Orbitz (drink)

Orbitz
TypeSoft drink
ManufacturerThe Clearly Food & Beverage Company
Country of origin Canada
IntroducedMay 1996
Discontinued1998
Related productsClearly Canadian

Orbitz was a non-carbonated fruit-flavored beverage produced by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company of Canada, makers of Clearly Canadian. The drink was sold in six[citation needed] flavors, and made with small floating edible balls. Orbitz was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a potable lava lamp.[1][2]

History

It was introduced in test markets around May 1996, then went to most markets by 1997, and then quickly disappeared due to poor sales.

Post-Discontinuation

The product's domain name was bought by the Internet-based travel agency named Orbitz.

Unopened bottles from the drink's original launch have become a collector's item, appearing on online auction websites. The Clearly Food & Beverage Company states that the proprietary equipment that made Orbitz broke down and the trademark is no longer owned by the company.[1] 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.[needs update]

Ingredients

The small balls floated due to their nearly equal density to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended with the assistance of gellan gum. The gellan gum provided a support matrix and had a visual clarity approaching that of water, which increased with the addition of sugar. The gellan gum created a very weak yield stress which has been measured to be ~0.04 Pa.[3]

Flavors

Several flavors of Orbitz were produced:[4]

  • Raspberry Citrus
  • Blueberry Melon Strawberry
  • Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut
  • Vanilla Orange
  • Black Currant Berry

The drink is featured in the 1999 Gregg Araki film Splendor when Kelly MacDonald's character opens a fridge full of Orbitz and drinks one.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Top 10 Bad Beverage Ideas". Time. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  2. ^ Kealey, Helena (November 19, 2014). "The Apprentice: how many of these soft drinks from the past do you remember?". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Dontula, P.; Macosko, C.W. (1999). "Yield Stress in Orbitz" (PDF). Rheology Bulletin. 68 (1): 5–6 – via The Rheology Bulletin Collection.
  4. ^ Foodology (2011-02-26). "Orbitz: the Forgotten Drink With Balls". Foodology. Retrieved 2023-05-16.