Bring Back Mott's on United ✈️🍅

Why Am I Doing This?

Because I've loved tomato juice since I was a kid.

I grew up drinking those tiny Campbell's cans. My mother would buy two 6-packs at a time I loved it so much. This went on throughout childhood. It is definitely a strange look to get as a middle school nerd cracking open a can of tomato juice.

Fast forward to age 30 and 1K status with United, and my love of tomato juice had become, let's say, refined. It started as a bet — I told a friend I could tell the difference between Mott's and Campbell's — at 30K feet, both warm and chilled. They didn't believe me. So they set up a surprise blind taste test for my birthday.

The actual blind tomato juice taste test — 14 numbered cups, multiple brands, and very strong opinions

The actual taste test. 14 numbered samples. Clamato, V8, Campbell's, Mott's — the whole lineup. Yes, this really happened.

So when I sat down on a United flight and they handed me a Pickle House can, I knew immediately something was wrong. This wasn't tomato juice. It was tomato juice that had been adulterated by pickle juice. And that is just fundamentally against what a fruit-based juice is supposed to be. If I ask for apple juice, I get apple juice. If I ask for orange juice, I get orange juice. I don't think I need to be more clear here.

So after waiting a year to see if United would reverse course to no avail, I decided to start this petition.

The Petition

Break free from poor taste rule
and fight for our juice!

There's a great bit by John Oliver who explains the reason for the public's perception (and often satire) for the unrefined palate of the Brits — the cost of defending vs folding in WW2. There's also a great remark by anyone who lives in London: "the number 1 food of England is Indian food."

The point is, both those statements can be true. But neither give me culinary trust in the great British people, and slipping pickle juice in my can of tomato juice without offering me another option is United's mistake.

Mott's? Please!

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You're officially on the manifest.

Your signature has been recorded. United reversed this once in under 30 days. Share this with your seatmates and let's do it again.

Spread the Word

When Lufthansa noticed they were serving 53,000 gallons of tomato juice per year — nearly matching their beer consumption — they hired the Fraunhofer Institute to figure out why. Researchers built a simulated cabin inside an old Airbus fuselage parked in a cow pasture (yes, really — complete with clouds taped to the windows) and discovered that cabin pressure suppresses sweet and salty taste by up to 30% while heightening umami sensitivity. A Cornell study confirmed loud engine noise boosts umami perception by another 20%.

The implication is clear: physics already makes basic tomato juice taste extraordinary at 35,000 feet. Mott's let altitude do the heavy lifting. The Pickle House added pickle juice, horseradish, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and celery salt — then shrank the can from 12 oz to 5.5 oz. That's not an upgrade. That's overengineering in a smaller package.

24%

Pickle juice in The Pickle House's "tomato juice." Their tagline is "Life's Better Pickled."

5.5 oz

New can size (down from 12 oz). Doesn't even pair right with a standard vodka mini.

Total employees at The Pickle House. They hand-bottle on a farm in Suffolk, England.

“The pure Tomato Juice is not pure. It has been contaminated by other flavors beyond recognition. Now I have no idea what I am drinking.”
— Actual United passenger, FlyerTalk

This is not the first time United has fumbled the tomato juice. They have a documented, catastrophic track record — and every time, the passengers win.

May 2018

United removes tomato juice

Quietly cut from flights under 4 hours. Twitter erupts with #Mottsorbust. Flight attendants enter "full apology mode." A flight attendant later described the reversal as watching "the Titanic change course."

June 2018

United caves in under 30 days

United tweets: "You say tomato. We say, we hear you. Tomato juice is here to stay." Their own CDO later admitted passengers still weren't ordering it — they just needed it to exist.

2018 – 2024

A fragile peace

Mott's returns. Passengers sip in quiet dignity. The ritual is restored. All seems well.

April 2025

The Pickle House switch

United quietly swaps Mott's for The Pickle House — a 4-person British company that hand-bottles on a farm in Suffolk. No press release. The change leaked via an internal memo. Cans shrank from 12 oz to 5.5 oz. FlyerTalk erupted. Here we are.

The Pickle House was founded in 2014 by Florence Cherruault in Hackney, London, after she tried "pickleback" shots on holiday in New York. She returned home with "pickles firmly on the brain" and started making small batches in her kitchen. Today, a team of four hand-blends everything on her grandparents' farm in Suffolk.

