Orbitz (drink)
Soft drink with edible spheres in suspension
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Clearly Food & Beverage Company |
| Origin | Canada |
| Introduced | 1996 |
| Discontinued | 1999 |
| Related products | Clearly Canadian |
History
It was introduced 1996 and marketed as a “scientific marvel”.[4][5][6] It was discontinued by early 1999.[7][8]
Post-discontinuation
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
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
Several flavors of Orbitz were produced:[1]
- Raspberry Citrus
- Blueberry Melon Strawberry
- Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut
- Vanilla Orange
- Black Currant Berry
In popular culture
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]