FRS Antioxidant Health Drink

Product Type:Functional: Energy Drink: Regular; Container: 11.5 oz Can
BevNET Review: FRS’ Apricot Nectarine variety is a new addition to their non-carbonated energy lineup. It’s sweetened with sugar, white grape juice, and stevia, which provides a nice backdrop for the apricot nectarine flavoring and keeps the drink at 90 calories per 12 ounce can. The flavor is enjoyable, but has noticeable functional flavor and aroma to it. The latter is actually somewhat off putting, smelling like something that doesn’t belong in your mouth. The fruit flavor borders on candy like, but drinkable, and it definitely does a good job of masking the functional ingredients in the drink. Really, our biggest issue with this flavor is its similarity to the Orange variety. We bet that many consumers won’t even be able to tell the difference. On the functional front, the product is loaded with vitamins (B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E), quercetin (QU995) for energy, and catechins (antioxidants). It definitely performs differently than a traditional caffeine based energy drink, but it does, at least in our tests, seem to last longer and lack the caffeine crash. On the outside, the product makes great use of the FRS brand, which definitely has credibility and awareness in the marketplace. If anything, there’s too much text on the front panel, but otherwise the can design is clean and appealing. Overall, a well executed addition to the FRS line. Reviewed on: 6/5/2010

Product Type:Functional: Energy Drink: Diet; Container: 11.5 oz Can
BevNET Review: The “low cal” flavor of the lineup, FRS’ Peach Mango uses sucralose in place of the sugar and stevia found in the other varieties. It also uses mango and white grape juice, which help the product achieve its very natural tasting mango flavor. However, it has a lot more aftertaste than the other two flavors. It’s hard to discern whether this is sweetener aftertaste or the functional ingredients, but the more you drink, the easier it is to tolerate. And tolerate is about all we could do while trying this product. Reducing the calories from 90 to 25 doesn’t seem like a meaningful difference to us, especially given the big difference in flavor. Functionally, the product has the same levels of vitamins, quercetin, and catechins as the other flavors. Like most beverage brands’ diet varieties, they’ve chosen to use a white backdrop, which makes the text on the can harder to read than on the other flavors. It’s definitely the least visually appealing of the line. Overall, we really like the use of mango puree, but otherwise, we’d pass on this variety.Reviewed on: 6/5/2010

Product Type:Functional: Energy Drink: Diet; Container: 11.5 oz Can
BevNET Review: Using stevia along with sugar and white grape juice, the Orange flavor of FRS Healthy Energy is allowed to label itself as “naturally sweetened.” That’s obviously a helpful thing for marketing purposes, but the three sweetener blend also helps create a flavor that is an improvement over previous FRS flavors that we’ve sampled. As with other quercetin enhanced drinks that we’ve tried (there aren’t many), this product has an almost milky body to it (there is no dairy in it) and an aroma that’s less than appealing. However, once you start to consume the product, the non-carbonated formulation is enjoyable, with real orange juice helping the orange flavor taste natural in your mouth. Still, the functional ingredients leave a heavy aftertaste. Speaking of functionality, the product contains vitamins (B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E), quercetin (QU995) for energy, and catechins (antioxidants). The lack of caffeine will probably resonate differently depending on the consumer type, but the formulation definitely provides a boost. Packaging (a 12 oz slim can) is eye catching and appealing, thanks to the use of a bright orange colored can and the FRS branding being easy to read in large block font. Plus, we do think that the FRS brand does, thanks to massive ad campaigns, have recognition in the marketplace. Overall, it’s definitely not for everyone, but for those who are looking for caffeine alternatives, it’s definitely a very solid choice.Reviewed on: 6/5/2010