Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail: Labelgrade C (64/100)

The short answer

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail delivers 0g of protein and 110 calories per 8 OZA (USDA FDC 2038758). Per 100mL that’s 0g of protein; per fl oz, 0g. The Labelgrade is C (64 / 100): Very low saturated fat, notable sugar load, and very low sodium.

Why this Labelgrade

How it compares

The “cocktail” tax: why this grades below 100% juice

The word doing the most work on this label is cocktail. In juice terms that’s not a flavor — it’s a regulatory tell that the bottle is not 100% juice. It’s filtered water, a portion of cranberry juice (cranberries are punishingly tart, so almost nobody drinks them straight), and cane or beet sugar added to make it drinkable.

That added sugar is the entire reason this lands a full letter below a 100% orange juice. Labelgrade v3.1 penalizes sugar per-100g, and it penalizes added sugar harder than the intrinsic sugar in whole fruit. With cane or beet sugar named right in the ingredient list, the 28g here is scored as added — and the sugar dimension bottoms out, dragging the overall to a C. Compare it to Tropicana Pure Premium in the table below: similar sugar grams, but Tropicana’s is all from the fruit with nothing added, so it keeps its sugar dimension near the top and grades a B. Same shelf, same “fruit juice” shorthand, one full grade apart — and the only structural difference is the spoonful of added sugar.

What you’re actually buying

Cranberry has a health halo — people reach for it expecting antioxidants or urinary-tract benefits. It’s worth being clear-eyed: what’s in this bottle is closer to lightly-cranberry sugar water than to a functional health drink. You get the tart flavor, a little added vitamin C, and not much else — no fiber, no protein, and 28g of sugar, much of it added.

None of that makes it a villain; an occasional glass is fine, and it’s an honest, recognizable product that doesn’t pretend to be more. But if you’re drinking it for the cranberry, the dose of actual juice is small and the dose of sugar is not. A genuinely unsweetened 100% cranberry juice (or a 100% cranberry blend) would grade higher here — the catch is it’s so tart most people won’t drink it without sweetening it themselves, which lands you right back at the sugar. The cocktail is the trade Ocean Spray made for drinkability; this grade is just naming the cost of that trade.

Scope

This page covers Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail (64 fl oz/1.89 L), UPC 031200200075, as represented in USDA Branded Foods FDC 2038758. Ocean Spray sells multiple variants in this product line — other sizes, flavors, or fat levels may have different macros and Labelgrade scores. Manufacturers periodically reformulate; always cross-reference the actual package label, especially if you have allergies or dietary restrictions.

Ingredients (from the USDA Branded Foods entry)

FILTERED WATER, CRANBERRY JUICE (WATER, CRANBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE), CANE OR BEET SUGAR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), VEGETABLE CONCENTRATE FOR COLOR.

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Scope: This page applies specifically to Cranberry Juice Cocktail (64 fl oz/1.89 L) · UPC 031200200075. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.