Frozen juice concentrate, the product that put Minute Maid (originally the Florida Foods Corporation) on the map, is being discontinued in North America by Coca-Cola, according to multiple reports.
“With the juice category growing strongly, we’re focusing on products that better match what our consumers want,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson told Food Dive this week. It said the juice concentrate would be leaving shelves this quarter.
Minute Maid’s history goes back to 1945, when Florida Foods Corporation won a contract to provide powdered orange juice. The following year, it started selling concentrated orange juice under the name Vacuum Foods Corporation.
This product allowed consumers access to orange juice year-round. Coca-Cola said that it even created a whole new retail beverage category.
Consumers heard Bing Crosby sing the praises of the product in a national audio campaign in 1948, kicking off a 30-year collaboration with the crooner. In 1949, Vacuum Foods became Minute Maid, the name of its key frozen orange juice product. Around 20 years later, the company was acquired by Coca-Cola.
Things changed in 1973, when Coca-Cola introduced ready-to-drink orange juice under the Minute Maid label. Instead of waiting for the frozen concentrate to thaw, customers could enjoy juice right away. Lemonade and fruit punch options were added to the brand in the 1980s, as well as the “first-ever calcium-fortified 100% orange juice.”
As read-to-drink juice became the go-to, frozen concentrate remained on shelves. Per the Coca-Cola website, the cans of slushy juice are available in multiple kinds of orange juice flavors as well as lemonade, limeade, pink lemonade and raspberry lemonade.
“With the juice category growing strongly, we’re focusing on products that better match what our consumers want. Frozen products will be discontinued in Q1 2026, with in-store inventory available while supplies last,” a spokesperson for Coca-Cola told NBC News.
Several outlets pointed out that, despite their slip from groundbreaking to antique, the frozen cans held a nostalgic charm for many. The Takeout noted that commenters on food influencer @markie_devo’s post about the news were filled with people who said the cans were a staple of their childhood.