Hi-C facts for kids
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| Type | Fruit drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Minute Maid |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1947 |
| Color | Colorless (juice boxes) Colored (fountain) |
| Variants | See variations below |
Hi-C is a popular fruit-flavored drink from America. It is made by the Minute Maid company, which is part of The Coca-Cola Company. Hi-C was first created by Niles Foster in 1946 and was sold starting in 1947. The only flavor available at first was orange.
Contents
History of Hi-C
Niles Foster, who used to own a bakery and a bottling plant, made Hi-C in 1946. It took him over a year to get the orange drink recipe just right. The drink had orange juice, orange oils, sugar, water, and Vitamin C. The name "Hi-C" means "high in Vitamin C."
The drink was put into special cans that did not need to be kept cold before opening. After testing it in 1947, Hi-C orange drink was launched in 1948. They spent a lot of money each week to promote it. Foster worked with a company called Clinton Foods, Inc. to make and sell Hi-C. Foster himself managed the Hi-C business.
Hi-C was first sold in the southern parts of the United States. Then, in 1949, it came to Los Angeles and San Francisco. As Hi-C became available across the country, more factories helped make it. These factories were placed near big cities. This helped get the drinks to stores quickly.
New Hi-C flavors were also created. Grape was the second flavor. It came about because a factory in Ohio that made Hi-C also processed fresh grapes. Apple and cherry drinks were made because another factory in Michigan processed fresh fruits.
As Hi-C grew, the Minute Maid Corporation became interested. In 1954, Minute Maid bought the Hi-C brand from Clinton Foods, Inc. Niles Foster left Minute Maid soon after. George Roberts, who was Foster's assistant sales manager, stayed on. He helped make sure Hi-C was sold and promoted well.
The Hi-C business kept growing with new flavors like orange-pineapple and peach. They also used new ways to market the drinks. By 1958, Hi-C drinks were a common item in almost every grocery store in America.
Hi-C Product Lines
Today, Hi-C is sold in several ways. You can find it in small drink boxes. It is also available at soda fountains, like in restaurants. You can even buy it as a powder mix to make at home. Some special flavors are available at Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.
In the past, Hi-C drinks usually had the color of their flavor. For example, orange drinks were orange. But in 2000, Hi-C in juice boxes changed. It became a clear, yellowish drink. This was so it would not stain clothes if spilled. So, flavors like Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen lost their bright colors. However, the fountain versions of Fruit Punch, Poppin' Pink Lemonade, and Orange Lavaburst still have their red, pink, and orange colors.
In 2013, the size of the juice boxes got a little smaller. In 2017, Hi-C got a new logo. By early 2019, the drink boxes had new packaging. The amount of sugar and calories was cut in half by using a new sweetener. In 2020, a company called Jel Sert started making Hi-C in drink mix form.
Drink boxes
- Flashin' Fruit Punch (a mix of orange and pineapple juices)
- Orange Lavaburst (a mix of orange and pear juices)
- Torrential Tropical Punch (a mix of orange and pineapple juices)
- Boppin' Strawberry (a mix of pear and strawberry juices)
- Grabbin' Grape (a mix of pear and grape juices)
- Strawberry Kiwi Kraze (a mix of pear, apple, strawberry, and kiwi juices)
- Poppin' Lemonade (no longer made)
- Blazin' Blueberry (a mix of apple, grape, and blueberry juices) (no longer made)
- Wild Cherry (a mix of pear and cherry juices) (no longer made)
- Smashin' Wild Berry (a mix of apple, pear, blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry juices) (no longer made)
- Ecto Cooler (no longer made)
- Candy Apple Cooler (no longer made)
- Double Fruit Cooler (no longer made)
- Hula Punch (no longer made)
Drink mixes
- Flashin' Fruit Punch
- Grabbin' Grape
- Mashin' Mango Melon
- Blazin' Blueberry (no longer made)
Coca-Cola Freestyle
- Cherry
- Fruit Punch
- Grape
- Lemon
- Orange
- Orange Vanilla
- Raspberry
- Raspberry Lime
- Strawberry
- Blueberry
Fountain
- Flashin' Fruit Punch
- Orange Lavaburst
- Poppin' Pink Lemonade
Hi-C Blast (no longer made)
- Berry Blue
- Blue Watermelon
- Fruit Pow
- Fruit Punch
- Orange Supernova
- Raspberry Kiwi
- Strawberry
- Strawberry Kiwi
- Wild Berry
- Wild Cherry
Ecto Cooler
Ecto Cooler was a special Hi-C drink. It was made to go along with The Real Ghostbusters cartoon show. This show was based on the 1984 Ghostbusters movie. Ecto Cooler was actually a renamed version of an older Hi-C drink called Citrus Cooler.
Hi-C made a deal in 1987 to promote the cartoon with this new drink. People thought it would only last as long as the show. But the drink was very popular! It kept being made for over ten years, even after the show ended in 1991. The Ecto Cooler box and commercials showed Slimer, a character from The Real Ghostbusters.
Slimer was taken off the box around 1997. Minute Maid stopped making Ecto Cooler in 2001. It was then renamed Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen. A blob with lips replaced Slimer on the packaging. In 2006, Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen was renamed Crazy Citrus Cooler. This drink was stopped in 2007.
In April 2016, Coca-Cola said Ecto Cooler would return for a short time. This was to promote the new Ghostbusters movie. It came out on May 30, 2016. The drink was green, just like the original. The cans even changed color from dark green to bright slime green when they got cold.
Many fans were upset because the drink was hard to find. The special cans were only sold online at a few websites. These sites often ran out because so many people wanted it. The juice box version was even harder to find. It was only sent to a few smaller grocery stores. Fans were told to ask their local stores to carry the product. Within a week, the drink was still very hard to find. Some people sold it online for very high prices. But on Amazon, it was one of the most sold items. Some large stores like Walmart and Meijer did have them in stock.
In October 2016, the Ecto Cooler Facebook page announced it would stop being made again at the end of the year. Fans were told to buy it while they still could. Many fans were unhappy because it was never easy to find in the first place.
When Ghostbusters: Afterlife came out in November 2021, Ecto Cooler was re-released again. But this time, it was even harder to get. You could not buy it in stores. The only way to get it was to win it by responding to posts on social media from Hi-C and Ghostbusters. Because it was so rare, a single bottle was sold for hundreds of dollars online.
Hi-C at McDonald's
In April 2017, McDonald's restaurants said they would stop selling Hi-C Orange Lavaburst. They replaced it with Sprite TropicBerry soda and Fanta. This was part of a new deal with Coca-Cola. Many customers were unhappy and shared their feelings on social media.
But in February 2021, McDonald's announced good news! Hi-C Orange Lavaburst would officially return to their menu by summer 2021.
