Orbitz (drink)
| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Clearly Food & Beverage Company |
| Origin | Canada |
| Introduced | 1996 |
| Discontinued | 1999 |
| Related products | Clearly Canadian |
Orbitz was a non-carbonated fruit-flavored beverage produced by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company of Canada, makers of Clearly Canadian. The drink was sold in five[1] flavors, and made with small floating edible fruit-flavored jelly beads. Orbitz was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a potable lava lamp.[2][3]
History
[edit]It was introduced 1996 and marketed as a “scientific marvel”.[4][5][6] It was discontinued by early 1999.[7][8]
Post-discontinuation
[edit]The product's domain name was bought by the Internet-based travel agency named Orbitz.
Unopened bottles from the drink's original launch have become a collector's item, appearing on online auction websites worth $30-$50 on online sales. The Clearly Food & Beverage Company states that the proprietary equipment that made Orbitz broke down and the trademark is no longer owned by the company.[2]
Ingredients
[edit]The small balls floated due to their nearly equal density to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended with the assistance of gellan gum. The gellan gum provided a support matrix and had a visual clarity approaching that of water, which increased with the addition of sugar. The gellan gum created a very weak yield stress which has been measured to be ~0.04 Pa.[9]
Flavors
[edit]
Several flavors of Orbitz were produced:[1]
- Raspberry Citrus
- Blueberry Melon Strawberry
- Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut
- Vanilla Orange
- Black Currant Berry
In popular culture
[edit]The drink is featured in the 1999 Gregg Araki film Splendor when Kelly MacDonald's character opens a fridge full of Orbitz and drinks one.
In 2025, the drink was featured in the film Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie as the secret ingredient to time travel.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Foodology (2011-02-26). "Orbitz: the Forgotten Drink With Balls". Foodology. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ^ a b "Top 10 Bad Beverage Ideas". Time. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ Kealey, Helena (November 19, 2014). "The Apprentice: how many of these soft drinks from the past do you remember?". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ^ "Oct 08, 1996, page 15 - The Central New Jersey Home News at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ^ Glass, Sandie. "What Were They Thinking? Orbitz, The Lava Lamp Of Soft Drinks". Fast Company. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ^ McCandless, Colin (2023-08-13). "Discontinued Orbitz Soda Was A Scientific Marvel". Mashed. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ^ Parker, Dante (May 13, 2024). "What Really Happened to Orbitz? Here's How the 'Drinkable Lava Lamp' Beverage Defied Our Tastebuds". Parade. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ^ "People Still Buy This Discontinued '90s Drink Online". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
- ^ Dontula, P.; Macosko, C.W. (1999). "Yield Stress in Orbitz" (PDF). Rheology Bulletin. 68 (1): 5–6 – via The Rheology Bulletin Collection.
- ^ Zilko, Christian (2025-03-11). "'Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie' Review: Cult Comedy Series Gets Big Screen Treatment in Glorious Copyright Nightmare". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2025-03-15. Retrieved 2026-05-10.