Ocean Spray (cooperative)

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Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
Company type Agricultural cooperative
Founded1930;94 years ago (1930) in Hanson, Massachusetts
FoundersElizabeth Lee, John Makepeace, and Marcus Urann [1]
Headquarters
Lakeville-Middleborough, Massachusetts
,
United States
Key people
Tom Hayes, President and CEO [2]
Products Cranberries, grapefruit
Website oceanspray.com

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is an American agricultural cooperative of growers of cranberries headquartered in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It currently has over 700 member growers (in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Florida, British Columbia and other parts of Canada, as well as Chile). The cooperative employs about 2,000 people, with sales of $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2013 and accounts for 70% of North American cranberry production. [3] Their products include cranberry sauce, fruit juices, fruit snacks, and dried cranberries.

Contents

The cooperative has made a number of innovations, including the first juice blend, [4] the first juice boxes, [5] and sweetened dried cranberries (Craisins). Its cranberry juice won the ChefsBest Award for best taste. [6]

History

Ocean Spray was formed in 1930, in Hanson, Massachusetts, by three cranberry growers who wanted to expand their market for cranberries. Led by growers Marcus L. Urann, Elizabeth F. Lee and John C. Makepeace, who had created a cranberry sauce, the cooperative developed more cranberry-based products. In the same year, Ocean Spray became the first producer of cranberry juice drinks with the introduction of Cranberry Juice Cocktail. (A.D. Makepeace Company, one of the original founders of Ocean Spray, has been in continual operation since the late 19th century and is currently the world's largest grower of cranberries.)

In 1963, executive Edward Gelsthorpe worked with Sylvia Schur to develop Cranapple juice, a product that brought the cranberry to greater popularity and increased usage to year-round, earning Gelsthorpe the nickname "Cranapple Ed". [7]

In 1976, the cooperative expanded its membership to grapefruit growers in Florida. In September 1976, the headquarters was moved from Hanson to Plymouth, Massachusetts. [8]

In 1989, the Ocean Spray headquarters was moved to its current location of a building on the Lakeville-Middleborough town line. [8]

Processing plant near Babcock, Wisconsin, 2010 OceanSprayCranberriesBabcockWisconsinWIS173WIS80.jpg
Processing plant near Babcock, Wisconsin, 2010

In June 2004, Ocean Spray members voted down a joint venture of the cooperative's beverage business with PepsiCo. [9] Pepsi had offered the co-op $100 million, an assumption of debt and fixed prices for cranberry harvests. In July 2006, the cooperative signed a 25-year single-serve (machine-dispensed) juice distribution deal with Pepsi. [10]

Ocean Spray in Tomah with cranberry fields in the background Ocean Spray Tomah.jpg
Ocean Spray in Tomah with cranberry fields in the background

In September 2004, Ocean Spray agreed to purchase the processing assets of Northland Cranberry. [11] This acquisition included a juice production facility in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. [12]

Ocean Spray product exhibited in Israel in 2016 Ocean Spray Cooperative product in Israel.jpg
Ocean Spray product exhibited in Israel in 2016

Ocean Spray completed expansion of the Wisconsin Rapids processing plant in September 2008. The addition doubles the facility size to 440,000 sq ft (41,000 m2), making it the world's largest cranberry processing facility. The plant has numerous environmentally friendly features including a wastewater treatment facility, energy-efficient lighting, and the use of methane from the nearby Veolia Cranberry Creek Landfill for boiler fuel. With the addition, the plant will produce Craisins, in addition to currently produced juice concentrates. [13]

Throughout 2012, Ocean Spray contributed $387,100 to a $46 million political campaign known as "The Coalition Against The Costly Food Labeling Proposition, sponsored by Farmers and Food Producers". [14] This organization was set up to oppose a citizen's initiative, known as Proposition 37,[ where? ] demanding mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified ingredients.

Ocean Spray has juice-filling facilities in Henderson, Nevada; Sulphur Springs, Texas; Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Kenosha, Wisconsin. [15]

In October 2020, Ocean Spray gained media attention when Nathan Apodaca made a TikTok video that went viral featuring the Fleetwood Mac 1977 hit "Dreams" while drinking a bottle of Ocean Spray and riding his skateboard. [16]

Controversies

In June 2006, at the request of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Ocean Spray agreed to end its support for animal experiments. Previously, Ocean Spray had funded tests involving infecting mice with H. pylori , bacteria that cause stomach ulcers, and then feeding them cranberry juice to see if it had any positive effect. These experiments were conducted to determine the usefulness of Ocean Spray's cranberry juice as a digestif. [17]

In January 2020, Ocean Spray settled a class-action lawsuit that claimed its products were misleading in advertising that they do not contain artificial flavors, since they contain malic acid and/or fumaric acid. The company agreed to pay $5.4 million dollars to claimants. [18] [19]

In February 2020, Ocean Spray dismissed its president and CEO, Bobby Chacko, for violating the company's harassment policy. [20]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranberry</span> Plant species bearing edible fruit

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species Vaccinium oxycoccos, while in North America, cranberry may refer to Vaccinium macrocarpon. Vaccinium oxycoccos is cultivated in central and northern Europe, while Vaccinium macrocarpon is cultivated throughout the northern United States, Canada and Chile. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right. Cranberries can be found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange juice</span> Juice made from oranges

Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as variations in oranges used, some varieties include differing amounts of juice vesicles, known as "pulp" in American English, and "(juicy) bits" in British English. These vesicles contain the juice of the orange and can be left in or removed during the manufacturing process. How juicy these vesicles are depend upon many factors, such as species, variety, and season. In American English, the beverage name is often abbreviated as "OJ".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunkist Growers, Incorporated</span> American citrus company

