Minute Maid Aguas Frescas Shakes Up Juice Drink Category in First Year, Kicks Off 2023 With Expanded ‘Refreshing AF’ Lineup

Minute Maid Aguas Frescas is building on a big first year by expanding its lineup to reach even more consumers with the launch of two new packaging options and a new flavor. The Latin American-inspired, noncarbonated beverage is made with real fruit juices and natural flavors, delivering a bold, “refreshing AF” sensorial experience tailored to Gen Z tastes. 

“In our second year, it will be instrumental to expand our household penetration and make our proposition available to more families,” said Jorge Luzio, Group Director, Minute Maid Juice Portfolio, North America.

The new Pineapple Horchata flavor is now available in chilled 52-oz. bottles designed to be enjoyed by the entire household. The refreshing offering combines the traditional creamy flavor of horchata with a touch of a tangy pineapple.  

“Horchata is a must-have for any aguas frescas proposition, and we’ve made it even more palatable for North American consumers with the addition of the fastest-growing chilled juice flavor: pineapple,” Luzio explains.

Two of the three Minute Maid Aguas Frescas flavors—Hibiscus and Strawberry— also are available in the new multi-serve package. Additionally, six-packs of 12-oz. cans in the three Minute Maid Aguas Frescas original flavors—Mango, Hibiscus and Strawberry—will hit stores next month in California and Georgia. The original lineup continues to be available in 16-oz. cans. All Minute Maid Aguas Frescas flavors contain 45 to 50 calories per 8-oz. serving.

Traditional aguas frescas are light, nonalcoholic beverages made from fruit, flowers or seeds blended with sugar and water, with strong popularity in Mexico and other Latin American countries. As part of a broader strategy to revolutionize the Minute Maid trademark through bold, breakthrough innovation, Minute Maid Aguas Frescas hit the market in March 2022 to quench Gen Z’s thirst for diverse, adventurous juice drink choices with full flavor but fewer calories. 

“In only nine months, this novel brand has reignited Gen Z’s excitement for juice drinks and nearly doubled our targets with $35 million in retail sales,” Luzio said. “The reception we’ve seen from consumers, customers and bottlers has been phenomenal, proving that we can leverage the power of the Minute Maid trademark to disrupt the category and deliver growth.”

More than 80% of Gen Z consumers who tried Minute Maid Aguas Frescas made repeat purchases—a stat Luzio attributes to the product’s great taste and success of the brand’s fully digital marketing campaign anchored by the playful, double-entendre tagline, “Refreshing AF” targeting multicultural youth (messaging appears in both English and Spanish). 

After making an initial splash with a colorful Cinco de Mayo appearance on The Coca‑Cola Company’s iconic digital billboard in New York’s Times Square, the brand celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by wrapping NASCAR Driver Daniel Suarez’s car with vibrant Minute Maid AF graphics for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Dallas. 

“We will keep sharpening and refreshing our ‘Refreshing AF’ campaign with deeper connections with multicultural consumers and even bolder partnerships and grassroots activations,” Luzio said.

An extensive sampling campaign will get Minute Maid Aguas Frescas in the hands of more than 1 million consumers in 2023. “We continue to be obsessive about trial, because we know than when people try the product, they love it and want to drink it again and again,” Luzio said. “We’re also working with our bottling partners and customers to expand our presence across all retail and foodservice.”