There is an art to growing. There is an art to knowing when to pick and squeeze. An art to blending the juices from the best tangerine varieties. Maybe that’s why when we ask our customers 95% buy 100% Noble Tangerine Juice for the taste and 82% find the tangerine flavor more interesting than orange. For four generations the Roe family has been artisan-crafting Noble Tangerine Juices in the Florida sunshine.
History of Roe family and Noble Fresh and Juice
1910s
William G. Roe launches a business in which he extracts large chucks of ice from a frozen Hudson River during winters in upstate New York, covering the product in burlap and hay hile stored in barns. In summer, he transports the ice down the river in barges for sale at terminal produce markets in New York City.
Based on the relationships he builds with buyers at the terminals, William branches out, also selling peaches, plums and nectarines grown upstate.
1920s
William moves to Florida where he sells citrus to his network of terminal buyers in New York. In 1927, the Seaboard Coastline Railroad builds William a packing house, a practice the rail line employed throughout Florida to help build demand for its freight business. William purchases a few groves. His sons, Frederick and Willard, who also work in the business, however, plant a significant number of groves.
1980s
When Frederick dies of cancer in 1981, Willard buys his brother’s share of the business. Hard freezes destroy tangerine groves just north of Winter Haven but leave groves aligned with the Roes mostly unscathed. As a result, William G. Roe and Sons flourishes, establishing a stellar reputation for tangerines. Meanwhile, three sons work in the business: Bill, Quentin and Morgan.
1990s
Seeking opportunities to grow the business, the Roes look to the making of tangerine juice, which most consider nothing more than a bitter drink. Quentin’s mother, however, studies the “sweet zones” for each type of tangerine and discovers how to mix them and make a sweet-tasting tangerine juice.
In 1995, William G. Roe and Sons builds a juice plant designed to process tangerine juice first and others second. At most plants, orange juice is the top priority.
2000s
From 1999 to 2001, business is good. However, three hurricanes in 2004 damage a tremendous amount of fresh fruit throughout Florida, putting significant quantities of citrus on the ground. Another hurricane in 2005 doesn’t help matters, and in 2006, trees in Florida produce little citrus. In 2007, William G. Roe and Sons retrenches when Morgan leaves the family business to conduct missionary work in Tijuana, Mexico, with his family. From 2007 to the present, the business enjoys the benefits of good harvests. Now the company wants to fulfill the promise of its tangerine juice business.