When was the last time you enjoyed a Capri Sun? Do you sneak a few sips from your kids’
pouch, buy them for yourself, or have you done away with it altogether for a healthier,
better option? If so, you may be on the right track because the juice brand has a few skeletons
in its closet that may make you want to look for a better option. Take a big sip and let’s
check out the Top 10 Untold Truths of Capri Sun.
Capri Sun Immigrated to America
That’s right, Capri Sun originated in Germany in 1969. It was called Capri Sonne after the
Italian island. It made its way over to the United States in 1981 under the Kraft brand.
The brand, of course, hit the ground running. Who is going to complain about a juice that
is in an “environmentally friendly” pouch? Also, it was the new kid on the block so everyone
wanted a taste. Capri Sun quickly made a mark in America - we can assume this is because
they brought new, exciting flavors to the market. To this day, scandals and all, they
still have a tight grip on the American market. In Germany and the rest of Europe, this drink
is a favorite and staple in kids lunch containers. While more and more competitors close in,
Capri Sun is still the leading brand. But for how long?
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Those Environmentally Friendly Capri Sun Packages… Not So Friendly
Yikes, 2015 was a hard year for Capri Sun. In addition to some scandals, we’ll get
to soon, the company also got called out for their not so environmentally friendly pouches.
According to the Huffington Post, the packaging is made with “multiple layers of plastic
and aluminum that are very difficult to recycle”. They upset enough people that a coalition
started basically telling Kraft to clean up after themselves. The campaign was called
“Make It, Take It”. They gave Kraft two options: pick up after yourselves or use packaging
that is actually environmentally friendly as opposed to just telling people it is. The
first option would have never worked out seeing as it would cost too much money. Think about
it, Kraft would have to hire people to go around picking up Capri Sun packages. Or,
they would have to provide cities with drop off sites where people could drop their packages
in. The best option was to just make a package that was actually environmentally friendly.
Kraft said that they have been working on better packaging for some time now and that
they already implemented environmentally friendly cardboard boxes. It’s almost 2019 and the
packaging is still the same.
Capri Sun Flavors Around The World
As with almost everything else, America is the last to get the best, most exotic flavors
of anything. This is no different when it comes to Capri Sun. There have been debates
online about which flavor is the best - some say Orange, others say grape, Surfer Cool
and fruit punch. However, this is only because they have no clue what they are missing. Mango
Passionfruit, Apple-Strawberry, Multivitamin, Summer Berries and that’s only options from
Africa. In other parts of the world like China, they have Blackcurrant, Pear, White Grape
and Peach Apple. How can you not want to get on a plane just to try all the different flavors
they have in Europe and beyond? In some parts of the world, they even have a re-closable
pouch. Now, I haven’t had a Capri Sun in a while but this seems like a new and very
useful concept.
How Many Capri Sun Slogans?
Over the years in an effort to rebrand their product, the company has had a number of slogans.
The three most popular being “The Taste Of Fun”, “Liquid Cool”, and “Respect
The Pouch”. However, around the world, there have been a few slogans that didn’t make
it out of the 80s and we like to think it’s for a good reason. Like, “There’s Only
One” - we happen to think this slogan was way too close to the catchphrase that Highlander
used. Another one was “Wholesome Fruit Juice For Kids” but that was proved wrong on several
counts. It seems as though this company is constantly having to rebrand. We have to wonder
what the original German creators think about the numerous American scandals that surround
their once pure and wholesome juice. Capri Sun has been around too long to make basic
branding mistakes to the point where they must rebrand themselves over and over. After
more than 50 years in the business, we would assume that they would have had a permanent
slogan down by now. Even if they updated their logo, there should still be at least one slogan
that everyone can relate to. Let’s see what the next 50 years bring them.
Capri Sun Tried To Revive Their Good Standing
In 2015, Capri Sun tried to reclaim their good standing in the community after a few
rough scandals. What do you think is the best way to do that? That’s right, team up with
a cartoon-centered brand and leech off of their success. Capri Sun teamed up with the
minions from Despicable Me. Their partnership with Pixar, Illumination Entertainment, and
Universal Pictures allowed them to use the likeness of the minions on all of their products.
They even released a new flavor exclusive with the Minions stand alone film called BanApple.
Unfortunately, we'll never know how it tasted, because the flavor didn't make it to the United
States. It was rolled out in six European markets, including Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
It will also launch in Jamaica under the revised name of Bapple. The pouches were also collectibles
because who doesn’t want to keep a juice-stained pouch in their home (have you ever smelled
rancid juice?). The 12-pack came with fun straws and refrigerator magnets. At least
the magnets are something that can be used, those pouches just have pictures of minions
on them. Regardless, the partnership was pretty successful for the brand.