Sunkist Growers, Incorporated is an American citrus growers' non-stock membership cooperative composed of 6,000 members from California and Arizona headquartered in Valencia, California. Through 31 offices in the United States and Canada and four offices outside North America, its sales in 1991 totaled $956 million. It is the largest fresh produce shipper in the United States, the most diversified citrus processing and marketing operation in the world, and one of California's largest landowners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welch's</span> American company

Welch Foods Inc., commonly known as Welch's, is an American company, headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts. It has been owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association, a co-op of grape growers, since 1956. Welch's is particularly known for its grape juices, jams and jellies made from dark Concord grapes and its white Niagara grape juice. The company also manufactures and markets an array of other products, including refrigerated juices, frozen and shelf-stable concentrates, organic grape juice, fruit snacks, and dried fruit. Welch's has also licensed its name for a line of grape-flavored soft drinks since 1974. Welch's grape and strawberry soda flavors are currently licensed to Global Beverage Corporation. Other popular products that use the Welch's name are the fruit snacks made by The Promotion In Motion Companies, Inc.

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Cranberry juice is the liquid juice of the cranberry – a fruit recognized for its bright red color, tart taste, and versatility for product manufacturing. Major cranberry products include cranberry juice, dried cranberry, cranberry sauce, frozen cranberry, cranberry powder, and dietary supplements containing cranberry extracts.

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Dried cranberries are made by partially dehydrating fresh cranberries, a process similar to making grapes into raisins. They are used in trail mix, salads, breads, with cereals, or eaten on their own. Dried cranberries may be marketed as craisins due to the similarity in appearance with raisins, although the word "Craisin" is a registered trademark of Ocean Spray. Craisins were introduced as part of a packaged cereal produced by Ralston Purina in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranberry sauce</span> Sauce or relish made from cranberries

Cranberry sauce or cranberry jam is a sauce or relish made out of cranberries, commonly served as a condiment or a side dish with Thanksgiving dinner in North America and Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom and Canada. There are differences in flavor depending on the geography of where the sauce is made: in Europe it is generally slightly sour-tasting, while in North America it is typically more heavily sweetened.

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Slice was a line of fruit-flavored soft drinks originally manufactured by PepsiCo and introduced in 1984 but discontinued by PepsiCo in North America in the late 2000s. Slice was reintroduced in the United States and Canada as a brand of Organic food by "New Slice Ventures LLC", which acquired the trademark rights in those countries.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">3-Amino-1,2,4-triazole</span> Chemical compound

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Cran-apple juice is a blend of cranberry juice and apple juice marketed by the Ocean Spray cooperative, styled as Cran•Apple. The juice blend is marketed as combining the tartness of cranberry with the sweetness of the apple. Until 1963, when the product was first developed, cranberries were sold in the form of cranberry juice and cranberry sauce primarily around Thanksgiving and Christmas time. The Cranapple blend helped turn the cranberry into a year-round product. Cranapple started a trend and was followed by other juice blends.

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References

  1. "Our Story". Ocean Spray.
  2. "Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. Names Tom Hayes President and Chief Executive Officer" (Press release). Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. July 20, 2020.
  3. Nosowitz, Dan (November 22, 2017). "The Cranberry Industry Is Wild". Modern Farmer . Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  4. "Who We Are - Heritage - Our History". Ocean Spray. 2014. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2014.[ self-published source ]
  5. Pressman, Aaron (May 15, 2006). "Ocean Spray's Creative Juices". Businessweek. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  6. "Ocean Spray 100% Juice Cranberry Blends". ChefsBest. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  7. Grimes, William (September 27, 2009). "Edward Gelsthorpe, Master Marketer, Dies at 88". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  8. 1 2 Ocean Spray. "Cranberries in the Classroom" (PDF). OceanSpray.com. Ocean Spray. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  9. Konrad, Alex (November 13, 2013). "Bigger Than Craisins: Can A Third Way To Sell Cranberries Keep Ocean Spray Fresh?". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  10. Montague-Jones, Guy (October 21, 2009). "Ocean Spray extends Pepsi partnership beyond cranberry". Beverage Daily. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  11. "Ocean Spray buys Northland's processing assets". Company News. The New York Times. September 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  12. "Northland sells cranberry processing business to Ocean Spray". The Business Journal of Milwaukee. September 24, 2004. Archived from the original on October 13, 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2008.
  13. Hayes, Liz (September 23, 2008). "Expansion Makes Rapids Ocean Spray Largest Cranberry Processer in World". WSAW-TV. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  14. Spiers, Katherine (July 9, 2012). "Prop 37: The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act". KCET. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013.
  15. Kostelni, Natalie (April 24, 2014). "Ocean Spray opens facility in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley - Philadelphia Business Journal". Philadelphia Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  16. "Nathan Apodaca is the skateboarding, Fleetwood Mac-loving TikTok star that 2020 needs". Los Angeles Times . October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  17. Goodman, Brenda (May 31, 2007). "Pepsi and Coke Agree to Stop Financing Research That Uses Animals". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  18. "Classaura Announces No Artificial Flavors Litigation Class Action Settlement". Associated Press. February 27, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  19. Stempel, Jonathan (November 11, 2019). "Ocean Spray to pay $5.4 mln to settle 'no artificial flavors' lawsuit". Reuters. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  20. "Ocean Spray fires CEO for violating policy against harassment". CBS News. February 4, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.