The Best And Worst Orange Juice Brands You'll Find At The Grocery Store

Nothing beats a cold and delicious glass of orange juice with breakfast in the morning. An 8-ounce serving of orange juice provides nearly 70% of our daily recommended Vitamin C intake, along with plenty of other benefits. There are lots of different orange juice brands on the market to pick from at the grocery store. And while some may seem fairly similar on the surface, the truth is that there can be a lot of noticeable differences between brands. 

Some orange juices are sweeter than others, while other orange juices are a bit more sour. Many brands offer different levels of pulp, while others have fewer options available. Then there are juices made from concentrates, while others are simply pasteurized. All of these factors, including cost, are worthy of consideration before making a purchase. 

The problem is that having so many different orange juice brands to pick from can make the selection process a bit difficult. The good news? We've rounded up a bunch of orange juice brands and shared our thoughts to make shopping a little easier for you. Here are the best and worst orange juice brands you'll find at the grocery store.

Simply Beverages orange juice doesn't contain any added preservatives or artificial flavors and is never made from concentrates. Its fruit juices in clear plastic carafes make it easy to observe the bright colors of its products. This presentation gives its orange juice some extra visual appeal and also gives shoppers more buying confidence since it's easily visible.

Simply Orange strikes a delicious balance between sweet and tangy. The consistency is perfect — not thin and watery, but also not too thick. This brand also offers a handful of different orange juice varieties, so you're pretty much guaranteed to find something you enjoy in its product line. 

There's orange juice that's pulp-free, low acid, medium pulp, and high pulp, enriched with calcium and vitamin D, and even mango or pineapple flavors. Simply Orange is one of the best juice brands you'll find at the grocery store, not only for its refreshing taste but also for its wide variety. It may not beat your local small batch or homemade orange juice but it is impressive nonetheless.

If you didn't know any better, you might mistake SunnyD for real orange juice. But the truth is that there's a reason SunnyD refers to this stuff as "orange-flavored citrus punch." Despite the gleaming slices of fresh fruit all over the label, it's mostly made of water and high-fructose corn syrup. This beverage contains only 5% juice made from a blend of different concentrates, including orange, tangerine, apple, lime, and grapefruit. It also contains food colorings like yellow 5, and yellow 6 to give the beverage its bright color.

Ingredient concerns aside, if you take one sip of SunnyD, it will be abundantly clear that you're not drinking fresh orange juice. SunnyD has a sweetened, highly-processed flavor that's largely undesirable. While it's true that SunnyD is a little bit cheaper than actual orange juice, we'd much rather cough up the extra couple of bucks for the real stuff. At the end of the day, no amount of additives or clever advertising can hide the fact that this stuff doesn't really taste like orange juice.

Florida is well-known for its warm sunshine and abundant citrus production. During World War II, the first orange juice concentrate was created in Florida to nourish troops abroad. The creation of fruit concentrate allowed companies like Florida's Natural to ship more of its products long distances, sparking a new appreciation for orange juice. Today, its become a popular orange juice brand that's found in grocery stores across the country.

Florida's Natural makes a wide range of drinks, including lemonades, grapefruit juice, and orange juice. The company's orange juice comes in five different options, including orange juice infused with calcium and vitamin C with various levels of pulp. The juice is made from a blend of pasteurized orange juice and orange juice concentrate. Despite the company's ties to Florida, its juice isn't exclusively sourced there, as it additionally uses oranges from Mexico and other regions.

Florida's Natural tends to garner favorable reviews from customers, with its tangy yet sweet flavor that captures what you'd expect from orange juice. That said, some have found it to be a little too acidic and bitter. We don't necessarily find it to be so excessive as to be considered detrimental. A little sparkle of acidity in any orange juice can be quite pleasant — and should be expected.

