Behind the Blend: How Ocean Spray Creates Its Boldest Flavors

A Q&A with Maria Coniglio, Senior Product Development Scientist, Global Beverages

When you crack open a bottle of Ocean Spray, you’re tasting more than just juice; you’re tasting countless experiments, bold ideas, and a deep understanding of why cranberry has inspired so many flavor combinations. Our blends are carefully crafted to surprise, delight, and live up to everything you expect from Ocean Spray.

To take us behind the scenes of how those flavors come to life, we talked to Maria Coniglio, Senior Product Development Scientist on our R&D team, to talk about creativity, science, cranberry, and why flavor development is part art, part obsession…in the best way.

Can you tell us about your role on the R&D team and what a typical day looks like?

My official title is Senior Product Development Scientist – Global Beverages, and while I’ve spent time working across many Ocean Spray products like sauce and sweetened dried cranberries, the majority of my work has been focused on beverages.

There really is no “typical” day -- which is honestly my favorite part of the job. That said, I do make juice constantly. I’m creating and iterating prototypes, and testing things like flavor profiles, sweetness levels, acidity, and color. Another big part of my role is shelf-life testing. We don’t just make juice that tastes great on day one, we make juice that tastes great over time.

Product development also means tasting a lot of juice. We sample prototypes, shelf-life product, and even raw ingredients to ensure everything meets our standards. Good thing I love cranberry juice!

What first got you interested in flavor development or food science?

Food has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up in an Italian‑American household where food was how we connected and that always stuck with me. As a kid, my mom would let my siblings and me be “in charge” of dinner once a month, which meant I’d watch something on TV and then try to recreate it myself.

Food is creative, but it’s also science and that combination really drew me in. I studied Culinary Nutrition at Johnson & Wales University, where I had two years of culinary arts followed by coursework in dietetics and food product development science. I’m also a Certified Research Chef, which means I specialize in culinology—the bridge between culinary arts and food science.

I grew up drinking Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, so getting to work on a product that was part of my daily life felt extra special. At heart, I’m just a big foodie who loves bringing people together through tasting experiences.

How Flavor Creation Really Works

When you start thinking about a new flavor, where do you begin—trends, ingredients, consumers?

It’s a mix, but consumers are always the north star. I closely follow the consumer product goods (CPG) market to keep up with trends, and we also get insights from our flavor suppliers. We work closely with our marketing team to decide which flavors to develop for the upcoming year, often using consumer flavor sorts to guide decisions.

Once we land on a concept, I immerse myself in the market, buying and tasting all the existing products in that flavor space to understand consumer expectations. I also lean into my culinary background to create a “gold standard.” For example, when working on Strawberry Shortcake, I made the actual dessert to be sure I was capturing all the expected notes. From there, it’s about creating multiple versions to decide what Ocean Spray’s expression of that flavor should be.

How many versions of a flavor do you typically go through before landing on the final one?

So many! There are endless ways to interpret a flavor. “Cran x Strawberry,” for example, sounds simple — but should that strawberry taste candy‑like? Green and underripe? Jammy? Cooked? Nectar‑like?

Each option interacts differently with cranberry juice. For Strawberry Shortcake alone, I tested around 10 different combinations of flavors and colors before narrowing it to three with help from the Product Development team and eventually just one after consumer testing.

What might people be surprised to learn about the flavor development process?

The amount of color iteration that goes into each product. You eat with your eyes first, and since we use clear bottles, color is front and center. Visuals shape expectations before the first sip ever happens.

Imagine picking up a bottle of Cran x Raspberry that’s bright orange -- it wouldn’t match what your brain expects, even if the label says grape. Color, darkness, lightness, and opacity all influence perceived taste, so we work closely with our insights team to understand those associations.

Another surprise? Once a product is launched, we follow consumer feedback very closely—especially on social media. I see your comments! Someone once called me a “witch” for how close Strawberry Shortcake tasted to the real thing, which made me laugh out loud. Feedback—good or bad—helps us be better scientists.

Are there flavor combinations that just work better with cranberry?

People sometimes think cranberries are limiting, but I see it as our superpower. Its sweet‑tart profile makes it incredibly versatile across both sweet and savory applications. Cranberry doesn’t always need to be the star -- it often elevates the entire flavor experience.

Why is cranberry so versatile? Why can it “have a baby with anyone”?

I can confirm: cranberry can have a baby with anyone! If you can think of a flavor, we’ve probably tried it with cranberry at some point.

Cranberry works beautifully with botanicals, teas, coconut, global flavors, spices like ginger or za’atar and even savory applications like BBQ sauce or marinades. The possibilities are endless, and as long as consumers stay open‑minded, we’ll keep pushing what cranberry can do.

What flavor trends are you excited about right now?

I love the current flavor landscape. My Instagram algorithm is basically all food and beverage launches at this point. I’m really into the dirty soda trend, nostalgia‑driven collaborations, and the continued rise of “swicy” and “swavory” flavors—especially because cranberry fits so well into those spaces.

As a chef, I also love flavors that carry culinary cues like grilled, poached, smoked, or baked. They add an extra layer of expectation that’s really enticing as a consumer.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on at Ocean Spray?

Limited Time Offerings, hands down. LTOs allow us to stretch boundaries and create truly unique juice experiences. Mulled Blackberry Pear, for example, required capturing nuanced, poached flavor notes and making sure it tasted great both warm and cold.

Even Strawberry Shortcake is something I’ll sometimes enjoy poured over vanilla ice cream! LTOs show that juice can be experienced in so many ways beyond just pouring it into a glass. I’m incredibly excited about what’s coming next and I hope our consumers are buckled in for more cranberry flavor adventures.

Finally, what’s the most underrated Ocean Spray flavor?

Cran x Lemonade! It’s incredibly refreshing and perfectly balanced sweet‑tart. People also shouldn’t sleep on Cran x Pomegranate and Cran x Cherry especially in the fall.