It might have had something to do with a growing awareness of the passage of time and the prospect of the dawn of a new millennium, but in the mid-1990s consumers began to exhibit a growing concern with health – with the baby boomers at the forefront. They aspired to stay young and in shape as long as possible, so they took up jogging, started working out, eating better, and looking for products consistent with a healthy, balanced diet. Even governments got involved and began asking manufacturers to work toward that goal.

It didn’t take long for Lassonde to heed the call. In 1996 the company launched Health Break: the very first value-added refrigerated fruit juice cocktail line in Canada! The product consists of a blend of fruit and vegetable juices with no added sugar or preservatives. And there is one additional benefit: the combination of ingredients was deliberately selected for its synergistic effect, delivering the maximum intake of vitamins and minerals.

The four cocktails introduced in 1996 were an excellent source of vitamin C. Depending on the flavour, they were also a natural source of magnesium (wild blueberry), fibre (passion fruit and strawberry), iron (prune, banana and orange) and beta-carotene (orange, carrot and mango).

Over the years, Lassonde continued to develop and improve its Health Break line with the aim of increasing the added value of its products based on the latest information about food combinations. Today, Health Break includes fruit juice and vegetable cocktails that fight cholesterol and contain Omega 3s and antioxidants, not to mention other Oasis products formulated with the same attentiveness to health and quality.

Next column: In everyone’s best interest…