Dark Days for Orange Juice Producers

There used to be an old marketing campaign which said “A Day Without Orange Juice is Like a Day Without Sunshine.” Well, these must be some dark, dreary days as American’s consumption of the citrus beverage is steadily declining.

Sales dropped almost every year for the last decade. Last year, orange juice sales hit their lowest level in at least 15 years, according to Nielsen. Over the same period, per-capita consumption fell roughly 40%. And this year is looking to be another rough one for big orange.

The reasons for the declined popularity of orange juice are many. Price increases due to higher production costs have shut out many consumers. Changing breakfast habits and the desire for less sugar in our diet has also made the beverage less desirable. Finally, many of those who do want to drink O.J. prefer to make it themselves.

Increasingly, consumers seem to be accepting the challenge posed by the 1980s Minute Maid tagline: “For juice that tastes fresher, you’ll have to squeeze it yourself.” The orange industry probably didn’t expect that two decades later, Americans might be happy to try.

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton