Hi-C

Hi-C is an American fruit juice–flavored drink made by the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company. It was created by Niles Foster in 1946 and released in 1947. The sole original flavor was orange, with additional flavors introduced in subsequent years.

History

Niles Foster, a former bakery and bottling plant owner, created Hi-C in 1946. It took Foster over a year to develop the ideal formula for Hi-C orange drink; the formula contains orange juice concentrate, peel oil and orange essences, sugar, water, citric acid and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The name "Hi-C" referred to its high vitamin content. Hot-packed in enamel-lined 56-ounce (1.66 L) cans, the product needed no refrigeration before opening. After test marketing in 1947, Hi-C orange drink was introduced in 1948 with a massive promotional effort, spending thousands of dollars weekly per market on promotions. Foster entered into an agreement with Clinton Foods, Inc., to produce and market Hi-C, with Foster managing the Hi-C business.

Originally marketed in the Southern United States, Hi-C was introduced into the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets in 1949. As markets for Hi-C were expanded nationwide, so were the contract operations, strategically located near major market areas. The multi-plant system facilitated quick product shipping, minimizing out-of-date merchandise problems. New flavors of Hi-C fruit drinks were developed as an outgrowth of the contract packer system. Grape, the second flavor introduced, evolved naturally from the fact that the Geneva, Ohio, co-packer was also processing fresh grapes. Apple and cherry drinks were introduced as a result of the fresh fruit processing operations at the Paw Paw, Michigan, co-packer plant.

As the Hi-C business continued to grow, it attracted the attention of the Minute Maid Corporation. In 1954, Clinton Foods, Inc. sold its Florida holdings—including Hi-C fruit drinks—to Minute Maid. Niles Foster left the Minute Maid Corporation shortly after the Hi-C brand was purchased. George Roberts, assistant sales manager for Niles Foster when Hi-C was introduced, remained with the company, initially as National Sales Manager for Hi-C, then later as Director of Contract Packer Operations for the Houston, Texas, based Coca-Cola Foods Division, ensuring the successful marketing, promotion, and distribution of Hi-C. The Hi-C business continued to expand with new flavors (orange-pineapple, pineapple-grapefruit, Florida Punch, peach) and innovative marketing techniques. By 1958, Hi-C fruit drinks had become an American supermarket staple, available in every grocery store nationwide.[1]

Product lines

McDonald's

In April 2017, McDonald's restaurants announced they were discontinuing Hi-C Orange Lavaburst from their beverage menu and replacing it with Fanta and Sprite TropicBerry sodas as part of a new promotional deal with Coca-Cola. In February 2021, McDonald's announced that Hi-C Orange Lavaburst would return to their menu by summer 2021.[11][12][13]

In popular culture

Hi-C products appear in the films Flamingo Road (1949),[14] The Disorderly Orderly (1964) and The Abyss (1989).

The Hi-C Ecto Cooler drink appears in the 2019 Rick and Morty episode Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim's Morty, and the 2021 Loki episode Journey into Mystery.[15] In the FX series The Bear 2022 episode "Dogs", Carmen makes a homemade version of the drink for a children's party, which is accidentally contaminated with Xanax.

Hi-C Orange appears in the 2017 Young Sheldon episode, "A Solar Calculator, a Game Ball, and a Cheerleader's Bosom."

External links

• Historical packaging (Archived from the original on October 19, 2016)
• Ecto Cooler Website