In the ‘90s, if you were a kid who brought your lunch with you to school rather than getting a hot lunch from the cafeteria, there were certain items that really upped your cool cred. We’ve already talked about Dunkaroos, Lunchables, Gushers, and Capri-Sun (click each name to view those articles), but if you really wanted to be, like, ultra cool, there was nothing more impressive to have in your lunchbox than the carbonated classic Clearly Canadian. The other kids would salivate with jealousy as you opened your beautiful light blue bottle and took a swig of Country Raspberry or Orchard Peach. The ‘90s were a truly magical time.
Clearly Canadian was everywhere in the ‘90s. Even some of our favorite onscreen personalities drank the fizzy drink, including Elaine and Jerry in Seinfeld, pictured above. But where did the drink come from, and, more importantly, where did it go? Clearly Canadian began in the late 1980s thanks to Canadian Donald Mason of Vancouver, British Columbia. Having worked in the grocery business for many years, he had his first dabble into the beverage industry when he acquired the Canadian rights to distribute Jolt, the highly caffeinated cola. When Jolt quickly fizzled out, he twisted to an untapped area of the soft-drink market: a flavored, carbonated beverage for the more health-conscious.
Made from carbonated spring water flavored with natural ingredients and less sugar than typical soft drinks, Clearly Canadian came in a handful of flavors when the drinks first debuted in January 1988: unflavored, Mountain Blackberry, Country Raspberry, and Orchard Peach. The beverages were something new and different for the soft drink market — an alternative or “new age” drink with less sugar and a more fruit-centered, natural, approach. Success quickly followed in the United States and Canada. While sales had amounted to around 800,000 cases in 1989, by 1990 that had increased to 2.5 million, with revenue around $17 million. By 1992 they had revenue of around $155.2 million, resulting in $14 million in profits. That’s quite the growth spurt!
Sadly, it was around this time that the major soft drink companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi started to think wait a minute, why aren’t we also producing alternative beverages similar to Clearly Canadian? By mid-1993, Clearly Canadian was facing fierce competition from Coke’s Fruitopia as well as tea drinks, like Snapple and AriZona, which also seemed healthier than regular sodas. Pepsi tried to join in with Crystal Pepsi, but we all know that failed spectacularly. Still, in just a year’s time, Clearly Canadian’s revenues had dropped to $90.9 million, a decline of more than a third from their 1992 heyday. What a huge rise and fall in just a little over five short years!
Hoping to give themselves a boost, the company decided to try introducing some new types of drinks, one of which you may remember: Orbitz! Yes, we have Clearly Canadian to blame for this crazy drink. Though Orbitz made a big splash with its little floating balls of gelatinous stuff, unfortunately the drink turned out to be more of a novelty than a beverage people actually wanted to, you know, consume. Orbitz certainly left a lasting impression on many a ’90s kid, but was only in production for about a year from 1997-1998.
Since then, Clearly Canadian has been around in some form or another, but has never been able to reach the heights it once did in the ‘90s. Still, if you want a dose of carbonated nostalgia, you can track down Clearly Canadian in stores and online without much hassle. But if you’re looking for Orbitz, you’re gonna have to shell out some bucks on eBay. If you want a little lava lamp bottle of fun, it’ll cost you at least $30-40 a bottle as of 2021.
But what was your favorite flavor of Clearly Canadian? Have you tried it again today? Let us know in the comments, but first check out this very cutting-edge CGI commercial from the ‘90s:
- The small balls in Orbitz drinks floated because their density was equal to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended thanks to an ingredient known as gellan gum that provided a kind of support matrix.
- Clearly Canadian faced a lot of mismanagement and suffered numerous legal troubles throughout the years, including legal battles with a company they had hired to get them spring water (and then never used), as well as an infringement lawsuit from flavor and fragrance manufacturer Bush Boake Allen that was settled in 1997. Lots of behind the scenes drama!
- In the year 2000, the company tried a rebrand of sorts by introducing enhanced flavors and redesigned packaging, but it didn’t help matters, and today they’re back to their original light blue bottle design.
- Also in the year 2000, CEO Doug Mason was investigated by the British Columbia Securities Commission for failing to report insider stock trades that had been made through offshore companies. In 2004, he agreed to a settlement, paying $250,000 in penalties, and getting a 12-month ban from the British Columbia securities market.
- The company also tried to expand with other beverages besides Orbitz, including Quencher, Clearly Tea, Clearly Two, Clearly Canadian O+2, Battery, and Refresher.
- The small balls in Orbitz drinks floated because their density was equal to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended thanks to an ingredient known as gellan gum that provided a kind of support matrix.
- Clearly Canadian faced a lot of mismanagement and suffered numerous legal troubles throughout the years, including legal battles with a company they had hired to get them spring water (and then never used), as well as an infringement lawsuit from flavor and fragrance manufacturer Bush Boake Allen that was settled in 1997. Lots of behind the scenes drama!
- In the year 2000, the company tried a rebrand of sorts by introducing enhanced flavors and redesigned packaging, but it didn’t help matters, and today they’re back to their original light blue bottle design.
- Also in the year 2000, CEO Doug Mason was investigated by the British Columbia Securities Commission for failing to report insider stock trades that had been made through offshore companies. In 2004, he agreed to a settlement, paying $250,000 in penalties, and getting a 12-month ban from the British Columbia securities market.
- The company also tried to expand with other beverages besides Orbitz, including Quencher, Clearly Tea, Clearly Two, Clearly Canadian O+2, Battery, and Refresher.
