The Coca-Cola Company announced that Minute Maid will discontinue its frozen orange juice concentrate this year, ending an 80-year run that once defined postwar convenience.
The freezer-aisle staple, introduced in the 1940s as a cheaper, easier way to ship juice, will be phased out in early 2026 as the company exits the frozen can category altogether.
Online, the news triggered everything from nostalgia and frustration to blunt reminders that consumer habits have moved on.
From wartime innovation to freezer relic
"We are discontinuing our frozen products and exiting the frozen can category in response to shifting consumer preferences," a spokesperson for the company said.
They added that frozen products would disappear in Q1 2026, although remaining inventory would linger while supplies lasted.
The juice concentrate first found life in the 1940s after researchers figured out a way to preserve flavor that improved on earlier attempts. Because the process removed water, it also cut shipping costs and improved shelf life.
Then, in 1946, the Vacuum Foods Corporation began shipping out its first Minute Maid frozen concentrated orange juice in the U.S. For decades, the cans symbolized convenience, thrift, and postwar optimism, according to the Minute Maid website.
However, production realities shifted as water purification became cheaper, packaging improved, and logistics evolved. As one X user argued, the original appeal lost relevance.
@EagleZeroX wrote, "I feel like the whole premise of concentrate is kind of moot in today's manufacturing/production environment. It used to be that more product volume and water purification cost was something substantial. Now I suspect those things are a pretty minor cost so it's rather pointless. The 'I'm not paying for water' fudds have mostly died off too."
Online reactions range from grief to indifference
As expected, reactions scattered across the spectrum, as some folks mourned the loss of a budget-friendly staple.
@mirthpilled tweeted, "Sad! I know concentrate is not ideal, but it was a cost-effective option and still higher in actual nutrition than trendy drinks like kombucha that are now popular."
@Bruwulf focused on the practicality of the fruit concentrate, exclaiming, "What? Nooooo. This stuff is great as an additive to other things." @kjgillenwater added, "Many a punch recipe will be useless!"
Others questioned the taste entirely. "Did the OJ concentrate people ever figure out how to fix the taste so it actually tastes like OJ," @enL3X1 wondered. "We had this growing up and you could tell every time."
Redditor u/Villag3Idiot noted, "These used to be so cheap, saves a lot of space, and you can control how sweet it is."
Meanwhile, @diane_etc admitted, "I thought it was already phased out. I didn’t even know there was a frozen juice section."
Health critiques also entered the chat. @ChrisSmolinski argued, "Orange juice is full of sugar and is basically non-carbonated soda. Any useful nutrients (vitamins) can be found elsewhere without the sugar."
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