Walmart's Great Value brand is well-known for its affordable prices. While there are definitely Great Value products that are well worth the cheap price tag, that doesn't really seem to be the case with its orange juice. The general consensus seems to be that this orange juice is a bit too sour. While it's true that most orange juice often contains varying levels of sourness, that sourness really shouldn't be too assertive. More than anything, orange juice should be sweet and tangy. 

This brand is only made with water and orange juice concentrate, so we can only speculate where the complaints about this juice originate. It's possible that the oranges selected for this juice concentrate simply aren't sweet enough. Whatever the case, we can all agree that overly sour orange juice isn't exactly appealing. When we crave something sour and delicious, we'd much rather reach for some lemonade.

Tropicana is another popular beverage brand that's renowned for its orange juice. The company also makes other drinks, including fruit punch and red grapefruit juice. Founded in 1947, Tropicana has been making fruit-based beverages for generations. The company produces several varieties of orange juice, including low-acid orange juice and orange juice blended with tangerine juice and pineapple juice. These different blends of tangerine and pineapple are a part of what makes Tropicana's orange juice particularly appealing.

Because tangerines are typically less sour and sweeter, this juice introduces a lovely layer of deliciousness to the orange juice. Tropicana's Orange Pineapple has a similar effect. Pineapple's vibrant sweetness and inherent tartness add some tasty complexity to Tropicana's orange juice, that's truly delightful. We imagine this particular blend would work wonders in this refreshing Orange Crush cocktail recipe. As far as Tropicana's plain orange juice goes, that gets high marks, too, with its fresh and zesty flavor. The bottom line here is that Tropicana makes some of the best store-bought juice on the market.

At first glance, you'd probably assume that Bright & Early is real-deal orange juice. After all, there's a glistening orange right there on the front of the label. But if you spend just a few extra seconds looking at the text on the label and reading the ingredients, it becomes abundantly clear that this isn't really orange juice.

In fact, right there towards the bottom of the text on the label, it disappointingly informs us that this beverage contains no juice. So, what is this stuff made from? As it turns out, this drink is mostly just water and high-fructose corn syrup. Less than 2% of this drink is made with citric acid. For the rest, you'll find potassium citrate, cornstarch, canola oil, and food coloring. 

To be fair, the label is upfront with the fact that this beverage doesn't contain any juice, but the large orange on the label definitely suggests otherwise. The one saving grace here is that this is cheaper than real orange juice — but not by much. Why not just fork over a few more bucks and drink some real fruit juice that has a more authentic flavor?

There's a lot about this orange juice from HomeMaker that we can appreciate. For starters, it's quite affordable compared to other orange juice brands. And even though this is on the cheaper side, the taste is still full-flavored and delicious. This orange juice is made with a special blend of concentrated and non-concentrate fruit juice. It's also made with Valencia oranges.  

Valencia oranges are one of the most popular oranges in the world, thanks to their sweetly delicious flavor profile. Because of this, Valencia oranges make up more than half of Florida's orange groves. They also give HomeMaker orange juice a slightly sweeter taste that's highly enjoyable.

HomeMaker's Original orange juice contains no added sugar and no preservatives. This gives HomeMaker's orange juice a fresh taste that makes it one of the best brands at the grocery store. Short of putting in the work to squeeze fresh oranges yourself to make your juice from scratch, this is about as cheap and delicious as orange juice can get.

We'd be lying if we didn't admit that Tang has a special place in our hearts, purely based on nostalgia. There was nothing quite like cooling off with a cold glass of Tang after playing outside on a hot summer afternoon during the golden age of childhood. Alas, we can't base our judgments here on nostalgia alone. At the end of the day, our taste buds, along with ingredient quality, are what matter most.

Tang is another one of those beverages that attempt to mimic orange juice without using actual oranges. Instead, Tang uses a cheap mix of sugar, fructose, citric acid, and artificial color to resemble the fruit juice it desperately aspires to taste like. The taste of Tang ends up falling short, as it mostly just tastes like sweetened, artificially flavored water. The consistency is also lacking, considering that it's a powder mixed with water. Obviously, orange juice isn't necessarily thick, but it still has a natural mouth feel that Tang just can't compete with.

