Ocean Spray may refer to:
Spray from the ocean
Ocean Spray (cooperative), a group of fruit growers
Ocean Spray (song), by the Manic Street Preachers
Holodiscus discolor, a type of flowering shrub
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is a marketing cooperative owned by almost 1,000 cranberry and grapefruit growers in the United States and Canada. A leader in the marketing of shelf-stable juice drinks, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is responsible for 75 percent of the cranberries sold worldwide. Since its beginning, the company has functioned as a grower-owned agricultural cooperative; however, its strong emphasis on new product introduction, advertising, and packaging places it in direct competition with many publicly owned companies. Once known only as a seasonal cranberry sauce business, Ocean Spray now markets blended juice drinks, bottled juices, juice concentrate, fresh fruits, and several other items to both retail and food service outlets year-round. Ocean Spray's Cranberry Division still accounts for the bulk of the company's operations. However, since the addition of grapefruit growers to the cooperative in 1976, the company has displayed an increasing tendency to develop a broad fruit-oriented product line to fortify its presence in the consumer market. Preserving a strong brand image, perfecting production forecasting techniques, and promoting operational efficiency have all led the cooperative to its position as the leader producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks in North America. Ocean Spray's stock is held by some 250 grapefruit growers in Florida and nearly 700 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, and Canada.
Ocean Spray Cranberries transformed that quivering red Thanksgiving side dish into beverages, cereals, and snacks. Known for its blue-and-white wave logo, Ocean Spray is a big-time producer of canned, bottled, and shelf-stable juice drinks in the US. A cooperative owned by more than 600 cranberry and grapefruit growers in North America, the company produces its line of juice drinks by blending the cranberries with other fruits, typically ranging from apples to blueberries. It also offers other products (fresh and dried cranberries, sauces, trail mixes, and instant oatmeal), along with fresh citrus fruits. Ocean Spray's sells its products through food retailers, foodservice providers, and food makers worldwide.
One of the most important developments for Ocean Spray came in 1985 with its acquisition of Milne Fruit Products, Inc. of Prosser, Washington. A manufacturer of fruit concentrates and purees, Milne was once primarily a grape business but grew under Ocean Spray to process cherries, blueberries, blackberries, plums, raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries. Milne's largest customer was Ocean Spray, but the subsidiary also served such major food companies as Kraft General Foods, Gerber Products, Nestlé, Sunkist, Welch's, and Baskin-Robbins. Most importantly for its parent company, Milne tripled in size from the acquisition through the early 1990s and became a significant generator of non-patronage revenue, which was reinvested in the cooperative for future expansion.
The only blight on the company during the eventful 1980s occurred in 1988, when it was charged under the Clean Water Act with illegally dumping insufficiently treated effluent from its Middleboro plant into the town's sewer system. Ultimately, Ocean Spray was fined $400,000; the company also donated $100,000 in water-treatment equipment to the town of Middleboro. Since that event, Ocean Spray has become an industry leader in promoting environmentally sound operations, and has spent more than $26 million upgrading waste-treatment facilities.
While the cooperative reformed itself environmentally, it was also in the process of analyzing all of its internal operations. A program called Right Turn Only (RTO), dedicated to quality improvement, problem-solving, and teamwork, was adopted to aid Ocean Spray in remaining competitive while fostering an open working environment. In the area of market research, crucial in a brand-driven industry, Ocean Spray decided to take advantage of new database technologies by entering into a joint venture with Information Resources of Chicago. The result was a state-of-the-art software program called CoverStory that offered market information from universal product code (UPC) figures and trends. Other innovations included techniques to boost crop yields and forecast harvest results.
Billion-Dollar Company in the 1990s
Under John S. Llewellyn Jr. (who took over as president and CEO in 1987 from Harold Thorkilsen), Ocean Spray became a billion-dollar company by 1992 and continued to build on its strong brand image. A very important development in 1992 involved a joint arrangement with PepsiCo, Inc. to distribute individual cans and bottles of Ocean Spray juices and drinks. This agreement offered Ocean Spray a relatively inexpensive opportunity to increase its individual serving segment, which at the time of the agreement accounted for roughly $100 million in sales, through vending machine, convenience store, and related outlets. According to reporter Jon Berry, "The logic behind the New Age partnership is forceful. During the past decade, Ocean Spray has burst from obscurity to become one of the acknowledged innovators in the beverage industry. But its strength has been notable only in supermarket aisles. To become an equal power in single-serve sales, Ocean Spray would have to spend millions building a distribution system."
