 | |
 Sunkist headquarters in Valencia | |
| Company type | Agricultural marketing cooperative |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Founded | 1893; 133 years ago (1893) inClaremont, California |
| Founder | P.J. Dreher and Edward L. Dreher |
| Headquarters | Valencia, California, U.S. |
Area served | California and Arizona |
| Products | Citrus |
| Website | www |
Sunkist Growers, Incorporated, branded asSunkist in 1909, is an Americancitrus growers' non-stock membershipcooperative composed of over 1,000 members fromCalifornia andArizona headquartered inValencia, California.[1] Through 31 offices in the United States and Canada and four offices outside North America, its sales in 1991 totaled $956 million. It is the largest fresh produce shipper in the United States, the most diversified citrus processing and marketing operation in the world, and one of California's largest landowners.[2]
In the late 1880s, California citrus growers began organizing themselves intocooperatives, with the goal of increasing profits by pooling theirrisk and increasing their collectivebargaining power withjobbers andpackers. Theeconomic depression that began in 1893 worsened farmers' situations, and intensified their desire to self-organize to their own benefit.[3]
In 1893, P.J. Dreher and his son,Edward L. Dreher, who became the "father of theCalifornia citrus industry" (1877–1964), along with several other prominent citrus farmers and land owners formed theSouthern California Fruit Exchange inClaremont, a small college town 30 miles (48 km) east ofLos Angeles. The exchange originally represented only orange growers; in 1896 lemon growers joined.[3] Growers fromLos Angeles County,Orange County, andRiverside County were among the original members and later expanded to growers and groves inSan Bernardino andVentura Counties. By 1905, the exchange represented 5,000 members, 45% of the California citrus industry, and renamed itself theCalifornia Fruit Growers Exchange (CFGE).
In 1909 the CFGE launched a successful marketing campaign promoting their brand of "Sunkist" oranges in theMidwest by competing with apples. Instructional circulars were sent to grocers describing how to display oranges in bulk, while large newspaper ads promoted the fruit to customers. Store displays compared prices for apples and oranges side-by-side which increasedinventory turnover andcash flow for the grocer.[4] At the same time, California State SenatorFrank Flint in Washington D. C. delivered 30 boxes of "Sun-kist" oranges to congressmen and theVice President, whose testimonials were used for promotion.[5]
Between 1927 and 1939, the exchange sold more than 75% of all California citrus. In the 1947–48 season, the exchange had around 15,000 citrus growers.[6] In 1952, it changed its name toSunkist Growers, Inc.
As of 2007, Sunkist markets freshoranges,lemons,limes,grapefruits, andtangerines to 12 states and three Canadian provinces, from 6,000 growers in California and Arizona. From 1971 to 2014, Sunkist was based in theSherman Oaks district ofLos Angeles; in September 2014, it relocated to the Valencia neighborhood of Santa Clarita.[1] Through trademark agreements, Sunkist has licensed its trademark to other firms such asGeneral Mills andSnapple, for marketing more than 600 mainly citrus-flavored products includingsoft drinks and juice drinks,vitamins, and jellies and candies in more than 50 countries. Sunkist also owns two citrus processing plants which manufacture juice, oils, pulp and peels. Sunkist's subsidiaries for marketing, international sales and fruit purchasing include SunMac Hawaii Ltd., Sunkist Global, LLC in California, Sunkist Pacific, Ltd., in Japan, Sunkist (Far East) Promotion Ltd., in Hong Kong, and Sunkist Real Estate Ltd., in California.[7] Sales in 1991 totalled $956 million,[2] with nearly half of revenues generated outside the United States.[7]
The Sunkist organization features three levels in its hierarchy: local, district, and central associations. Individual growers belong to their specific local organization; local organizations are part of a district organization, and districts participate in a central organization. The cooperative's main purpose is to create systems enabling fruit from multiple growers to be efficiently harvested, sorted into various sizes and grades, and packed and shipped across the United States in response to shifting demand.[8]
The central exchange fostered scientific research on citrus through its field department and collaborations with theUniversity of California andUSDA'sCitrus Experiment Station inRiverside.[9][10][11]
