Pulpy, Pulpy Orange. Review on Minute Maid

When Minute Maid first launched in India, it was a bit of an anomaly. Orange Juice? In a bottle? At an affordable price?

'Natural Nahi Hoga' was the obvious response.

After all, the only affordable fruit pulp based beverage you could get in India at that time was mango based, with Maaza and Slice dominating that segment. The rest of the fruit juice space was filled by the higher segments, with Real and Tropicana claiming to offer 'Real' (pun intended) fruit juices for around Rs. 80 - 100. Never mind that both Real and Tropicana had an even more 'Real' fruit juice offerings in the same segment, which costed Rs.120 and above. Ummm does that mean that the below Rs. 100 per litre juice was not 'Real'?

My head is spinning thinking about it.

So Let's get back to Minute Maid.

Their tagline when launched was 'Pulpy Orange'. Their rationale was, if you feel tiny bits of Orange Pulp in the juice, it must be genuine (i.e. made from Real Oranges). I was apprehensive, but the price of Rs. 50 for 1 litre (few years back) was too tempting to refuse on a hot summers day.

And then I had a sip.

Wow, it really did taste like real oranges, and somehow, more 'real' than the Tropicana and Real offerings. Through whichever means of added artificial flavouring, Coca Cola had managed to make Minute Maid taste as if it had been made from Indian Oranges, as compared to the other two, whose orange juice tasted a bit U.S.ish (I know, since my cousin had got a few cartons from them sometime back).

But the kicker was the pulp. It is little, floaty bits of orange pulp, the kind that would come if you strained the juice through a coarse, not fine, strainer. And it really did add to the credibility of the whole 'this is real 100% orange juice'. So much so, that Dabur started adding more Pulp to it's Real Juice to make it seem more authentic.

Ok, so it does taste good. And is the perfect drink to give guests on a hot summers day, especially these days when people are averse to Colas and fizzy drinks.

But there are a few problem with Minute Maid.

Firstly, it is a

Secondly, their other variants, Lemon and Mixed Fruit, are not really good in taste. For one, they have even more sugar. The Mixed Fruit variant is indeed cloyingly sweet. And as for the Lemon variant, while it is cheaper, I find a simple maid Nimbu Pani at my local juice stall to be a 100 times better. The plain fact is, it tastes artificial, as does the Mixed Fruit.

So, how to conclude this short, snappy review for Minute Maid Pulpy Orange. Here goes.

Perfect for: Orange Juice Lovers, Serving to Guests on a Hot Day, Substitute for Fizzy Drinks / Fanta

Not for: People with high blood sugar, When you need a healthy option (I think Real and Tropicana are better).

All in all though, for Rs. 60 per litre, Minute Maid provides good value, especially compared to Rs. 90 for a litre of Real Orange and Rs. 99 for a litre of Orange Tropicana.