Orbitz
The Clear Fruit Drink with Suspended Gel Spheres
Forgotten Food & Drinks · 1996
Archived on
Associated With
Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation of Vancouver, British Columbia - manufacturer or brand
Defining Feature
Clear, non-carbonated fruit drink with coloured edible gel spheres suspended in the liquid
Status
Discontinued - historical product; exact final withdrawal date is not verified
Overview
Orbitz was a clear, non-carbonated fruit drink with coloured edible gel spheres that stayed suspended.
Clearly Canadian launched it in selected markets around Memorial Day 1996, aiming the product at teenagers. The custom wide-mouth glass bottle displayed the spheres through a clear label and included upside-down text encouraging people to turn it.
Gellan gum and the liquid's non-Newtonian behaviour helped maintain the suspension. A 1998 rheology abstract gives February 1997 as an alternate broader-introduction date, while the exact final withdrawal date remains unverified.
Why It Mattered
Orbitz made movement, texture and visual suspension central to a packaged drink. The clear bottle exposed the coloured spheres, while the inverted label encouraged customers to turn the container and watch them move.
Its formulation also made an unusual fluid property part of the product's appearance rather than hiding it inside the manufacturing process.
Suspension System
- Gellan gum gave the liquid gel-like properties that helped keep the edible spheres suspended.
- The effect also depended on non-Newtonian rheology rather than neutral buoyancy alone.
- Period descriptions identify Orbitz as non-carbonated.
Bottle and Label
- The selected-market product used a custom 10-ounce wide-mouth glass bottle with an aluminium screw cap.
- A clear polypropylene label kept the suspended spheres visible.
- Upside-down label text encouraged consumers to turn the bottle and watch the spheres move.
- The suggested US retail price was US$1.29.
Release Chronology
- Packaging World documented a selected-market launch around Memorial Day 1996 aimed at teenagers.
- A 1998 Society of Rheology abstract gives February 1997 as an alternate broader-introduction date.
- The exact final withdrawal date is not established.
Sources & Records
- Society of Rheology — How Orbitz suspended its gel beads — Reports tests showing viscoelasticity rather than neutral buoyancy alone kept the beads suspended; gives an alternative February 1997 introduction date.
- Canadian Intellectual Property Office — Orbitz slogan trademark — Connects Clearly Canadian to the slogan and beverages containing flavour beads; registration dates are not launch dates.
- Clearly Canadian — annual report for 2005 — Identifies Orbitz among the company’s earlier product-development work.
Gallery
Credit
Orbitz packaging and product photograph; photographer unknown; reproduced via r/Discontinued on Reddit.
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Orbitz displayed its suspended pellets through clear bottles, making the drink's unusual appearance as important as its flavour.
Credit
Atlas Obscura
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
Orbitz’s suspended spheres became the drink’s visual signature, shown here through the transparent bottle against a blue sky.
Credit
Boing Boing
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
A single Orbitz bottle shows how the unusual floating pieces remained visible through the drink and its packaging.