Since its inception, the organization has significantly expanded its activities. In 1906, the CFGE launched theCitrus Protective League, a lobbying arm.[12] In 1907, it formed theFruit Growers Supply Company to provide growers with materials such as radios, tires, shooks (components for fruit crates),insecticides, andfertilizers atwholesale prices.[13] It later formed theSunkist's Exchange By-Products Company, which developed markets for by-products such ascitric acid,sodium citrate,lemon oil,pectin,orange oil and orange pulp.[8][14]
In its early years, the primary problem facing the California citrus industry was anoversupply of fruit. By 1907, California was producing five times as many oranges as fifteen years earlier. As newly planted orange groves began to bear fruit, the market was flooded with unsalable oranges, and trees were cut down; this prompted a young marketing executive,Albert Lasker with theLord & Thomasad agency, who endeavored to avoidfood waste, to pitch a sales plan.[15] In 1907 the CFGE approved the first-ever large-scale advertising campaign aimed at marketing a perishable commodity. The March 1907 campaign, promoting oranges toIowans as "healthy" and "summery", resulted in a 50% increase in orange sales in that state. It also launched the Sunkist brand: Lord & Thomas originally proposed using the adjective "sun-kissed" to describe the CFGE oranges; the word eventually used in the campaign was Sunkist, created by the agency as a mnemonic device which would be easier to defend if used as atrademark.[3]
In an effort to distinguish Sunkist oranges from others, the CFGE wrapped its oranges in paper stamped with the Sunkist brand name. In 1909, after Sunkist learned that merchants were selling non-Sunkist oranges as Sunkist, it began to offer consumers a free Sunkist-brandedspoon in exchange for mailing in twelve Sunkist wrappers. One million spoons were claimed in the first year of the promotion, further establishing the brand in consumers' minds and giving merchants a reason to want to display Sunkist oranges in their original wrappers. By 1910, because of thepromotion, Sunkist had become the world's largest purchaser ofcutlery.[3][16]
The success of early campaigns prompted Sunkist to invest heavily inadvertising, and in coming decades the brand was advertised in magazines and on radio, on billboards,streetcars and railroad cars, on the sides of speedboats, in school curricula and essay contests, and in pamphlets distributed in doctors' offices. Its messaging was aimed to reposition oranges in the minds of consumers. Rather than a luxury to be enjoyed only atChristmas, Sunkist wanted people to believe oranges were essential for good health and to eat one every day.[8]
.jpg)
Sunkist also invested in marketing fresh-squeezed orange juice andlemonade as superior alternatives to "artificial" beverages such asCoca-Cola. By the mid-1930s, one Sunkist orange in five was being consumed in juice form, often atsoda fountains, and Sunkist juice was the second-most-popular soda fountain drink, after Coca-Cola.[8]
By 1914, Americans were consuming about forty oranges per person every year, up 80% from 1885.[3]
In 1915, in response to competition from imported Italian lemons, which at that time had nearly half the American market, Sunkist started aggressively marketing the benefits of Sunkist lemons, promoting their use as ahair rinse, intea, inpie and as afood garnish. By 1924, California lemons had 90% of the American lemon market.[3]
In 1935, the eight-story Sunkist Building was built byWalker & Eisen at the corner of 5th street and Hope street.[22] In October 1970, Sunkist traded its land and building for a larger property onRiverside Drive inSherman Oaks.[22] In 1972, the Sunkist Building was demolished and the site sat empty for two years.[22] In 1981, a structure that opened as the Wells Fargo Building is nowFourFortyFour South Flower. The Sunkist 8.3-acre campus in Sherman Oaks is now Citrus Commons.[23][24][25] In 2014, Sunkist Growers moved toValencia, California, nearSix Flags Magic Mountain.[25]
Oranges by the bushel! Oranges the peck! Cheaper than apples !
The vice president replied ... 'Oranges always taste good to us, but these California oranges are meat, drink and a night's lodging.'
The retail store keepers ... encouraged to carry the "Sunkist'" golden fruit while the consumers were urged to call for oranges with the "Sunkist" wrappers. ... the fourth largest buyer of silver spoons in the world.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