Throughout the 1990s Ocean Spray rolled out a steady stream of new products. In 1991, Refreshers Fruit Juice Drinks and Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Drink came on line. The following year Cran-Cherry Juice Drink joined the lineup, while Ruby Red & Tangerine Grapefruit Juice Drink was added in 1993. Craisins sweetened dried cranberries--a direct competitor to raisins in the dried fruit category--had their national launch in 1995, with Cran-Currant Black Currant Cranberry Juice Drink made available for purchase in 1997.
Ocean Spray also increasingly sought out joint ventures to extend its product line. The co-op joined with Nabisco in 1993 to market a cookie called Cranberry Newtons. Ocean Spray and Warner-Lambert joined forces to debut Fruit Waves hard candy in 1994. With PepsiCo, Ocean Spray that same year launched Breakers, a soft drink with 2 percent juice and available in three flavors. The following year saw the introduction of Cranberry English Muffins, a venture with Thomas' English Muffins. And Craisins were included in the 1996-introduced Post Cranberry Almond Crunch Cereal.
Ocean Spray also placed a high premium on effective advertising, signing Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in 1996 for the "It's Your Zing!" campaign. In March 1998 the co-op announced that it had signed tennis star Martina Hingis to a three-year spokesperson contract. Hingis' first promotion for Ocean Spray involved the 1998 debut of Ruby Red & Tango Grapefruit Juice Drink, the third member of the Ruby Red line.
Meanwhile, Ocean Spray continued to upgrade its manufacturing facilities, combining just-in-time inventory systems and computer integrated manufacturing in a 1995-opened facility in Henderson, Nevada, that increased output without increasing costs. In January 1997, Llewellyn retired as president and CEO of the co-op and was replaced by Thomas E. Bullock after a 16-month transition period. Bullock had to contend with the after effects of poor cranberry harvests in two of the previous three seasons, which forced Ocean Spray to delay some product introductions. He also soon faced the end of Ocean Spray's five-year relationship with PepsiCo after the soft drink giant announced that it planned to abandon the distribution agreement in May 1998. By the end of the 1997 fiscal year, the Ocean Spray-PepsiCo arrangement had helped Ocean Spray achieve $225 million in sales for its single-serving products (out of total revenue of $1.44 billion, or almost 16 percent). It had grown from number six to number two among makers of single-serve juices and drinks.
Surprisingly, Ocean Spray and PepsiCo announced in March 1998 that a three-year extension had been reached on the distribution agreement. In August of that same year, however, the partnership once again appeared threatened when Ocean Spray said that it might attempt to block PepsiCo's proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of juice maker Tropicana Products from the Seagram Company Ltd. The co-op believed that the purchase violated its agreement with PepsiCo. It was speculated that PepsiCo planned to distribute single-serving packages of Tropicana juices and drinks, which would directly compete with Ocean Spray products.
In December 1997 Ocean Spray acquired a major interest in Nantucket Allserve Inc., a juice drink company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and famous for its offbeat "Nantucket Nectars" line of single-serve drinks, including Orange Mango and Protein Smoothie flavors. Nantucket, whose younger clientele complemented the typical consumers of Ocean Spray products, would continue to operate independently. In July 1998 Ocean Spray acquired Sydney, Australia-based Processing Technologies International, a leading food technology research company and holder of the patents to the technologies used to create Craisins. The co-op, which renamed the acquired company Food Ingredients Technologies (Australia), planned to take the process used to create Craisins and apply it to numerous other fruits and vegetables, mainly to create ingredients for sale to other food companies. The potential for success of this venture appeared large as Craisins had proved to be a smash hit, becoming the fastest-growing product and the number-three brand in the dried fruit market. These deals proved that Ocean Spray was not going to rest on its cranberry laurels.
Principal Subsidiaries: Milne Food Products, Inc.; Nantucket Allserve Inc.; Food Ingredients Technologies (Australia).
Financial Highlights
Fiscal Year End: August
Revenue (2009): 1900.00 M
Revenue Growth (1 yr): 0.00%
Employees (2009): 2,000
Employee Growth (1 yr): 0.00%
Statistics:
Cooperative
Incorporated: 1930 as Cranberry Canners, Inc.
Employees: 2,500
Sales: $1.44 billion (Fiscal 1997)
SICs: 0171 Berry Crops; 2033 Canned Fruits and Vegetables; 2034 Dried & Dehydrated Fruits, Vegetables & Soup Mixes; 2037 Frozen Fruits, Fruit Juices & Vegetables; 2099 Food Preparations Not Elsewhere Classified
Key People
• President and CEO: Randy C. Papadellis
• SVP and COO, International: Stewart (Stu) Gallagher
• SVP and COO, Domestic: Kenneth G. (Ken) Romanzi
Address:
One Ocean Spray Drive
Lakeville-Middleboro, Massachusetts 02349-0001
U.S.A.
