It was not all that long ago that out of season produce was an expensive luxury. Comparing milk
to orange juice seems to skip over the fact that cows make milk all year round. Fresh Florida juice
oranges are very seasonal. Do you remember canned orange juice? I remember it being pretty
bad stuff compared to fresh squeezed. These improvements in storage and shipping of orange
juice made "almost" fresh tasting juice available all year round. That was a big step in marketing.
Today we take it for granted that almost everything is in our stores whenever we want it.
As a boy I don't remember there being any frozen food in the local market. Frozen juice concentrate
and Birdseye vegetables seems to have appeared about late 40s and early 50s. At least in my
recollection. There were changes going on in the foods industry and a demand for fresher tasting
products was one of the big drivers. I think Tropicana got a step ahead and profited nicely from
grabbing a big market share, largely from refrigeration technology.
Chuck Peck