Orange Julius

The Orange Julius is an American fast food, hot dog and fruit drink beverage restaurant chain. The company began its business operations in Los Angeles, California in 1926. Orange Julius is known for a popular drink named after the restaurant. The beverage is blended ice, powdered egg whites, milk, orange juice and vanilla flavoring.

History

The drink grew from an orange juice stand that was opened in 1926 by Julius Freed. Original sales were only about $20 each day (that equals almost $290 in 2020 United States dollars). Three years later, Bill Hamlin, Freed's real estate broker, developed a blend that made the acidic orange juice not bother his stomach as much. Freed's stand began giving out the drink. It had a more bubbly and smoother texture. The sales at the stand went up when the new drink was introduced. The sales increased to just over $100 per day.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Orange Julius was always sold from a variety of outlets. They included county and state fairs along with standalone Orange Julius stands.

The Orange Julius chain was bought out by the International Dairy Queen Corporation in 1987. IDQ, a subsidiary for Berkshire Hathaway, has the rights to all Orange Julius stores. It has expanded the chain so its drinks are offered and sold from most of its Dairy Queen stores.

Naming and mascot

During the 1970s and 1980s, Orange Julius beverage stands used the images of a devil having a pitchfork around an orange. Their slogan was "A Devilish Good Drink". The devil images looked almost like Sparky (the Sun Devil). The actual Sparky was the mascot used by Arizona State University. The Orange Julius business retired the logo and mascot when threats of a lawsuit came from members of the ASU almuni association.