Spray from the ocean
Ocean Spray (cooperative), a group of fruit growers
Ocean Spray (song), by the Manic Street Preachers
Holodiscus discolor, a type of flowering shrub
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is a marketing cooperative owned by almost 1,000 cranberry and grapefruit growers in the United States and Canada. A leader in the marketing of shelf-stable juice drinks, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is responsible for 75 percent of the cranberries sold worldwide. Since its beginning, the company has functioned as a grower-owned agricultural cooperative; however, its strong emphasis on new product introduction, advertising, and packaging places it in direct competition with many publicly owned companies. Once known only as a seasonal cranberry sauce business, Ocean Spray now markets blended juice drinks, bottled juices, juice concentrate, fresh fruits, and several other items to both retail and food service outlets year-round. Ocean Spray's Cranberry Division still accounts for the bulk of the company's operations. However, since the addition of grapefruit growers to the cooperative in 1976, the company has displayed an increasing tendency to develop a broad fruit-oriented product line to fortify its presence in the consumer market. Preserving a strong brand image, perfecting production forecasting techniques, and promoting operational efficiency have all led the cooperative to its position as the leader producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks in North America. Ocean Spray's stock is held by some 250 grapefruit growers in Florida and nearly 700 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, and Canada.
Ocean Spray Cranberries transformed that quivering red Thanksgiving side dish into beverages, cereals, and snacks. Known for its blue-and-white wave logo, Ocean Spray is a big-time producer of canned, bottled, and shelf-stable juice drinks in the US. A cooperative owned by more than 600 cranberry and grapefruit growers in North America, the company produces its line of juice drinks by blending the cranberries with other fruits, typically ranging from apples to blueberries. It also offers other products (fresh and dried cranberries, sauces, trail mixes, and instant oatmeal), along with fresh citrus fruits. Ocean Spray's sells its products through food retailers, foodservice providers, and food makers worldwide.
One of the most important developments for Ocean Spray came in 1985 with its acquisition of Milne Fruit Products, Inc. of Prosser, Washington. A manufacturer of fruit concentrates and purees, Milne was once primarily a grape business but grew under Ocean Spray to process cherries, blueberries, blackberries, plums, raspberries, strawberries, and cranberries. Milne's largest customer was Ocean Spray, but the subsidiary also served such major food companies as Kraft General Foods, Gerber Products, Nestlé, Sunkist, Welch's, and Baskin-Robbins. Most importantly for its parent company, Milne tripled in size from the acquisition through the early 1990s and became a significant generator of non-patronage revenue, which was reinvested in the cooperative for future expansion.
The only blight on the company during the eventful 1980s occurred in 1988, when it was charged under the Clean Water Act with illegally dumping insufficiently treated effluent from its Middleboro plant into the town's sewer system. Ultimately, Ocean Spray was fined $400,000; the company also donated $100,000 in water-treatment equipment to the town of Middleboro. Since that event, Ocean Spray has become an industry leader in promoting environmentally sound operations, and has spent more than $26 million upgrading waste-treatment facilities.
While the cooperative reformed itself environmentally, it was also in the process of analyzing all of its internal operations. A program called Right Turn Only (RTO), dedicated to quality improvement, problem-solving, and teamwork, was adopted to aid Ocean Spray in remaining competitive while fostering an open working environment. In the area of market research, crucial in a brand-driven industry, Ocean Spray decided to take advantage of new database technologies by entering into a joint venture with Information Resources of Chicago. The result was a state-of-the-art software program called CoverStory that offered market information from universal product code (UPC) figures and trends. Other innovations included techniques to boost crop yields and forecast harvest results.
Billion-Dollar Company in the 1990s
Under John S. Llewellyn Jr. (who took over as president and CEO in 1987 from Harold Thorkilsen), Ocean Spray became a billion-dollar company by 1992 and continued to build on its strong brand image. A very important development in 1992 involved a joint arrangement with PepsiCo, Inc. to distribute individual cans and bottles of Ocean Spray juices and drinks. This agreement offered Ocean Spray a relatively inexpensive opportunity to increase its individual serving segment, which at the time of the agreement accounted for roughly $100 million in sales, through vending machine, convenience store, and related outlets. According to reporter Jon Berry, "The logic behind the New Age partnership is forceful. During the past decade, Ocean Spray has burst from obscurity to become one of the acknowledged innovators in the beverage industry. But its strength has been notable only in supermarket aisles. To become an equal power in single-serve sales, Ocean Spray would have to spend millions building a distribution system."
