Orange juice's slice of the fruit juice market has gone down for six years running, while apple juice has been on the increase. And Asda now says it's no longer selling Sunny D. Is the sun setting on OJ?
If you asked for fruit juice a few years ago, everyone would have assumed you meant orange juice. It was the default juice drink. It had been since the 1970s, when it was sold as sunshine in a glass, a slice of the Californian dream in a British suburban fridge.
But jump forward to the present - and you'll find that the consumer has changed and that orange juice, the symbol of healthy living and Mediterranean holidays, is no longer sufficient to satisfy our thirsts.
Fruit juice sales from 1999 to 2004, show that in each consecutive year the market share for orange juice fell - and that apple juice and other blended juices increased.
The figures are compiled by consultants Zenith International, which provide statistics for the trade association, the British Soft Drinks Association.
The figures are not broken down into age groups - but there are anecdotal suggestions that children are leading the move towards apple juice. Parents might prefer to use apple juice, rather than orange, as a dilutable drink for young children, says senior market analyst, Paul Tarling.
And anyone going to a children's party, will soon see the prevalence of apple juice.
Baby-boom drink
Orange juice still remains the biggest juice drink, representing 69% of sales. But the new century has seen a steady decline in dominance, down from 77% in 1999.
And if OJ is beginning to seem a little old fashioned, that might be because it's been around for a long time.
In Britain, the association between orange juice and a healthy lifestyle goes back to wartime and post-war rationing years, says Elizabeth Dowler, an expert in public health at Warwick University.
Reconstituted orange juice was provided for young children during the war - and in peace time "welfare orange juice" continued to be distributed in an attempt to improve nutrition.
This baby-boom generation, in the United States and the UK, has grown up alongside the orange juice market. And if the gentle decline continues, orange juice and the baby boomers might be seen to have risen and fallen together.
In the late 1940s in the United States, young families in their first homes, fitted with their new fridges, were buying orange juice in the form of frozen concentrate. It was aspirational, convenient and modern - Bing Crosby endorsed brands such as Minute Maid on his radio broadcasts.
Good life
In the 1950s the use of pasteurisation and waxed cartons, meant that fresh, chilled juice could reach a much wider market across the country, and be tucked neatly into the fridge door as a household essential.
By the end of the decade, the SS Tropicana, carrying orange juice from the Tropicana company, was transporting 1.5 million gallons from its production centre in Florida to New York each week.
This was a drink which symbolised good living, swimming pools and leisure - images of post-war American confidence and affluence. And by the mid-1960s, Tropicana was selling its orange juice in Europe, with France the initial market.
In Britain, emerging to a mass-market in the 1970s, orange juice was strongly connected with something exotic and sun-tanned. It was part of a "continental breakfast" or a Californian beach lifestyle - advertised with images of healthy, outdoor families.
The orange juice on offer went through its own stages of evolution, via frozen concentrate, through a syrupy drink in a jar, to cartons of fresh juice and into the current range of just-pressed varieties.
And for the last three decades of the century it had a relentlessly positive image - associated with sunshine holidays, vitality and youth. In the 1980s, it was attractive enough to be the name of a pop group.
Pint of apple?
Trading on this feelgood factor, there was also a range of orange-flavoured drinks - from orange squashes that had to be diluted, through to ready-made varieties, such as cinema legend Kia-Ora, and fizzy drinks, such as Corona and Fanta.
Among these orange drinks was Sunny D - which this week has been axed from the shelves of Asda supermarkets, because of declining sales.
Is this a sign that the future might not be so orange? Will orange juice be seen as a throwback to the sun-tan obsessed Seventies? A reminder of the first holidays in Spain?
As the market share of orange juice has fallen, apple juice has risen. Whether it's fashion or flavour, it has become a much more conspicuous drink. The market share for apple juice alone has risen by 40% in six years to 14%.
Sweet results
According to the Office for National Statistics, the volume of unconcentrated apple juice sales has risen from 129m litres in 2001 to 176m litres in 2004. In the same period, unconcentrated orange juice sales have shifted only slightly upwards, from 556m to 563m.
Fresh-pressed apple juice, once the preserve of health-food specialists, is now appearing in pubs. Last month Britvic announced that it was selling a new pressed apple juice drink to the licensing trade, responding to the demand from customers.
But it doesn't mean that Pepsico, the owners of Tropicana, will be plunged into gloom, because the drinks giant also owns the Copella apple juice brand.
And orange juice producers can point to the fact that even though market share is falling, it's part of a market that is continuing to expand, driven by continued interest in healthy living and a widening range of choices.
