Orbitz (soft drink)
Encyclopedia
Orbitz was the product name of a noncarbonated fruit-flavored beverage, made by the company Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation (makers of Clearly Canadian
), that had small edible balls floating in it. It was introduced around 1997 and quickly disappeared due to poor sales. The drink was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a portable lava lamp
.
The small balls floated due to their nearly equal density to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended with assistance from an ingredient known as gellan gum
. The gellan gum provided a support matrix—something like a microscopic spider web
--and had a visual clarity approaching that of water
, which increased with the addition of sugar
.
The website for Orbitz existed for a while, but was taken over by the Internet travel agency of the same name (see Orbitz
).
Unopened bottles of the beverage have become something of a collector's item in recent years, appearing as novelty items on online auction websites.
Clearly Canadian
Clearly Canadian is a flavoured sweet sparkling water produced by Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation in Vernon, British Columbia. Clearly Canadian was popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, but fell out of favour in later years.-Flavors:...
), that had small edible balls floating in it. It was introduced around 1997 and quickly disappeared due to poor sales. The drink was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a portable lava lamp
Lava lamp
A lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from a incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava,...
.
The small balls floated due to their nearly equal density to the surrounding liquid, and remained suspended with assistance from an ingredient known as gellan gum
Gellan gum
Gellan gum is a water-soluble polysaccharide produced by Pseudomonas elodea, a bacterium.-Chemical structure:The repeating unit of the polymer is a tetrasaccharide, which consists of two residues of D-glucose and one of each residues of L-rhamnose and D-glucuronic acid...
. The gellan gum provided a support matrix—something like a microscopic spider web
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
--and had a visual clarity approaching that of water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, which increased with the addition of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
.
The website for Orbitz existed for a while, but was taken over by the Internet travel agency of the same name (see Orbitz
Orbitz
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an Internet travel company headquartered in the Citigroup Center in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois. Through its primary web site Orbitz.com, Orbitz Worldwide enables travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products, facilitating 1.5 million flight...
).
Unopened bottles of the beverage have become something of a collector's item in recent years, appearing as novelty items on online auction websites.
Flavors
- Raspberry Citrus (introductory flavor)
- Blueberry Melon Strawberry (introductory flavor)
- Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut (introductory flavor)
- Vanilla Orange (introductory flavor)
- Black Currant Berry (introduced later)
- Charlie Brown Chocolate (introduced later)