Throughout the 1990s Ocean Spray rolled out a steady stream of new products. In 1991, Refreshers Fruit Juice Drinks and Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice Drink came on line. The following year Cran-Cherry Juice Drink joined the lineup, while Ruby Red & Tangerine Grapefruit Juice Drink was added in 1993. Craisins sweetened dried cranberries--a direct competitor to raisins in the dried fruit category--had their national launch in 1995, with Cran-Currant Black Currant Cranberry Juice Drink made available for purchase in 1997.
Ocean Spray also increasingly sought out joint ventures to extend its product line. The co-op joined with Nabisco in 1993 to market a cookie called Cranberry Newtons. Ocean Spray and Warner-Lambert joined forces to debut Fruit Waves hard candy in 1994. With PepsiCo, Ocean Spray that same year launched Breakers, a soft drink with 2 percent juice and available in three flavors. The following year saw the introduction of Cranberry English Muffins, a venture with Thomas' English Muffins. And Craisins were included in the 1996-introduced Post Cranberry Almond Crunch Cereal.
Ocean Spray also placed a high premium on effective advertising, signing Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in 1996 for the "It's Your Zing!" campaign. In March 1998 the co-op announced that it had signed tennis star Martina Hingis to a three-year spokesperson contract. Hingis' first promotion for Ocean Spray involved the 1998 debut of Ruby Red & Tango Grapefruit Juice Drink, the third member of the Ruby Red line.
Meanwhile, Ocean Spray continued to upgrade its manufacturing facilities, combining just-in-time inventory systems and computer integrated manufacturing in a 1995-opened facility in Henderson, Nevada, that increased output without increasing costs. In January 1997, Llewellyn retired as president and CEO of the co-op and was replaced by Thomas E. Bullock after a 16-month transition period. Bullock had to contend with the after effects of poor cranberry harvests in two of the previous three seasons, which forced Ocean Spray to delay some product introductions. He also soon faced the end of Ocean Spray's five-year relationship with PepsiCo after the soft drink giant announced that it planned to abandon the distribution agreement in May 1998. By the end of the 1997 fiscal year, the Ocean Spray-PepsiCo arrangement had helped Ocean Spray achieve $225 million in sales for its single-serving products (out of total revenue of $1.44 billion, or almost 16 percent). It had grown from number six to number two among makers of single-serve juices and drinks.
Surprisingly, Ocean Spray and PepsiCo announced in March 1998 that a three-year extension had been reached on the distribution agreement. In August of that same year, however, the partnership once again appeared threatened when Ocean Spray said that it might attempt to block PepsiCo's proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of juice maker Tropicana Products from the Seagram Company Ltd. The co-op believed that the purchase violated its agreement with PepsiCo. It was speculated that PepsiCo planned to distribute single-serving packages of Tropicana juices and drinks, which would directly compete with Ocean Spray products.
In December 1997 Ocean Spray acquired a major interest in Nantucket Allserve Inc., a juice drink company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and famous for its offbeat "Nantucket Nectars" line of single-serve drinks, including Orange Mango and Protein Smoothie flavors. Nantucket, whose younger clientele complemented the typical consumers of Ocean Spray products, would continue to operate independently. In July 1998 Ocean Spray acquired Sydney, Australia-based Processing Technologies International, a leading food technology research company and holder of the patents to the technologies used to create Craisins. The co-op, which renamed the acquired company Food Ingredients Technologies (Australia), planned to take the process used to create Craisins and apply it to numerous other fruits and vegetables, mainly to create ingredients for sale to other food companies. The potential for success of this venture appeared large as Craisins had proved to be a smash hit, becoming the fastest-growing product and the number-three brand in the dried fruit market. These deals proved that Ocean Spray was not going to rest on its cranberry laurels.
Principal Subsidiaries: Milne Food Products, Inc.; Nantucket Allserve Inc.; Food Ingredients Technologies (Australia).
Financial Highlights
Fiscal Year End: August
Revenue (2009): 1900.00 M
Revenue Growth (1 yr): 0.00%
Employees (2009): 2,000
Employee Growth (1 yr): 0.00%
Statistics:
Cooperative
Incorporated: 1930 as Cranberry Canners, Inc.
Employees: 2,500
Sales: $1.44 billion (Fiscal 1997)
SICs: 0171 Berry Crops; 2033 Canned Fruits and Vegetables; 2034 Dried & Dehydrated Fruits, Vegetables & Soup Mixes; 2037 Frozen Fruits, Fruit Juices & Vegetables; 2099 Food Preparations Not Elsewhere Classified
Key People
• President and CEO: Randy C. Papadellis
• SVP and COO, International: Stewart (Stu) Gallagher
• SVP and COO, Domestic: Kenneth G. (Ken) Romanzi
Address:
One Ocean Spray Drive
Lakeville-Middleboro, Massachusetts 02349-0001
U.S.A.