I am 99% sure that the tower over the Florida's Natural processing center in Lake Wales is not…read moreorange juice but I didn't ask. Instead, I'll keep drinking their product as I prefer it over the Tropicana OJ. Florida's Natural began as the Florida Citrus Canners Cooperative with the mission of bringing fresh citrus products to American households. Over the decades, the cooperative adapted to changing consumer preferences, from canned juice in the 1930s to frozen concentrate during World War II, and later to chilled, ready-to-drink juice in the 1960s. In 1987, the Florida's Natural brand was launched, emphasizing premium not-from-concentrate juice. The cooperative rebranded as Florida's Natural Growers in 1998, and today it is owned by more than 1,100 grower members. Despite setbacks such as the hurricanes of 2004, the company has expanded globally, now exporting to 44 countries. In terms of market share, Florida's Natural is the second-largest orange juice producer in the United States, behind Tropicana, and competes directly with Minute Maid and Simply Orange. While Tropicana and Minute Maid benefit from corporate backing by PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, Florida's Natural differentiates itself through its cooperative model and branding around authenticity and grower ownership. So if you're looking for a refreshing glass of juice to mix with your vodka, I mean, uh, what? Choose Florida's Natural and support farmers a bit more than those massive international conglomerates.

Florida's Natural Growers was founded in 1933 as Florida Citrus Canners Cooperative in Lake Wales,…read moreFlorida. It was created to provide the canning of juice and grapefruit sections for its members. In 1938 automatic machines for extracting juice were added. During WWII Florida's Natural Growers produced concentrated orange juice for the military. This new form of offering juice proved popular after the war and 80 percent of juice production shifted to concentrate. By the 1960's the public taste shifted to ready to drink juice and the current name, Florida's Natural Growers was adopted. In 1987 they launched the Florida's Natural Brand offering premium juice and drinks. 2004 was a difficult year for Florida's Natural Growers as they suffered heavy losses of their groves due to hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne. 2005 saw the surviving groves attacked by citrus greening, a blight that destroys orange trees. 2010 saw the planting of more lemon trees and the development of seven new flavors of lemonade. By 2022 the co-op had only 30 percent of the orange groves they did ten years ago. 2023 marked Florida Natural Growers 90th anniversary. Today they sell orange juice across the country and in 51 countries around the world. The cooperative is currently made up of 12 representatives of 14 citrus cooperatives: Waverly Growers Cooperative, Lake Placid Cooperative, Ben Hill Griffin Inc., Haines City Citrus Growers Association, Orange Growers Marketing Association, Lake Wales Citrus Growers Association, Hunt Brothers Cooperative, Citrus Marketing Services Inc, Peace River Packing Company, Dundee Citrus Growers Association, Winter Haven Citrus Growers Association, and Umatilla Citrus Growers Association, Southern Gardens Citrus Growers, and Lykes. For many years they were the only orange juice makers to solely use oranges that were grown in Florida. In May of 2022 the added oranges grown in Mexico to their concentrates. In2001 Florida's Natural Growers added a Grove House for public education across the street from the plant. The Grove House opens in October until May and sells home décor, folk art, jewelry and citrus scented beauty products, All merchandise is citrus themed. You can also enjoy juice samples and take a self guided tour of the orange groves. I like how Florida's Natural Growers is farmer owned opposed to corporate like other orange juice brands like Simply Orange and Minute Maid which are owned by Coca-Cola. Generations of families have been growing the oranges that go into Florida's Natural juices. I have always enjoyed Florida's Natural but I didn't realize until now that they were farm to table. I didn't know the headquarters were in Lake Wales until I passed by and now and I look forward to coming back in the fall for a proper tour.