The Juice Debate

Pepsi Distribution

Coca-Cola Distribution

Ok , so maybe the subject of orange juice drinks is not high on your list of Philippine ruminations but it does have me wondering . Why is it that a country with a tropical climate does not make orange juice ? Or , for that matter grape juice or some of the other flavours ?Has me wondering for two primary reasons .

 First , growing up in the southeastern part of the US and having lived in Florida where you could just go out and pick oranges and grapefruits off the tree for breakfast , i love orange juice .  Secondly , i happened to be at a local " old goat " hangout when the Pepsi truck off loaded a case of 8 oz. Tropicana Twisters product .

I ended up taking a case of theTropicana home for a tryout with basically mixed results . It is not " exactly " what i was looking for but i like it for what it is . And what it is  means an orange juice drink with vitamins A , C and E and having a bit of a tart tangy taste . Total cost was 248 pesos but 58 of that was deposit on case and bottles .

Now , should i decide to purchase in the future and return the case and bottles the next case price drops to 190 pesos . So , the actual drink itself sells for about 8 pesos per bottle at the wholesale rate though i certainly have no problem with the retailer marking up a bit for profit .

Bottom line for me is it's a pretty good deal and certainly beats buying soft drinks which have no nutritional benefit and according to medical literature are one of the plagues of the modern world .   :-) Many soft drinks have caffeine of course while the juice drinks don't and lots less sugar as a rule than soft drinks .

So , that's my experience with the Pepsi product to date and in all fairness there are other juice flavours available under this brand that i have not tried yet . Which brings me to the next product shown , the Minute Maid brand . I have tried this one and find it to be the closest thing to being real orange juice i can find .

I have not seen this particular product off loaded anywhere while i was present so haven't had the chance to purchase in comparable size container . I have purchased in large grocery store chains in the larger sizes which come in plastic . In essence , i don't know how many different sizes are available of this product in this country much less in Cagayan de Oro pastures .

I did discover that Coca - Cola FEMSA Philippines was incorporated in just Jan. of 2013 when it purchased 51 % of Coca - Cola bottlers , Philippines from Coca - Cola International . Don't know , nor much care , who FEMSA is but my guess would have it belonging to one of 4 family power groups of the Philippines .   :-)

So , why doesn't the Philippines produce it's own juices and primarily import from Thailand and elsewhere ? Is it because oranges can't be grown here ? Based on a little research that is not the answer for oranges or grapes . Some suggest it's lack of demand but if that were the case would Pepsi and Coca - Cola be selling it ?

Some say it's because Thailand is just better at producing these kinds of products . There may some degree of truth in that when one is reminded of the rice issue and the fact that the Philippines has to import it from Thailand and other locations despite having basically the same type of climate as Thailand .

Rumbling " old goats " won't ever solve any of these mysteries of course but i am hopeful that such products as the ones highlighted will become more available in the not to distant future . I mean , geez , breakfast without OJ would be kind of like a Philippine meal without rice .   :-)