Tropicana Is Selling Misspelled Orange Juice Bottles On Purpose
Tropicana just made a major marketing move, and it's the last thing you'd expect. As the number one orange juice company in the United States, per Beverage Industry, Tropicana's branding is a ubiquitous presence in grocery stores and something that consumers feel quite strongly about. In fact, it's so iconic that when Tropicana attempted to rebrand, changing its logo, customers revolted and tanked the company's profits. That signature image of an orange with a straw, and the Tropicana name itself, clearly means a lot, which makes the brand's latest marketing move quite the surprise.
At the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show, Tropicana unveiled a line of limited-edition juice bottles that intentionally misspell the company's name. Instead of "Tropicana," the label reads "Tropcn." It sounds like a bizarre move at first, and furthermore, what was an orange juice company doing at a tech convention in the first place? It all has to do with AI, which has radically changed our world (including the food and restaurant industry) at a stunning pace.
Tropicana has consistently built its image around a rejection of artificial ingredients. The misspelled labels aim to reflect this ethos by removing the letters A and I from the brand name. (They did not, however, switch to "ornge juce.") Making a link between the tech sector and a fruit juice maker is a bit of a stretch to be sure, but that hasn't stopped Tropicana from going all-out in this bold marketing move.
Tropcn bottles will be hidden in select Kroger stores
In removing A and I from their name, Tropicana is leaning into its all-natural message harder than ever. In a statement shared by PR Newswire, Tropicana said, "Each new AI advancement seemingly brings us closer to the artificial world and further from the natural." The company further explains that the limited-edition run of Tropcn bottles is meant to "...celebrate the natural ingredients and nothing artificial in Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice".
If you're hoping to get your hands on a bottle of Tropcn, it won't be easy. The company has partnered with Kroger to distribute their limited-edition product, but they're only producing 100 bottles, according to CNN. These will be hidden amongst standard Tropicana bottles at a handful of Kroger stores across the United States, along with Kroger affiliates like Fred Meyer and Fry's. Since Kroger operates 2,750 grocery stores, the odds of Tropcn showing up at your local branch are about 3%. Despite those odds, it still might be worth taking a look around the juice aisle as each Tropcn bottle bears a QR code that customers can scan for a chance to win a vacation to the juiciest state of them all: Florida.