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| Second shelf life: Many 'orphan' products like these were dropped by companies, only to return later due to consumer demand.
Postum has no takers yet, though. Joanne Ciccarello – staff |
Can Postum fans revive their beloved beverage?
Consumer campaigns hope to restore the decaf hot drink to store shelves; it's worked before, with other 'orphan' products.
from the March 12, 2008 edition
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Many market researchers believe that products follow a predictable cycle: Brands are introduced, they gain popularity, and then fade away. "It's still likely that someone will come along and pick ... up [Postum]," says Lam Tran, a researcher for the Brand Lab at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. "These 'sleeper' brands are gold mines for private equity firms."
Meanwhile, since Kraft has stated it has no plans to put Postum back in stores, its fans are making do by snapping up jars selling for $35 and higher on eBay. Several industrious Postum drinkers have posted their own recipes for making Postum at home – a labor-intensive process that requires roasting for five to six hours and stirring every 20 minutes.
"You have to be a pretty desperate Postum drinker to go that far," says Underwood.
But some fans are willing. Susan Barron, a homemaker from Pennsylvania, made the Postum recipe posted on chow.com. The recipe took her more than five hours to make, but, she says, the taste is almost the same, and now she has two quarts sitting in her kitchen.
'Orphan' brands return
At different times, all these brands were widely recognized and enjoyed a loyal consumer base in the United States. But as interest in them waned, many were traded from company to company or simply dropped. While they all qualify as 'orphan' brands that have returned, the specifics of their stories are difficult to track. Some, like Comet cleanser, have been particularly successful in their revival. Others, like Quisp breakfast cereal, have been relegated to novelty stores or online sales.
100,000 bar (introduced in 1966)
Black Jack gum (1871)
Breck shampoo (1930)
Comet cleanser (1956)
Gold Bond body powder (1908)
Good & Plenty (1890)
Mister Salty Pretzels (1960s)
Ovaltine (1904)
Pepsodent toothpaste (1930s)
Prell shampoo (1947)
RC Cola (1905)
Rinso detergent (1918)
Tab (1963)
Marathon candy bar (1970s)
Quisp breakfast cereal (1965)
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