Apple Juice, Grape Juice Cocktail, Ruby Red Grapefruit Blend, Cranberry Apple Cocktail
Disney Hundred Acre Wood 100% Juice Beverages
Apple Strawberry, Apple Grape, Apple Raspberry Peach, Apple Cherry Banana
Minute Maid Soft Drinks
Orange, Diet Orange, Lemon Lime, Diet Lemon Lime, Grape, Fruit Punch, Strawberry, Pineapple, Black Cherry
Simply Orange - premium not-from-concentrate fruit juices
Simply Orange: Grove Made (high-pulp), Country Stand (medium-pulp), Original (pulp-free), Calcium (pulp-free with 32% Dietary Reference Intake of calcium), With Mango, With Pineapple
Simply Lemonade, Simply Lemonade With Raspberry
Simply Limeade
Simply Grapefruit
Simply Apple
Minute Maid Aguas Frescas - a flavored non-carbonated juice beverage inspired by Latin American drinks.
Strawberry, hibiscus, mango, pineapple horchata.
Taiwan
Minute Maid Pulpy orange juice
Minute Maid grapefruit juice
Minute Maid lemonade juice
Minute Maid grape aloe vera juice
Minute Maid apple aloe vera juice
Minute Maid Pulpy Tropical Fruit Juice
Trinidad and Tobago
Caribbean Bottlers Ltd
Venezuela
Sonfil: Orange Juice
Vietnam
Minute Maid Teppy Orange Drink - Orange Juice drink made from concentrate.
Minute Maid original offices were located in New York.
John M Fox, president of the company announced on October 20, 1957, that Minute Maid Headquarters would be moved to a new building located on the corner of US 441 and Hwy Route 50 in Orlando, Florida.
In 2007, Coca-Cola retained New York-based Corporate Realty Consultants and Boyd Commercial LLC of Houston to sell 2000 St. James Place. The company negotiated with Planned Community Developers to lease an office building in Sugar Land Town Square.[8] Then, in January 2008, Minute Maid announced plans to move its headquarters to Sugar Land.[25] The headquarters building is located at Sugar Land's town center and opened on February 16, 2009. The city of Sugar Land gave the company a $2.4 million tax incentive to move its headquarters there.[26]
On March 6, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Coca-Cola announced it was closing Minute Maid's office in Sugar Land and would join the operations with the company's base in Atlanta, Georgia.[27]
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