Despite the Minute Maid entry into the chilled juice sector, Tropicana was the main beneficiary of the faster growth of chilled juice versus frozen concentrate. Whereas in the late s chilled juice accounted for only 20 percent of the overall orange juice market, by the late s it accounted for 31 percent. The health of Tropicana was reflected in an endless stream of suitors that attempted to woo the company in the s. On three separate occasions--in April , June , and July Tropicana and Kellogg, the cereal giant which sought to extend its breakfast offerings to include orange juice, agreed in principal to merge only to have Rossi walk away from the deal before it became final.
Following the third failed Kellogg takeover, articles in the press focused on Rossi's inability to "let go"--the company founder still controlled 20 percent of Tropicana stock, dominated a more or less rubber-stamp board of directors, and held onto the positions of chairman, CEO, and president at the age of Observers also worried about the company's lack of a succession plan.
In October Rossi finally gave up the presidency, appointing to that post Kenneth A. Barnebey, an executive vice-president and director who had joined the company in as sales supervisor. The acquisition immediately ran into regulatory difficulties, and in a Federal Trade Commission FTC administrative law judge ruled that the purchase violated antitrust law because Beatrice could have expanded its own chilled juice brand--which had a market share of one percent--instead of buying Tropicana.
The judge ordered Beatrice to divest Tropicana and pay to the government any Tropicana-derived profits. Following Beatrice's appeal, the FTC overturned the judge's ruling in , finding that the acquisition was not illegal.
Barnebey headed up Tropicana Products following the acquisition but by Richard Walrack, a year Beatrice veteran, had taken over as president of the Beatrice subsidiary Rossi died in at the age of Two important events in shook the orange juice industry and intensified the "orange juice wars.
That year the declining frozen concentrate sector was led by Minute Maid's 25 percent share, with Citrus Hill holding seven percent and Tropicana four percent.
Tropicana still held the top spot in the rapidly growing chilled juice sector with a 28 percent share, with Minute Maid claiming 18 percent and Citrus Hill nine percent. The second key event of was an orange freeze which forced Tropicana to raise the price of its not-from-concentrate chilled juice three times in quick succession.
Amazingly, the company saw no drop-off in purchasing, as customers were clearly willing to pay a premium for what they perceived to be a superior product--the not-from-concentrate juice.
Funds from the higher prices were used to begin expanding the Tropicana brand outside of its strongholds in the Northeast and Southeast. Around this time, Tropicana--with the help of Beatrice--became more sophisticated in its marketing and product positioning. It rebranded its not-from-concentrate chilled juice Tropicana Pure Premium, while the from-concentrate version, which it had sold for a number of years, was first called Gold 'n Pure and then Tropicana Season's Best.
Under Beatrice, Tropicana was also more aggressive about introducing new products, such as the debuted Tropicana Pure Premium HomeStyle orange juice, which featured added pulp.
Meanwhile the door to the Tropicana president's office became a revolving one, as Walrack resigned in June for "personal reasons," and his replacement--Wesley M. Thompson, who had been hired away from a Coca-Cola executive marketing position--did the same only nine months later.
Stephen J. Volk, who had previously worked at PepsiCo, was named president in March Sales in the United States of chilled orange juice outpaced concentrate for the first time in , as consumers continued to buy increasing amounts of convenience foods.
Tropicana was well-positioned to take advantage of this trend. Over the next two years, Beatrice was stripped of much of its assets to pay down debt. Tropicana was part of this asset sale; it was sold to The Seagram Company Ltd. Under Seagram, Tropicana continued to expand within the United States, becoming a truly national brand for the first time.
Also in an aggressive expansion mode, Minute Maid aimed squarely at Tropicana with the introduction of its own not-from-concentrate chilled juice brand, Minute Maid Premium Choice. Tropicana subsequently sued Coca-Cola over its advertising and packaging slogan for Premium Choice, which included the phrase "straight from the orange. Despite the lawsuit, by Minute Maid had That year, however, Tropicana edged past Minute Maid in the overall U.
Tropicana and Minute Maid were soon battling anew to gain share in the aftermath of Citrus Hill's withdrawal. Tropicana gained the initial upper hand, and by had extended its lead in the overall orange juice market to a somewhat comfortable Even while it was ascending to the top spot, Tropicana continued to be beset by management turnover. Robert L. Freedman of the Wall Street Journal. PepsiCo is selling Tropicana. PepsiCo PEP CEO Ramon Laguarta said in the press release that the sale will "free us to concentrate on our current portfolio of diverse offerings, including growing our portfolio of healthier snacks, zero-calorie beverages, and products like SodaStream which are focused on being better for people and the planet.
Funds from the sale will be used to its strengthen the company's balance sheet and is expected to close later this year or early depending on regulatory approvals. PepsiCo's juice business has been a drag on its bottom line. Sales of orange juice have been been declining steadily over the past decade, despite a slight increase in sales last year because of the pandemic.
Read More. Some consumers have turned against regular fruit juices. Traditional fruit juice, once thought of as healthy, has been recast as a source of empty calories and sugar. Today, fresh-pressed green juices, water and other low-calorie beverages have inherited that health halo. Plus, regular juice was long marketed as a breakfast drink. When more people started eating breakfast on the go, juice got left behind.
Guggenheim analyst Laurent Grandet wrote in a note on Tuesday that the move is "smart and bold" because Tropicana and Naked are "dilutive to both the top and bottom lines" of Pepsi. By visiting the Tropicana Mixology site, you affirm that you are of legal drinking age in the country where the site is being accessed.
Bottled sunshine since We've been bringing brightness to the table for over 70 years—and we have the same passion for juice as when we started. See what we are doing to bring you the best tasting, nutritious juice you know and love. Rossi, who arrived in the U. He founded Tropicana in with the mission of making the goodness of the finest fruit accessible to everyone. He developed flash pasteurization and pioneered orange juice transport in via train from Florida to New York.
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