The product now on your tray table is 73% tomato juice and 24% pickle juice, plus horseradish, vegan Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and celery salt. Their tagline is "Life's Better Pickled." The company's Instagram bio describes them as a "Pickle Juice & Bloody Mary" company. Tomato isn't even in the branding. Asking for tomato juice and receiving pickle juice is the beverage equivalent of ordering a hamburger and getting a cucumber sandwich.

Oh, and United claims The Pickle House is "exclusive to United Airlines in the air." Except Virgin Atlantic launched the identical cans on all its flights a month earlier. Even the exclusivity is pickled in ambiguity.

When United swapped Mott's for The Pickle House, they replaced two products with one: Mott's Tomato Juice and Mr & Mrs T Bloody Mary Mix were both cut. In their place? A single Pickle House product that's 73% tomato juice and 24% pickle juice, plus horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, and celery salt.

United didn't upgrade the tomato juice. They eliminated it and replaced it with a cocktail mixer.

The Pickle House's tagline is "Life's Better Pickled." We'd like to point out that "pickled" is British slang for drunk — and honestly, that tracks. Their product is a Bloody Mary mix. It's designed for people adding vodka. You may, in fact, need to be a little pickled to enjoy it at 8 AM on a Tuesday morning flight to Denver. But for the rest of us — the ones who just want a clean, simple tomato juice with no agenda — being told that Pickle House is tomato juice feels like being told a margarita is the same thing as lime water.

This is exactly why both products should exist on the beverage cart. One for the pickled. One for the sober. Mott's for tomato juice. Pickle House for Bloody Marys. Two drinks. Two purposes. One beverage cart. It's not complicated.

🍅 The Compromise: A Reasonable Proposal

We're not asking United to remove The Pickle House. We're asking them to stop pretending it's tomato juice. Here's the deal:

Bring back Mott's as the standard tomato juice — the one you pour when someone asks for tomato juice, because that's what it is
Keep The Pickle House as the Bloody Mary mix — for passengers who want a pre-spiced cocktail base with their vodka (a.k.a. the pickled)
Let passengers choose — sober tomato juice drinkers get tomato juice, Bloody Mary enthusiasts get their mix, and nobody has to drink pickle juice against their will at 35,000 feet

The Reviews Are In

Real passengers. Real opinions. Real grief.

From FlyerTalk threads, Amazon UK reviews, and whisky exchange comment sections.

“The pure Tomato Juice is not pure. It has been contaminated by other flavors beyond recognition. Loved a room temperature juice with just a dash of salt. Now I have no idea what I am drinking.”

FlyerTalk · United Passenger

“They got this cheaper than Mr & Mrs T's and that's the only reason for the change.”

FlyerTalk · Multiple Agreed

“Quite vinegary and basically undrinkable.”

Amazon UK Review

“I'm going to find baby Tabasco bottles for the return flight” to compensate for the new mix's lack of heat.

FlyerTalk · Prepared Passenger

“I have to assume other reviewers are employees.”

The Whisky Exchange

“I love the passion of these discussions. When one is trapped on an airline for many hours and one is limited to what's on board, this is important stuff!!!!”

FlyerTalk · Voice of Reason

Bring Back Mott's on United

Because I've loved tomato juice since I was a kid.

Break free from poor taste rule
and fight for our juice!

You're officially on the manifest.

Altitude already does the work.

United has a tomato juice curse.

What United thinks you should drink instead.

Bloody Mary mix is not tomato juice. United seems confused.

🍅 The Compromise: A Reasonable Proposal

Real passengers. Real opinions. Real grief.

Spread the word at baggage claim.

Bring Back Mott's on United

Because I've loved tomato juice since I was a kid.

Break free from poor taste ruleand fight for our juice!

You're officially on the manifest.

Altitude already does the work.

United has a tomato juice curse.

What United thinks you should drink instead.

Bloody Mary mix is not tomato juice. United seems confused.

🍅 The Compromise: A Reasonable Proposal

Real passengers. Real opinions. Real grief.

Tell the whole cabin.

Spread the word at baggage claim.

Break free from poor taste rule
and fight for our juice!