Company Overview

In 1926 when Julius Freed wanted to open an orange juice stand in California, he asked his friend, Bill Hamlin, to help find a suitable location.  Hamlin, a real estate developer, found Julius a small store in Los Angeles on South Broadway with a pool hall downstairs, a garment factory upstairs and a theater next door.

Julius Freed had only moderate success with his new business and Hamlin suggested Julius jazz up the drink.  Hamlin had an idea how to make fresh-squeezed orange juice more exciting and consistent.  A former chemistry student, Hamlin decided he would create a new formula.  Freed liked the new fresh-blended drink idea and began selling it in his store.  It was clearly a winner, quickly outselling orange juice.  Hamlin soon jumped behind the counter to help keep up with thirsty customers shouting, "Give me an orange, Julius!"  Thus the unique Orange Julius® name and product were born.

The Orange Julius Original® you can purchase today is very similar to the drink Hamlin and Freed invented and sold back in the 1920s.  However now, along with the Julius Original drink, Orange Julius also offers a variety of great tasting smoothies and snacks, such as hotdogs and nachos.

Orange Julius stores spread across the U.S. quickly, particularly as part of shopping malls, and became a very sought-after and popular treat.  In 1987, Orange Julius became a fully-owned subsidiary of International Dairy Queen® (IDQ) – the world’s largest distributors of frozen treats, hot food items and other drinks and treats.  The relationship between the two has proven to be an advantageous one for both the treat purveyors and treat-lovers alike.

At present, Orange Julius has more than 200 stand-alone stores and more than 225 combination Dairy Queen/Orange Julius locations in the U.S. plus additional locations in Canada and other international markets and IDQ is a system of more than 5,700 Dairy Queen stores around the world.  For more information about Orange Julius, please visit www.orangejulius.com or www.idq.com.

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