ActivWater

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container:
BevNET Review: The "Triple Berry" flavor of the ActivWater line is an enjoyable one. Enhanced with vitamins, antioxidants, and electrolytes, this product's real selling point is its flavor, which maintains low calories and natural sweetness through the use of a erythritol (blended with organic cane juice). There is absolutely no sweetener aftertaste to this drink, which leaves the slightly tart berry flavor as the dominant taste. From a functionality point of view, the product has vitamins A, C, B3, and B6 as well as folic acid, calcium lactate, and tea extract, which account for the antioxidants and electrolytes. Packaging is a square shaped, fully wrapped bottle, which has a modern theme to it. The two tone color and fun text copy are somewhat reminiscent of the market leader, but we think it's a clearly differentiated product. Overall, an innovative tasting product that is very enjoyable.Reviewed on: 11/13/2008

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container:
BevNET Review: ActivWater's Energy variety is a pleasant tasting "Tropical Citrus" flavored drink. The secret to the product is a sweetener mix of organic cane juice and erythritol, a non sugar based sweetener that is classified as all natural. Aside from being all natural, the erythritol leaves no aftertaste behind, allowing this product to achieve almost exactly the same flavor as a drink that is entirely sugar based. Being an "energy" product, they've added 40mg of natural caffeine per serving (that's about 100mg per bottle), which is a reasonable amount of kick. Also in the mix are tea extracts (for antioxidants) and added B and C vitamins. Packaging feels modern and sporty, with a clean square bottle helping differentiate from the crowded sea of 20 ounce round bottles. Our only concern is the design's reliance on vertical text, which means you have to flip the bottle (also requiring the consumer to actually pick it up) to see what the drink is all about. Aside from this, ActivWater Energy is an innovative and extremely enjoyable product.Reviewed on: 11/13/2008

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container:
BevNET Review: The DragonFruit variety of ActivWater blends a pleasant fruit taste with a mixture of functional ingredients, including Vitamin A, C, B3, B5, B6, B12, E, and Zinc. Along with that are herbal ingredients ginkgo biloba and gotu kola. And last, but not least, they've used the blend of erythritol and pineapple juice to sweeten and flavor (in the case of the pineapple) the drink. It drinks very much like a sports drink flavor, sans salt, and the light level of sweetness makes the product go down easy. The lack of sweetener artifacts is also a big plus that Talking Rain can take advantage of -- we really can't think of another product line that's got it right like ActivWater has. Packaging takes the technical and sporty approach, but they've missed the mark with their effort to blend personality into the drink through the copy on the back. It's a good start though, and the brand would certainly benefit if that personality made its way to other parts of the brand. Overall, exceptional flavor and, minor grievances aside, a good first effort with packaging.Reviewed on: 11/13/2008

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container:
BevNET Review: Despite having the same level of calories and sugar as the other varieties, Power was the sweetest, most full flavored variety of the ActivWater lineup. Using a strawberry kiwi flavor, it's an enjoyable tasting product, with sweet and tart notes. As far as strawberry kiwi flavors go, it's a good one, although like most other attempts at strawberry, it's no substitute for the real thing. "Power," on the other hand, made us expect another energy flavor, but this more of sports drink style product. There's no herbal or antioxidant component to this flavor, just a modest dose of Vitamins C, B12, D, K, and electrolytes as well as calcium and magnesium. Packaging is on par with the other varieties, using vertical text for most of the front panel. If nothing else, we'd love to see the "25 calories" and "all natural" (or "no artificial sweeteners") running horizontally across the front of the bottle. Overall, another enjoyable flavor from ActivWater.Reviewed on: 11/13/2008

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container:
BevNET Review: Using a pomegranate berry flavor, this 25 calorie per serving formulation has a tart/sour flavor profile that gets a passing grade. Like many of the other flavors, it uses a blend of erythritol and pineapple juice as the sweeteners, which is certainly an innovative approach to a low calorie product. It's an even bigger step for the enhanced water category, which still has many entrants using high calorie, sugar laden formulations. In this variety, Talking Rain's functional purpose is, as the name suggest, of a preventative nature, which is why they've added a cocktail of vitamins (A, C, B, Folic Acid) as well as tea and grape skin extract for antioxidants. It seems like a reasonable mix, with nothing that is likely to scare away consumers. Resist's bright blue label has some nice pop to it, although our packaging concerns from the other reviews still exist. Overall, a strong product from a drinkability point of view and we appreciate their approach to low calorie. Reviewed on: 11/13/2008

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container:
BevNET Review: ActivWater Balance uses a black berry flavor that is probably our favorite of the lineup. There's a touch of sweetness to the product (courtesy of erythritol and pineapple juice) followed by a nicely balanced sour berry flavor. It's fuller in body than some of the other flavors, which is a nice change of pace, and the added vitamins (A, C, B, E, Zinc) and functional ingredients (ginkgo biloba, gotu kola, and glucosamine) offer some marketable benefits to the consumer. Really though, these are things that you can get in a variety of other products on the market. What you can't easily get (and thus sets this drink apart), is an all natural low calorie blend beverage with full flavor. On that front, this drink succeeds wonderfully, delivering no aftertaste, full flavor, and functionality. Definitely worth a try.Reviewed on: 11/13/2008