The stock was first sold over the counter but gained a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TOJ. In 2004, Tropicana's rail fleet of 514 cars traveled over 35,000,000 mi (56,000,000 km) – a method that is three times more fuel-efficient than other shipping methods. An additional 100 cars were soon incorporated into the fleet, and small mechanical refrigeration units were installed to keep temperatures constant on hot days.
The "Great White Juice Train" (the first unit train in the food industry, consisting of 150 100- short ton insulated boxcars fabricated in the Alexandria, Virginia shops of Fruit Growers Express) commenced service on June 7, 1971, over the 1,250-mile (2,010 km) route. By the following year, the company was operating two 65-car unit trains a week, each carrying around 1 million US gallons (830,000 imp gal 3,800 m 3) of juice. In 1970, Tropicana orange juice was shipped as finished goods via refrigerated boxcars in one weekly round-trip from Florida to Kearny, New Jersey. From 1960 to 1970, Tropicana utilized piggyback trailers on flatcars to move the juice more efficiently. Tropicana, was taking 1.5 million US gallons (1,200,000 imp gal 5,700 m 3) of juice to New York each week from the new base at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Soon, 2,000 dairies delivered Pure Premium orange juice to the doorsteps of consumers each morning. Tropicana purchased one million dollars worth of refrigerated trucks to deliver Pure Premium. Shipping innovations ĬSX pulling the Tropicana Juice Train across the Manatee River Bridge in Bradenton, Florida, in 2018 to reflect the growing appeal of the Tropicana brand. In 1957, the company's name was changed to Tropicana Products, Inc. Įd Price was hired as executive vice president and director in 1955 and represented the company as chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission. Her image was diminished and finally phased out during the 1980s. She appeared prominently on the juice cartons and even the train cars used to transport the juice. The company developed a trademarked cartoon mascot for the brand called Tropic-Ana, a barefoot young girl carrying oranges on her head and wearing clothing that resembles a Hawaiian grass skirt and lei. The juice, Tropicana Pure Premium, became the company's flagship product. For the first time, consumers could have the fresh taste of pure not-from-concentrate juice in a ready to serve chilled package. He developed flash pasteurization in 1954, a process that rapidly raised the temperature of juice for a short time to preserve its fresh taste. The fresh fruit segments and orange juice business were so successful that he discontinued production of fruit boxes. In 1952, with the growth of the orange juice business in mind, Rossi purchased the Grapefruit Canning Company in Bradenton. At the East Bradenton location, Rossi began producing frozen concentrated orange juice as a natural extension of the fruit section business. The ingredients for the fresh fruit salads on the menu of New York's famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel were supplied by Fruit Industries. As the fruit segment business grew, the company moved to a larger location in East Bradenton, Florida and changed its name to Fruit Industries. In 1947, Rossi settled in Palmetto, Florida and began packing fruit gift boxes and jars of sectioned fruit for salads under the name Manatee River Packing Company. His first involvement with the Florida citrus industry was fresh fruit gift boxes sold by Macy's and Gimbels department stores in New York City, New York. He drove a taxi, was a grocer in New York, farmer in Virginia, and then moved to Florida in 1940 where he farmed and was a restaurateur. He emigrated to the United States when he was 21 years old. Rossi was born in Sicily and educated to high school level. 1.9 Pending joint venture with PAI Partners (2021–present).
1.5 Sold to PepsiCo and twenty-first century: 1998–present.1.2 Evolution of Tropicana Pure Premium.