J₂O is a still

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

made from

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...

s. It is

manufactured Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...

Carlsberg Britvic Carlsberg Britvic is a British subsidiary of Carlsberg Group, created in January 2025 by the merger of Carlsberg's UK business (including the former Marston's plc breweries) and Britvic, acquired by Carlsberg Group in 2024. History In 2020, Ma ...

and sold in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Ireland. Its launch in 1998 was led by Sheraz Dar who joined Britvic in 1994, and was aimed at providing an alternative solution for people who were going out to bars and clubs but were not drinking alcoholic

beverages A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

. The name ''J₂O'' is a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on the

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

for water, H₂O, chosen due to the drink's fruit juice content. The first flavours available were

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

& Passion fruit, Apple & Mango and Apple &

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

, but the range has progressively grown since.

History

In 2001, due to growing brand success, the J₂O packaging was redesigned and a fourth flavour, Orange & Cranberry, was introduced. In 2002, due to the brand's popularity within the on-trade sector, J₂O was made available to the take-home market for the first time, with four-bottle packs being introduced into supermarkets and

retail shop The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...

s. The packaging was again changed in 2005, and Apple & Raspberry was introduced. On 2 August 2006, Britvic announced a promotional campaign designed to coincide with the

Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (TV series), a British radio and then television series ** '' Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album ''Second ...

live tour. The campaign, named "J2O is in for a laugh" allows buyers to enter a competition to win one of 96 VIP tickets to see the

show. As of 15 August 2007, J₂O has been made available to bars, clubs, and restaurants in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area and is imported by Exotic Beverage Co. In 2009, J₂O introduced two new flavours, Grape & Kiwi and Winter Berries. Both of these flavours were originally limited edition but have since been integrated into the range of permanent flavours. 2010 saw a major packaging redesign and the launch of the J₂O White Blend range. Two flavours, one based on white grape, the other on red grape, are less sweet than the existing J₂O flavours and are designed to complement food, in the same way that white and red wine does. Orange & passion fruit and apple & mango (the 2 most popular flavours) have been released in PET bottles. In 2011, a limited edition flavour of J₂O called "Glitter Berry" was brought out. Then in 2012, 2 further limited edition flavours,

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

punch and diamond berry were released. In 2013, a limited edition Pear Gold version was released for

summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

. In 2020, J₂O won the Lausanne Index Prize - Supreme Award.

The Junior’s crew 2 Old Irish beats

In November 2014, J₂O launched a TV advert called Junior's crew 2 Old Irish beats, which featured contemporary London dance outfit Junior's Crew, break-dancing to a live Irish folk band called The Other Brothers. The TV advert was filmed in Stoke Newington Town Hall and debuted during

The X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

(Nov 2014).

Flavours

As of 2019, the J2O range of flavours includes: * Apple & Mango * Apple & Raspberry * Orange & Passion Fruit * Orange and Cranberry * Spritz Pear & Raspberry * Spritz Apple & Watermelon * Spritz Apple & Elderflower * Spritz Peach & Apricot * Flamingo Fling (Limited Edition) *Midnight Forest-orange, cherry & chocolate (Limited Edition) * Toucan Tryst (Limited Edition) * Glitterberry (Seasonal, appears around Christmas) * Summer Shine (Limited Edition)

References

External links

Official J₂O Homepage

Exotic Beverage homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:J2o Juice brands British brands Products introduced in 1998 Soft drinks