OJ Battle Brewing

Coca-Cola Co. is expected to announce today that it is launching a new, not-from-concentrate orange juice, hoping to steal some of the thunder from PepsiCo Inc.’s popular Tropicana Pure Premium brand by offering a beverage that Coke claims tastes even more like fresh-squeezed than does its rival, Thursday’s Wall Street Journal reported.

Simply Orange Juice Co., a new, wholly owned subsidiary of Coke’s Minute Maid Co. unit, will start off by marketing its juice in the Northeast, which consumes a third of the nation’s orange juice, according to Simply Orange’s marketing manager, Bobby Patton.