Valensina orange juice: smaller bottle, same quality

The worldwide availability of oranges and products made from them is shrinking. This is due to extreme weather conditions during the flowering period and “citrus greening”, a tree disease caused by bacteria that reduces the quality and yield of the fruit and leads to the long-term death of the trees. Brazil, the main country of cultivation, is particularly affected. Persistently poor harvests have also caused stocks of oranges and orange juice concentrate to fall to an all-time low. And there is no relief in sight, on the contrary: for the 2024/2025 season, the Brazilian citrus industry is once again forecasting a decline in harvests of more than 30%. However, global demand for orange juice remains high. The combination of a low harvest and constant demand has resulted in an extreme increase in commodity prices. The harvests of many other commodities, such as apples and various red and exotic fruits, have also been poor recently, with a corresponding impact on prices.

“The dramatic situation of the orange harvest is also affecting us,” states Olaf Jark, Head of Marketing, PR & Licenses at Valensina, ”after all, the orange is our trademark. We thought long and hard about how to respond to the difficult situation for the juice market and the core of our business. Our priority was to keep a pure 100 percent orange juice in our range. However, like all juice producers, we are also forced to make compromises.” From December 2024, Valensina will therefore offer the “Orange” and “mild orange” fruit juices in 700 ml bottles instead of the previous 1 liter bottles. Of course, the quality remains the same: pure orange juice made from 100% fruit. “When it comes to orange juice, manufacturers currently only have the option of increasing the price - directly via the shelf price or indirectly via a smaller container. We have opted for the latter, as we want to continue to offer our customers pure orange juice at an attractive shelf price. In our view, the smaller bottles also make it clearer that orange juice has become a very precious commodity that should be enjoyed all the more consciously.”

For the Valensina juices in 1-liter containers, the company is still quoting an RRP of €2.49 at the shelf and a promotional price of €1.79. The two 100 percent orange juices in the new 700 ml bottle will be integrated here and thus remain part of a well-rounded overall concept: all juices at the same shelf or promotional price.

The necessary price increase for orange juices will be communicated clearly and transparently. The new bottle design is slimmer and visibly smaller, the labels prominently indicate the 700 ml content. On the back, texts and illustrations under the heading “Smaller bottle, greater transparency” also draw attention to the fact that the bottle is smaller and the reasons for this. A QR code on the label leads to further information about the background to the price increase.

Valensina will also be launching a new orange nectar in 1-liter bottles to offer price-sensitive consumers an attractive range. Due to the tense raw material situation, some recipes will also be adjusted, while maintaining the usual Valensina quality standards.