Green-washing has turned into an art form. 80% of organic brands are now reportedly owned by mega corporations – and what they’re doing with their money is alarming some health-conscious shoppers. For instance, when you think of The Coca-Cola Company, you probably think of Coca-Cola. But the Company offers many more options—more than 3,600 products globally. Here are a few of the most popular brands around the world you might not have realized are owned by Coke.
Dasani Water
Dasani Water was launched in 1999 in the USA by Coca-Cola to little grumble. But when Dasani was launched in the UK on February 10, 2004, things went much differently. Prior to the launch, an article in The Grocer trade magazine had mentioned that the source of the Dasani brand water was in fact treated tap water from Sidcup, a suburban development in London.The product launch was named “a disaster”, a “fiasco“ and a “PR catastrophe”. For it’s US formula, Dasani uses tap water from local municipal water supplies, filters it using the process of reverse osmosis, and adds trace amounts of minerals (which dehydrate you), including magnesium sulfate (which dehydrates you), potassium chloride and table salt (which dehydrates you.) Pro Tip: “Water”, indeed. PAH! Think twice. Then, buy this water filter instead. THERE!! You have water!
Simply Orange
Bloomberg Business Week recently called Simply Orange a “hyper-engineered and dauntingly industrial product.” Ummm, is that the description that you want to hear about your orange juice?! Coca-Cola owns Simply Orange, which is made using a process they call Black Book (this is NOT off to a good start…)
Black Book is an algorithm that includes data about consumer preferences and the 600 flavors that make up an orange. Coke matches this data to a profile detailing acidity, sweetness, etc. so that they can blend batches to replicate the same taste and consistency. Black Book also incorporates external factors, such as weather patterns, anticipated crop yields, and cost pressures to allow Coke to plan ahead and ensure they have supplies on hand.
Coca-Cola’s Brazilian partner, Cutrale, processes the oranges, which are grown to Coke specifications. Satellite imaging allows them to order growers to pick their fruit at the best time, as determined by Black Book. The fresh-squeezed juice is stored in Cutrale’s silos and transported via a 1.2 mile underground pipeline to Coke’s packaging plant, where it is flash-pasteurized. It is then piped to storage tanks where it is slowly agitated and covered with a nitrogen gas blanked to keep out oxygen, which has been sucked out of the juice, as it will cause it to spoil.
The batches from different crops and seasons are separated, based on orange type, sweetness, and acidity. Blend technicians follow Black Book instructions, adding natural flavors and fragrances captured during squeezing back into the juice to make up for the flavor lost in processing.
WHAT?!?
Pro Tip: If you’re looking for orange juice, SQUEEZE AN ORANGE!! This stuff is more processed than gasoline!! Get this or this to make it easier for yourself!
Odwalla
As Coca-Cola was donating millions to defeat proposition 37, the GMO labeling act, it was also spending hundreds of millions acquiring Odwalla. It may not look like it, but Coke owns these “healthy” fruit and veggie smoothies, specifically so they can keep one foot on both ends of the consumer spectrum. Organic it is not! Odwalla was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company in 2001 for $15.25 a share, a deal which totalled $181 million and was unanimously approved by the Odwalla board of directors. Under the terms of the merger, Odwalla’s management stayed on as heads of the company, and it was “folded” into Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid department, aimed at expanding Coca-Cola’s product line to include non-carbonated drinks.
Pro Tip: You can get a blender for $15 and make fresh smoothies each and every morning for just a few pennies per glass!
Zico Coconut Water
Yep – Coke is in on coconut water too. Does it ever end?! Founded in 2004, Zico was one of the three original coconut water brands, along with O.N.E. and Vita Coco. Shortly after PepsiCo, Inc. invested in O.N.E., Atlanta-based Coca-Cola in 2009 joined a group of entrepreneurs, distributors and celebrities in acquiring a 20% minority stake in Zico. In 2012, Coca-Cola bought a majority stake in the brand, and earlier this year began distributing the company’s products along with its signature beverages in the United States and Canada. Coke can’t seem to get away with making a drink without sneaking some more of that salt + some other unnecessary ingredients in there. Pro Tip: I wouldn’t rely on this for re-hydrating.
Fuze Tea
Fuze’s fast growth from 2001-2005 sparked the interest of The Coca-Cola Company, which purchased Fuze Beverage in February 2007 for an estimated $250 million. Some consumers may choose Fuze products over other drinks because they wish to avoid high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which has been tentatively linked to obesity and diabetes; the alternative sweetener used in Fuze is crystalline fructose, which is chemically distinct from HFCS, although it is produced by allowing the fructose to crystallize “from a fructose-enriched corn syrup”. Fuze beverages are labelled as Enhanced Real Fruit Beverage(s) and contain a mix of concentrated fruit juices and fruit purees in addition to other ingredients. However, the exact amount of fruit juices per 547 ml bottle is unclear due to the product label, which presents medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients in separate lists; this information is also absent from the Fuze product website. It has been estimated that Fuze beverages contain between 1.0% and 5.0% actual fruit content. Pro Tip: Save yourself a few bucks and buy a fruit if you want some natural sugar, please. Want some tea? Make some of this hot, then freeze it in your freezer for 10 minutes! Voila – You have organic tea for pennies!
Bonus:
Naked Juice
Ok, this isn’t owned by Coke. It’s owned by Pepsi. But it’s noticably absent from the consumer’s knowledge that these two brands are bedfellows. Naked Juice was sued for knowingly using GMOs in its juice, when it advertised as “all natural” and “Non-GMO” and was found to contain fructooligosaccharides, fibersol-2 and inulin; three synthetic ingredients. The company was also sued for intentionally misleading and deceiving its customers.