Sick of Orange Juice That Tastes Like Dirty Pennies?

In 1824, the story goes, a dentist by the name of Peabody (first name unknown) decided he would improve the common formulations of toothpaste, which then consisted of ingredients like ground rock salt and burned crumbs. Peabody added something actually cleansing: soap. In time, as manufacturers adopted the recipe, the soap commonly took the form of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a foaming agent chemically known as a surfactant. Today, nearly 200 years later, you can flip over most any tube of toothpaste and still find SLS on the ingredient list. SLS is generally seen as a cheap and effective additive, but it does have an unfortunate side effect. Especially if you like orange juice with breakfast. According to a recent survey from market research firm Wakefield, 78% of people report that the normal morning toothbrushing routine ruins the flavor of orange juice. In fact, a quarter of respondents likened the post-brushing flavor to burnt toast and dirty pennies. While most of society’s intractable problems still await solutions, Americans will no doubt rejoice over the news that Tropicana has this particular worriment nailed: The folks at the PepsiCo-owned juice giant are getting into the toothpaste business. Well, sorta. The good news is that Tropicana Toothpaste (developed with help from manufacturer Dynamic Blending), contains no SLS and will thus put an end to the agonizing breakfast ritual of drinking juice that tastes like pocket change. The bad news is that Tropicana Toothpaste isn’t for sale—not yet, anyway. It’ll be given away via an Instagram sweepstakes that runs until Nov. 4. “This is a great example of a brand solving a real consumer problem,” Anup Shah, PepsiCo Beverages North America’s CMO for juice brands, told Adweek. Shah added that Tropicana has actually been aware of the SLS troubles for quite some time: In the past year, it’s counted some 20,000 complaints about it on social media. “If you go online,” he said, “there've been pretty hilarious comments and quotes about how bad that combination is. We knew we had to step in and do something.” But consumers aware of the foul-tasting OJ problem are presumably loyal OJ drinkers already—so what’s the marketing benefit to Tropicana? “We try to do these brand acts to break though in culture and make the brand relevant,” Shah explained. What’s more, “we're on a journey to recruit millennial moms in the next generation of OJ families into the franchise. So this obviously helps in that effort.” No doubt, Tropicana is also aware that fruit juice consumption in America has been on the decline since 2004—by a margin of 15%, according to the Florida Department of Citrus. Concerns about sugar are to blame, along with the fact that only half of us have the time eat breakfast every day to start with. Announced on Nov. 1, Tropicana Toothpaste has already produced a good deal of buzz, and this raises a further question for the juice brand: If those lucky enough to win a tube of the stuff really like it and spread the word, what are the odds of it becoming a bona fide product on store shelves? “We’ll have to see,” Shah said. “Right now, we’re keeping it as a promotion. But if this takes off, I mean, it’s certainly something we could look at.” Super Coffee Calls Out Starbucks and Dunkin’ Over Sugar in Ad

CPG News

Sick of Orange Juice That Tastes Like Dirty Pennies? Tropicana Toothpaste May Be the Solution

OJ tastes bad after brushing your teeth, and that's a savory opportunity for PepsiCo's juice giant

Robert Klara

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Robert Klara