A bold move. That’s the best way to describe one of the most elaborate and costly promotional campaigns in Lassonde’s history. And what a splash it made!

It’s no surprise that Quebecers love apple juice, especially, given the abundance of apple orchards. But they still prefer orange juice with breakfast. Alas, northern climes aren’t conducive to orange groves! So Lassonde set out to find a way to provide consumers with a quality product. In 1998, the company signed an exclusive contract with Southern Gardens Citrus, a major producer located in Florida. The fresh-squeezed orange juice was delivered by refrigerated tanker trucks to the Rougemont plant in 48 hours. Lassonde thus became the only company in Quebec with a fresh juice bottling plant.

Tropicana was a major competitor for market share in Quebec. To win its gamble, Lassonde decided to launch a remarkable two-pronged campaign. During the winter, it invited Quebec journalists to visit the ultramodern Southern Gardens Citrus facility in Clewiston. And in early spring, to coincide with the launch of its Oasis Florida Premium line, Lassonde lit up the Biosphere. For an entire month, the former United States pavilion built in 1967 for the Montreal Universal and International Exposition – Expo ’67 – became a giant orange casting a glow over Montreal’s night sky.

The scheduled launch actually had to be delayed because that winter southern Quebec was paralyzed by a disastrous ice storm. In the countryside it sometimes took Hydro-Québec more than a month to restore power. In that context, lighting up the Biosphere would have been frivolous.

Fresh juices took the Canadian market by storm. They surpassed the sales of non-refrigerated juices, while increasing total consumption of fruit juices and drinks by more than 10 per cent per year.

Next column: Crossing a new frontier…