Just in time for summer lemonade stands to open for business, frozen concentrate and juices are making a comeback on Canadian shelves.
It’s not by the iconic Minute Maid brand, though, whose parent company Coca-Cola discontinued the drink earlier this year, citing consumer preferences.
This time, the Loblaw brand No Name is leading the return of the decades-long staple item in many Canadian households.
“We heard from customers that there was still strong demand for frozen juice and began looking for alternatives as soon as we learned the category would no longer be available through our existing supplier,” Rachel Siekanowicz, Loblaw’s communications director told the Star in an email.
Now, “just in time for summer,” canned frozen flavours such as white lemonade, pink lemonade, limeade, grape punch, fruit punch and berry punch will be available at Loblaw stores across the country.
And for the OJ fans, three orange juice flavours will also hit the market in 2027.
Prices are expected to start around $2.35 for a 283 millilitre can, Siekanowicz said.
The Minute Maid frozen canned drink was originally created on the back of wartime research that sought to develop a method of dehydrating medical supplies such as penicillin and blood plasma, a process that was then applied to food products for the U.S. army in World War II.
By the late 1940s, the juices were being sold commercially.
Earlier this year, experts suggested that a push toward health consciousness is what forced Coca-Cola to part ways with the canned drink; instead, the Peterborough factory continues to make other Minute Maid products.
It’s not clear where the No Name frozen concentrated drinks will be made or supplied from.
With files from Sheila Reid