If you're on the prowl for some high-quality orange juice at the grocery store, look no further than Uncle Matt's. Uncle Matt's is made with organic oranges. The fruit in this juice is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or GMOs. The juice also doesn't contain any added sugar, isn't made from concentrate, and there are no weird thickeners or artificial colorings. The process for squeezing the organic oranges in this juice uses less pressure in order to diminish any potential bitterness from the peel. 

The flavor of this orange juice is bright and refreshing with the right balance of sweet and tangy. We also happen to enjoy Uncle Matt's other products, including its strawberry lemonade and fruit punch. The company makes organic juice shots to boost immunity and improve digestive health, which are loaded with vitamins and probiotics. There's no doubt that Uncle Matt's makes some of the best store-bought orange juice on the market, and its other drinks are also well worth exploring.

JuicyJuice is another beverage brand that's commonly found in grocery stores across the country. The good news here is that unlike some of the other entries in this ranking, JuicyJuice's Orange Tangerine juice actually contains juice — though it's made from concentrate.

But what's a little strange about this drink is that even though it's marketed as Orange Tangerine juice, the first three ingredients don't contain either of those fruits. Instead, this drink's first three primary ingredients feature concentrates made from apples, pears, and grapes. It isn't until the fourth and fifth ingredients that oranges and tangerines are listed. In other words, it might be more suitable to describe this drink as apple-pear-grape juice rather than orange and tangerine. 

This juice has a complex taste that isn't necessarily bad. But it definitely tastes like a mix of a bunch of different fruits rather than the simple blend of orange juice with a hint of tangerine that you might be expecting here. If you're a fan of apple juice, you'll definitely enjoy this stuff. But if you're looking for something that tastes purely of oranges or tangerines, you're bound to be disappointed.

GreenWise is a Publix-owned brand that's available at its stores. GreenWise is known for its focus on high-quality ingredients for reasonable prices. These products tend to feature organic ingredients that don't use preservatives or antibiotics and added hormones. It also provides a list of potentially harmful ingredients that its products avoid, such as ammonium chloride and various sulfites. In other words, it's a smart choice for health-conscious customers who strive to purchase food products that are more natural and of a higher quality. GreenWise sells everything from sustainable seafood and imported cheeses to kombucha on tap and handcrafted sandwiches. The brand also sells organic orange juice.

There's a lot to love about this orange juice. The consistency is just right — not too watery, but also not too thick. It's also a surprisingly good value considering that it's made with organic oranges. The ingredients are simple, as it only contains organic orange juice. It's also pasteurized and not made from concentrate. The flavor is also truly remarkable, impressively walking the line between sweetness and tartness with delicious grace. If there's a Publix in your area, be sure and pick up some of GreenWise's orange juice and see what you've been missing out on.

Specializing in various fruit punches, Tampico has been selling beverages for over 25 years. While it's true that Tampico Citrus Punch doesn't have the quality of orange juice, it also appears that this is another case where this product is clearly being marketed as a feasible alternative. Fresh slices of oranges adorn the label, dripping with beads of juice, and its orange color radiates with an undeniably eye-catching brightness. But beauty is only skin deep — especially when there's no real fruit involved.

Tampico's Citrus Punch is mostly made with water and high-fructose corn syrup. There's less than 2% of this drink that is made with actual orange juice concentrate, tangerine juice concentrate, and lemon juice concentrate, among other additives and artificial flavors. While this stuff might suffice in a pinch if the day comes when orange juice runs out of stock, we're struggling to come up with reasons why anyone would want this. This drink has an artificial taste to it that just can't hold a candle to real orange juice. Let's face it: You're much better off spending your hard-earned money on something that was grown in a grove rather than a lab.