SoBe Essential Energy

Product Type:Functional: Energy Drink: Regular; Container: 16 fl oz can
BevNET Review: The ever popular berry pomegranate flavor has made its way to the SoBe energy drink portfolio as part of the new SoBe Essentials lineup. Made with 7% juice, the product has a tart flavor that’s best compared to a fruit punch, with a mild dose of blueberry flavor to the finish. It’s not an overly fruity or juicy flavor though, which leaves something to be desired if you’re really craving a juice flavored drink. Packaging is decent, with a clear color coding format that makes it easy to identify the flavor. It also has a certain wholesome vibe to it (perhaps due to the font treatment and copy on the can), which is certainly a positive as far as SoBe products go. The biggest packaging issue for us is the use of the white background, which is typically used to denote a diet formulation.

Product Type:Functional: Energy Drink: Regular; Container: 16 fl oz can
BevNET Review: SoBe Essentials’ Orange variety tastes very similar to an orange flavored CSD, with two exceptions. First, there’s a much stronger orange flavor, which is from the 30% juice blend used in the product. Second, there is a slight tinge of energy / vitamin flavor to the finish of the product, which is what makes it believable as an energy drink. It’s certainly a drinkable flavor, aside from the aftertaste, but it’s also nothing terribly innovate or original. The white/orange packaging is slightly hard to read, plus the white background made us expect a diet product, which this is certainly not. A decent product, but not exactly a step forward for the category or brand.