It's long been happy hour with orange juice. So far.
I used to love freshly squeezed bitty orange juice, but always had a fondness for apple juice. When I spotted the freshly squeezed apple juice being sold I bought some and now I prefer that to orange juice. I have fond memories of going to restaurants with my parents when I was a child and fruit juice being offered as a starter.
Emma C, London
I remember the sense of cosmopolitan sophistication when we started having "Rise 'n' Shine" powdered orange juice as a special treat for Sunday breakfast. Must have been the early Seventies.
Jo, Dundee
Ah, welfare orange juice! I loved it and it was supposed to be good for us but it was loaded with sugar. No wonder I hated the dentist.
Ali Stevenson, Manchester, New Hampshire
Does Sunny-D actually contain anything which has ever been near an orange?
Fiona, Edinburgh
Haven't had OJ for ages. We now drink cranberry juice. It's great. Also like lemon juice squeezed from fresh lemons with a small touch of honey first thing in the morning. I'm expecting to live to be 120.
Bri, Andover
The trend is simple enough to explain, I think, as the first of the baby boomers hit 60 - and there are lots of them - they find orange juice to be too acidic for their geriatric innards. The low-acid varieties of orange juice have shown significant increases in sales where available.
Thomas Templeton, Vancouver
Some people don't wake up until they've had their first cup of coffee or tea, whereas the first thing I have to do in a morning is get myself to the fridge for a glass of chilled, fresh(ish) orange juice with bits in. Mmmmm....
Dave Downey, Leeds
Now that I think about it, my son's daycare seems to use primarily apple juice as do I at home ... If you dilute apple juice to your liking, it seems to still be good, whereas OJ just tastes watery and bland. />Teresa Biderman, Toronto
We stopped buying orange juice about 6 months ago and started squeezing oranges instead. The juice is less sweet but full of flavour. Also we've been experimenting and mixing in other fruits. One lemon per four oranges is perfect for a refreshing breakfast drink.
Dave Underwood, Wrexham
Sad to see the orange juice market being squeezed!
Bryn Roberts, Richmond, Yorkshire, UK
One thing missed is that the smoothie generation we are in has had an impact on OJ sales. The presence of brands like Innocent in cafes all around the country has opened our taste buds to different flavours and combinations such that orange juice may just be that little bit too bland.
Lester Mak, London
In our house nobody drinks orange juice because it brings on the family eczema. However, (organic) apple juice cartons are permanently in the fridge.
Sandie, Hereford UK
I have always preferred grapefruit juice; or as I call it "wake up juice" because it's sharp taste helps clear the sleepy head.
Martin Kelly, London, England
With the five-a-day fruit or veg kick going on - it is much easier to drink a few glasses of juice with meals than eat enough fruit and veg throughout the day. I think part of the popularity of apple juice is that it has this refreshing quality about it, without an overpowering flavour. It seems to be the best juice when thirsty.
Jack, London, UK
Maybe more people are realising that if they are in any way arthritic, orange juice can aggravate the condition whereas apple juice, being less acidic, is OK to drink.
Janis, Bedford, UK
I drink apple juice instead of orange juice because the acidic orange makes my stomach hurt if taken by itself!
Jennifer Johnson, Cambridge, UK
I'd drink more orange juice if it wasn't so acidic. I never remember reconstituted orange juice being that acidic, nor are real oranges.
Debbie, stevenage
Does anyone else remember the powdered orange juice that you used to be able to get in the 1980s? I think it was called 'A-peel'. No one my age seems to remember it, so I asked my parents - they don't recall its taste with much fondness. I love it - at least I think I did. It could just be a case of nostalgia once again making my childhood memories entirely positive!
Katie Bond, London, UK
We sell apple, orange and pineapple juice at our school "tuck " shop . Our year 6 pupils run the shop and inform me that all juices are equally popular . Whilst we encourage pupils to drink water in the classrooms many still bring fruit drinks and sugar drinks as part of a packed lunch.
Mrs J Smith, Market Harborough UK
The taste of 'freshly squeezed' orange juice has diminished as the shelf life has quietly extended (from days to weeks). It just doesn't compare to a good quality apple juice.
Richard, Romsey
Never really thought about it but now I look back, when my children were smaller it was always orange juice. Now the weekly shop tends to be two cartons of orange juice, two of apple juice and two of some bizarre combination for my daughter (raspberry, cranberry and grape I think was this weeks mix)
Stuart Hadley, Birmingham, UK
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