Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Orbitz (soft drink)

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Orbitz (soft drink)

Orbitz was the product name of a noncarbonated fruit-flavored beverage, made by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company of Canada (makers of Clearly Canadian), that had small edible balls floating in it. It was introduced 1997 and quickly disappeared due to poor sales but developed the semblance of a cult following. The drink was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a portable lava lamp.

The small balls floated due to their nearly equal density to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended with assistance from an ingredient known as gellan gum. The gellan gum provided a support matrix—something like a microscopic spider web—and had a visual clarity approaching that of water, which increased with the addition of sugar.

The website for Orbitz existed for a while, but was taken over by the Internet travel agency of the same name.

Unopened bottles of the beverage have become a collector's item, appearing on online auction websites. In July 2013, Clearly Canadian stated that it was considering producing a limited run of new products to satisfy "nostalgia demand", with the possibility of annual issues thereafter based on consumer reception of the initial batch.

Flavors

  • Raspberry Citrus (introductory flavor)
  • Blueberry Melon Strawberry (introductory flavor)
  • Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut (introductory flavor)
  • Vanilla Orange (introductory flavor)
  • Black Currant Berry (introduced later)
  • References

    Orbitz (soft drink) Wikipedia