It used to be an easy choice: orange or apple--perhaps crangrape for variety.

But over the past few years, explosive growth in the upscale juice market has brought a proliferation of options to consumers. These health-conscious consumers--including many Harvard students--are willing to spend the money to buy beverages beyond the standard Coke and Pepsi.

In particular, two major juice companies--Maine-based Fresh Samantha and Cambridge-based Nantucket Nectars--have attracted an enormous following both on campus and beyond, giving a huge boost to their annual sales figures.

Fresh Samantha and Nantucket Nectars outsell every beverage product except coffee at Bruegger's Bagels, according to the company's Chief Operating Officer Chuck Chapman.

But industry executives agree that what seems like an anomaly--the sudden popularity of these upscale juices, many of which combine exotic fruits or add herbal and vitamin supplements--is actually the result of a long trend towards healthier, faster, cuisine.

"I think people are just looking for a healthy alternative to the beverages that are out there," says Betta Stothart, director of communications for Fresh Samantha.

Sweet Irony

Among companies that have capitalized on this trend, Fresh Samantha stands out as one of the early winners, particularly in its top market, Boston.

The company began by selling homegrown sprouts to a local food co-op and has grown faster than a jumping bean. The family-owned company has already logged sales this year of about $40 million--up from $15 million for all of 1998. And from the time when it offered only carrot juice, the company has expanded its line of often eccentric blends of juices to a total of 19.

But far from carrot juice, that line-up has grown to include old favorites like orange juice and lemonade, in addition to more exotic choices like "Mango Mama" and "Oh Happy Day" --which blends ingredients like apple juice, bananas, blackberries and lime juice with St. John's Wort, an herbal extract thought to alleviate depression.

Although Stothart admits that the company's success was definitely "improbable," she shies away from referring to its popularity as a Cinderella story--simply because of the tremendous amount of work she says goes into the product.

"We're a juice company in Maine--there's nothing more ironic than that," she jokes.

One secret to the company's success, she says, is a "totally uncorporate" corporate philosophy, that has spawned employee-driven initiatives like a Fresh Samantha look-alike contest in addition to a program that allows college students to trade in job rejection letters for free bottles of juice.

The company's homemade philosophy has been especially successful in the college market. Stothart says markets like Harvard, have been key to the company's growth development.

Student Strategy