Coca-Cola to Discontinue Minute Maid Frozen Concentrates

The Coca-Cola Company announced Wednesday that it will discontinue Minute Maid's line of frozen juice concentrates in the United States and Canada by April, ending an 80-year tradition that made orange juice a convenient household staple.

The frozen products, which include varieties of orange juice, lemonade, limeade, pink lemonade and raspberry lemonade, will remain available in stores while supplies last. "We are discontinuing our frozen products and exiting the frozen can category in response to shifting consumer preferences," the company said in a statement. With the overall juice category showing strong growth, Coca-Cola plans to prioritize fresh, ready-to-drink options that align more closely with current demand.

For generations, the frozen concentrates offered a simple alternative to squeezing fresh fruit. Consumers would remove the cylindrical block from its can, drop it into a pitcher, add water and stir until it thawed into juice. This method turned orange juice into a year-round breakfast favorite, especially in the mid-20th century when fresh citrus was seasonal and labor-intensive.

The product's origins trace back to 1946, when Vacuum Foods Corporation became the...