Corn Syrup No More in Capri Sun
In 2015, after a bit of scandalous and confusing behavior, Kraft was forced to change the way
they make Capri Sun juice. For who knows how long, the company has been using high fructose
corn syrup in the drinks to get that super sugary taste that makes kids bounce off the
walls. Eventually, they had to change the use of corn syrup because come on, let's be
honest, corn syrup isn’t good for anyone especially a growing child. Instead, they
just started using straight up sugar which, why weren’t they using that before? Sugar
in copious amounts still isn’t healthy, but at least it’s natural. This small change
even dropped the calorie count from 60 to 50 calories per pouch. So why did Capri Sun
make the change? In a statement, they said they wanted to help parents make healthier
choices for their kids - but really, we can assume it had something to do with the fact
that they needed to make a bigger and better come back after a wicked scandal - which we’ll
talk about soon. They are right though, parents don’t want to give their kids unhealthy
things especially when the media does nothing but bombard us with the latest health crazes
and diet tips.
So is Capri Sun All Natural Or Not?
I’m sure you can tell where this is going. It seems like everything Capri Sun says gets
contradicted in a matter of years. The company announced in 2015 that they would be ditching
their use of high fructose corn syrup. How progressive, right? This could have been a
big step for the company only if they could just be honest about everything. You see,
they had been down this road before. In 2007, the company slapped that coveted “all natural”
label on their drink pouches and of course, they flew off the shelf. This supposed lie
resulted in a lawsuit against the company. The group of people who sued the company alleged
that there is nothing natural about high-fructose corn syrup, so, therefore, the label was false.
The lawsuit was successful and Capri Sun dropped the all-natural label from their pouch. They
were eventually sued again soon after because their other “all natural” drink Fruit
Refreshers was proven to not be all natural as well. It contained citric acid and well,
there is nothing natural about that.
Organic Capri Sun?
The word organic is a buzzword. Put it in front of anything and you attract the attention
of a bunch of people who most likely wouldn’t have looked at your product before. So, of
course, Capri Sun jumped on board. In 2016, the company introduced their organic line
of juices. People think they are doing the very best thing for their health by consuming
anything that says organic. But truthfully, it doesn’t always mean healthy. Especially
when it comes to Capri Sun. According to the Huffington Post, there is a significant difference
in Capri Sun and organic Capri Sun. They compared the nutrition labels and surprise, surprise
it wasn’t great. The calories increased from 50 to 70, the total carbohydrates increased
from 14 to 17, which accounted for 13 grams of sugar originally to 16 grams of sugar in
the organic version, and the sodium jumped from 15 to 20 milligrams! So that’s more
calories, more sugar, and more sodium. Where is the good in that again? If organic is supposed
to be healthier, how is Capri Sun doing just the opposite of that?
The Moldy Truth of Capri Sun
Here it is, the big scandal. Back in 2012, a parent claimed they found mold in their
child’s Capri Sun drink pouch. Initially, the brand never responded. Probably chalk
it up to someone trying to pull a get rich quick scheme. Unfortunately, for the juice
company, that was not the case. In fact, after the initial claim, more parents began to come
forward with complaints. Supposedly, mold was floating in the bottom of their children’s
drink. Or worse, their kids were sucking that sticky, gooey, furry mold into their bellies.
How could Capri Sun possibly come out from under this? Well, the company claimed that
this is nothing but an “extremely rare” occurrence. But of course, to combat the mold
problem, the company implemented this “really cool” and not at all related to the mold
scandal pouch with a clear bottom. They also reminded consumers that their products are
all natural. Also basically said without saying that this is the price one pays for an all
natural product. They said since there are no preservatives, even a small hole in a pouch
means air can get in, allowing mold to form, and that’s why they say you should throw
away any leaking pouches. But keep in mind, no one reported a leaking pouch, just mold
in their drinks.
Capri Sun Shouldn’t be Fuzzy
It’s hard to say how much fungi we are comfortable with being in our food. However, we can safely
say that 5 is too many. We would like to point out that juice probably shouldn’t have fungi
in it at all. Was the Capri Sun mold scandal just a series of a few coincidences? Well,
a research project conducted in 2013 had Capri Sun filtered through a vacuum just to see
what would be left behind. To their surprise, they found five species of fungus. One of
the researchers said that this amount of fungus was in the popular juice because they don’t
add preservatives. Too many fungi were able to survive the juicing process. However, they
did throw the product a bone by letting fans know that you may not die or get sick from
consuming this mold. A researcher said that the worst part of the whole thing is just
how gross it looks. This is probably the best news possible for Capri Sun. At least they
know that their moldy drinks have a low chance of hurting anyone - well, seriously at least.
We can only imagine that over time this will become more of an issue. Kraft is trying to
right as many wrongs as they possibly can. But, knowing what you know now, is it too
late for them? Or, will you still be partaking in a sugary sip of your favorite playground
pouch juice?
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