[I <3 Vodka]

Jones Soda was originally available in 12oz glass bottles. Select flavors became available in cans. The older formulations used high-fructose corn syrup.

In late 2006, the manufacturer announced a switch to "pure sugar" and phased out HFCS and made this a marketing point. The label said it used "inverted cane sugar", which seems to be more or less the same thing as HFCS.

The 12 pack Jones Soda was available in most major grocers and there was even a few Wal-Mart exclusive flavors in 8 packs. Just recently I noticed they're not shelves of major grocers here in Pacific NW.

Anyone else seeing this in your area?

[BevReview Steve]

Per what I've read and their most recent quarterly call, Jones Soda is retrenching in the marketplace. Their move into mainstream retailers via cans was a financial mistake. Here's a quote:

"Going away from bottles was a serious mistake. The cans did cannibalize some of the bottle presence"…

For fiscal 2008, the company reported a net loss of $15.2 million, or a loss of 58 cents per share, which compares with a loss of $11.6 million, or a loss of 45 cents per share in 2007. Revenue fell to $35.9 million from $39.8 million in 2007.

They went through a lot of reorganization in 2008 to turn things around, and just announced a new CEO this year. This involved changing distributors, scaling back on plans, and yes, pulling the plug on some products like many of the 12-pack cans.

I don't agree that the move to "inverted cane sugar" is pretty much the same as HFCS. We've had some discussions on BevReview about this (see here and here).

They're moving forward with some new flavors in bottles (Orange Soda has been doing really well for them) and they are going to be pushing their Jones GABA line pretty hard; I've got some samples that were sent and we'll be reviewing them soon.

So, yes, I think you'll see some Jones Soda products leave certain types of retailers/markets, but I don't think they are leaving altogether.

[BakeAholic]

They do have weird flavors like the thanksgiving pack which i have never tried

[I <3 Vodka]

Originally Posted by BevReview Steve

I don't agree that the move to "inverted cane sugar" is pretty much the same as HFCS. We've had some discussions on BevReview about this (see here and here).

"The amount of fructose in sugar, invert sugar and HFCS is essentially the same."

In the second link you gave, someone posted that.
So, what is the proportion of different types of sugar in HFCS vs "inverted cane sugar" used in Jones Soda?

[jaytuk]

I love Jones soda! I usually only get it for special occasions though, which makes the occasion even better. I've never had a problem finding it in the local grocery stores.