Our History

The Indian River Select® Brand is built on a rich history of Florida citrus in an area that produces some of the most amazing fruit on the planet.

Learn more about the Indian River area and see why our founder, Cliff Burg chose this area and these fruits for our select, 100% pure Florida juices.

The Indian River Select® Brand is built on a rich history of Florida citrus in an area that produces some of the most amazing fruit on the planet. Learn more about the Indian River area and see why we choose this area and these fruits for our select, 100% pure Florida juices. The Legend of Indian River Citrus Florida sunshine, sabal palms swaying gently in balmy tropical breezes. Here, on the east coast of sunny Florida, there flows an ancient coastal river… “Indian River”. Over time, nature has created a rich, fertile, narrow strip of land known today as “The Indian River Citrus District.” Here, this perfect combination of year-round sunshine, tropical rains and fertile soil produces the finest citrus in the world. For over a century, the Indian River Citrus District has been famous for growing the most luscious, sweet-tasting fresh citrus available! Only oranges and grapefruit grown in this rich, fertile area can be labeled Indian River Fruit. What makes our juice so special? We take the center cut of the Florida citrus harvest, using only mid to late season oranges and grapefruit, picked at their peak. Then process them in small runs, to a higher standard (brix), thus giving our juice a richer, sweeter, fresher taste. Many consider Indian River Select® Brand to be the best juice they have ever tasted. We never add flavor packs or preservatives thus our juice is only the pure goodness of the best Florida fruit.

Meet the Founder, Cliff Burg

Growing up in the section of western Palm Beach County known as Loxahatchee, Burg, came from a family of citrus growers. His father worked the groves while his mother packed citrus, back when each individual orange or grapefruit was carefully wrapped for shipping up north or west. His mother also had a citrus nursery, and Burg often helped where he was needed. In the early ’50s, however, the citrus industry changed. The buyer was interested in orange juice concentrate – greatly impacting the packing houses and encouraging Burg’s father to change careers. He went into building. “That’s how I evolved into being in the building business,” Burg says. “I don’t know if there’s a connection from working the land to developing it, but you certainly have an appreciation for the land you have or are working on.” After a successful career in building, he and his partner Otto “Buzz” DiVosta built around 12,000 housing units from Fort Lauderdale to Port St. Lucie, including The Bluffs in Jupiter.

In the mid-90s, he also decided to go back into the citrus business now that consumer tastes wanted fresh, not- from-concentrate fruit juices again. In 1996, he struck a deal with Publix to carry his Indian River Select® Brand juice. “We’re in about 3,500 stores, and we focus on very high quality in our orange and grapefruit business,” Burg explains. “We do a very good job on O.J., but we have one of the premier grapefruit juices.” To this day, we only use Florida fruit picked at the peak of harvest, squeezed carefully and flash pasteurized to preserve all the quality and natural goodness of oranges and grapefruits.

STORY BY SUZANNE WENTLEY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DIANE DULTMEIER