Little Hug Fruit Barrels is a brand of fruit-flavored drink introduced in 1974.[1] The drink is bottled in plastic 8-ounce (240 mL) barrel-shaped bottles (marketed as Little Hug) and 16-ounce (470 mL) bottles (marketed as Big Hug).

Nutrition facts on a Little Hug package

In 2015, Royal Wessanen sold the American Beverage Corporation to Harvest Hill Beverage, owner of Juicy Juice.[2]

History

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Little Hug Fruit Barrels were introduced in 1974 by the American Beverage Corporation.

In March 2015, the American Beverage Corporation sold the rights of the Little Hug brand to Harvest Hill Beverage Corporation for $55 million. Since their purchase of the Little Hug and Big Hug brands, Harvest Hill Beverage Corporation has reduced the amount of sugar in each bottle.[2]

Little Hugs are often colloquially referred to as quarter waters.[3]

Products

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  • Little Hug Originals
  • Little Hug Berry Blend
  • Little Hug Tropical
  • Little Hug Fruit Slushee
  • Little Hug Lemonade Stand
  • Little Hug 6-packs[4]
  • Big Hug

Flavors include lemonade, orange, fruit punch, blue raspberry, grape, kiwi-strawberry, lemonade, tropical punch, wild berry, lemon berry, and cherry berry.[5]

Endorsements

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Little Hug has an endorsement with NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "About | Little Hug". Little Hug. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  2. ^ a b Tascarella, Patty (Mar 9, 2015). "American Beverage being sold for $55M to Harvest Hill". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  3. ^ Patel, Anjali (July 13, 2015). "What's The Name Of This Childhood Beverage? Quarter Waters? Bug Juice? Little Hugs?". BuzzFeed. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Products | Little Hug Fruit Barrels". Little Hug. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  5. ^ "Little Hug Fruit Barrels Launches Brand Refresh". BevNET.com. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  6. ^ Jayski.com staff (May 11, 2017). "Stenhouse Jr. gets a 'Little HUG' after big Talladega win". ESPN.
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