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For most brands, a false rumor spreading on the internet and sparking an instant backlash is generally bad news. But for Capri Sun, the fake news that it intended to phase out its familiar pouch-and-straw packaging turned out to be an opportunity, culminating in a new pouch-centric promotion at Walmart—and probably the most mainstream attention the venerable brand has received in years.
Evidently, the Capri Sun Packaging-Nostalgia Freakout of 2024 began when Instagram account @snackolator posted an image of the beverage in regular single-serving plastic bottles, sans straw, declaring that the brand is “coming for the adults with new bottles.” You won’t “have to find the spot to poke the straw in and hope that it doesn’t come shooting back at you!” the caption added. (Earlier this year, Capri Sun announced a 96-ounce conventional multi-serve bottle—32 pouches’ worth of juice—while these were 12-ouncers.)
The response on social media to the more conventional new packaging was not enthusiastic. (Snackolator, which posts about “new food and snacks,” also has accounts on X, TikTok, and elsewhere.) Instead, the news was interpreted as the end of the pouch, unleashing a gusher of instant nostalgia. “I feel like it’s not an exaggeration to say this is one of the most shocking product changes in the history of food & beverage,” one X user declared in a widely reshared post. Media reports followed, tying the backlash to the idea that the “cafeteria classic . . . may soon become obsolete.”
But Capri Sun instantly poked a hole in the rumor. Yes, the company clarified, there were plans for single-serve bottles to be introduced next year—but no, the pouch design was not being scrapped: “We’d never disrespect the pouch and they’re here to stay!” Just to really drive the point home, the announcement also noted that the brand would be offering the pouch version by the pallet—that’s more than 3,800 drinks—through Walmart, priced at a reported $250.
“Once we saw fans’ passionate responses defending the pouch, we knew we needed to respond fast,” a spokesperson told Brand Innovators, and the pouch pallet seemed like a “truly epic” statement of pouch commitment. And this time, the social media response was warmer: “Thank god almost thought you’d delete my childhood,” one Instagram user commented. “Respect the pouch! Respect it!,” another chimed in, echoing a 2000s Capri Sun ad slogan.
Maybe even more significant, the incident essentially converted Capri Sun and its pouch design from something unusual and distinct into something “that is now being called “iconic.”
Certainly that design was and is distinct. According to a company history, it debuted in 1969 as Capri-Sonne in West Germany, where its initial lemon and orange juice flavors were the first “stand-up pouch” drinks on the market. The beverage went global, making its way into the U.S. market by the 1980s. Licensed now by Kraft Heinz, its laminated foil packaging was a squeezable alternative to juice boxes and bottles—and it just looked and felt different, like something designed for astronauts.
In the 1990s and 2000s, it became a cafeteria staple, often paired with Lunchables, and its popularity (and aggressive, sometimes weird, kid-centric marketing) made it a familiar part of many a millennial’s childhood. “Everyone also has a fondness (mixed with despair) for trying to get the little included straws into the pouch without breaking the straw or stabbing through both sides of the bag,” noted a 2021 Snack History post. “Most people are not sure if the nostalgia they feel about Capri Sun as a product is more about the flavor of the drinks or about the experience of drinking out of such a unique container.”
That sentiment—from well before the recent packaging-change scare—is of course exactly what juiced up the backlash. As many pointed out, much of the complaining came from adults who likely hadn’t performed a straw-stab on a drink pouch in decades. But if you want to get people worked up about the cancellation of a product, or even just its signature design attributes, pick one (Twinkies? Choco Taco?) that resonates with their upbringing. Making single-serve bottles now for a kids’ drink may not make grown-ups suddenly want to go buy a case—but a change that threatens to “delete” part of their childhood sure gets their attention. Even if the change proves to be mere rumors, the resulting buzz can be very real.