Florida's Natural Customer Center

Florida's Natural Customer Center

Studying about the Story of Citrus: Florida's Natural Customer Middle
by: Susanne Pacher
One of many things that Florida is thought for is, you guessed it, is orange juice! The citrus industry has been taking part in a big position in Central Florida for a lot of many years, and considering its importance, I wanted to learn a bit more about it.
So with the assistance of the Orlando Visitors and Convention Bureau I used to be able to locate "Florida's Pure Growers", a citrus-processing cooperative that produces the nicely-recognized "Florida's Natural" brand of juices. The cooperative was founded in 1933 and at the moment greater than a thousand impartial growers are part of this cooperative processing and advertising and marketing group.
Florida's Natural operates a 540 acre fruit processing middle in Lake Wales, about an hour south of Orlando. They're now the most important employer within the Lake Wales area. The facility additionally offers a visitor middle which educates vacationers on the historical past of Florida's citrus industry, and the science and processes behind citrus juice production.
Reward store on the Florida's Pure Customer Heart
I first viewed a 10 minute video which supplied an excellent overview of Central Florida's citrus business. The organizational construction of Florida's Natural is kind of attention-grabbing as nicely since it's not a corporately owned juice firm like Minute Maid or Tropicana (owned by Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co. respectively), however slightly it is a cooperative of native farmers that share within the manufacturing of the fruit and the juice. Florida's Natural prides itself in doing issues somewhat in a different way from the big juice firms and its unique nature is mirrored in its motto:
- We own the land
- We personal the fruit
- We own the corporate
Orange cultivation was initially launched by the Spaniards several centuries ago. Grafting resulted in stronger and extra resistant trees which produced fruit in three years as a substitute of 15 years. Fruits are nonetheless picked by hand, put into containers, that are boxed and shipped by truck to the processing plant.

Traditional orange juice promoting posters
A wide range of quality management processes are utilized and fruit is washed and separated by dimension by grading inspectors. About ninety five% of Florida's orange harvest goes to juice production. Florida's Natural extractor machines can handle about thirteen million pounds of oranges each 24 hours. Once the fruit has been squeezed, a so-called finisher removes the seeds. Then the juice is flash-pasteurized and packaged.
The important thing factor about Florida's Natural merchandise is that they don't seem to be constituted of focus, but moderately contain only pure unsweetened fruit juice. Different varieties of orange juice are stored and blended in order to be certain that the style is constant throughout the different harvests in the course of the year. The organization prides itself that its juice is as near the grove as you may get and it is the quickest growing not-from-focus model. Florida's Natural sixty four ounce cartons are shipped all around the globe.
Completely different forms of citrus fruits Historical posters of citrus fruit varieties
In addition to juice, each a part of the orange is used to supply other products, resembling orange oil, for instance, while seeds and peel are processed into cattle feed. Florida's Natural growers additionally imagine in wildlife conservation and have created wildlife habitat areas while using various strategies for reducing water utilization.
Along with the video screening theater, the Visitor Heart homes a gift shop in the entrance and a walk-by show space that gives details about varied themes, together with weather, the history of the citrus business, the historical past of citrus juice packaging, two display panels on the indigenous species of wildlife, in addition to quite a lot of traditional orange juice promoting posters.
Once I was carried out with the academic a part of the Visitor Middle I explored the Gift Shop the place I found all kinds of souvenirs and citrus-related presents, including citrus-scented candles, jams, marmalades, creams, t-shirts, books, hats, every thing you'll be able to imagine with a citrus theme. I picked up some orange-flavoured (and orange-shaped) Whetstone Sweets as treats for my pals at dwelling.
I also obtained to taste free samples of four types of juices which symbolize an excellent cross-section of Florida's Natural product line, which includes various kinds of orange juice (with various levels of pulp and a few with additions of vitamins or calcium), ruby purple grapefruit juice, apple juice, cranberry apple cocktail, lemonade, raspberry lemonade, and lemonade ice tea.
Dropping by the Visitor Center at Florida's Pure was a terrific introduction to one of the crucial necessary industries in Florida and gave me a real appreciation of every thing that goes into producing that healthy, refreshing glass of orange juice that I get pleasure from in the morning.
About The Writer
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of an internet site referred to as Travel and Transitions ( ). Travel and Transitions offers with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, ideas, actual life journey experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural points, contests and plenty of different options. Additionally, you will find tales about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own private life-long journeys.
Submit your individual journey tales in our first journey story contest ( ) and have a chance to win an incredible adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
"Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons".
The story with photographs is printed at Tales and Images ( )