Arizona Rescue Water

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container: 20.5 oz PET
BevNET Review: Of course, every enhanced water line needs an energy formulation – and Rescue Water has gone at it with a low calorie lemon-lime flavored effort. Starting with a blend of sugar and rebiana, the product has a natural level of sweetness, but a fair amount of aftertaste to the finish. The aftertaste, which is likely from the functional ingredients and stevia, is worse than in some of the other Rescue Water varieties. Nevertheless, it is, as AriZona points out, still more enjoyable than many of the zero calorie entries that we’ve sampled from other brands. Functionally, the product uses a blend of B vitamins, guarana (208 mg per serving), green tea extract (35 mg per serving), and natural caffeine (14m g per serving) to create its energy cocktail. There’s not too much in the way of kick from this product – at least in comparison to mainstream energy drink products. Packaging is a proprietary 20.5 oz. bottle, which is a bit bigger than most of the competition. Visually, it definitely has a functional vibe to it, although the execution (and benefit) of the joint branding by Twinlab and AriZona is confusing. That’s mainly because the gap between these two brands is rather large, with one serving a very different consumer base than the other – so we’re not sure how that helps a brand like this. Plus, the text on the label is hard to read, with an almost transparent gray color being used for all of the text that explains the functional ingredients. Overall, it’s decent, but not great, with the biggest issue the product’s branding and visual execution.Reviewed on: 5/18/2010

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container: 20.5 oz PET
BevNET Review: The Detox variety of Arizona Rescue Water features a pleasant orange citrus flavor that’s sweetened with sugar and Reb A (stevia). Clocking in at only 25 calories per 8 oz. serving, the product is surprisingly full flavored, but has only a little amount of sweetener aftertaste. Functionally, the product is enhanced with vitamins, alpina lipoic acid, green tea extract, milk thistle extract, and L-glutathione. The intention is, as the name suggests, detoxification and support of liver function. From a branding and packaging perspective, there’s a lot to take in, starting with the product’s colorful and text heavy packaging. Trying to satisfy two brand marketers, AriZona and Twinlab, is tricky, with both of the company’s logos creating a somewhat confusing look to the product. Ultimately, these are two brands that don’t seem to go well together: one is a supplement company and the other sells value priced nonalcoholic beverages. That said, it’s hard to imagine how the marriage of the two brands creates a viable customer base for this product. Furthermore, there are some technical issues with the label, thanks to the choice of silver for much of the explanatory text that’s found around the label. Overall, this is an average product, with good flavor and marketable functionality that feels somewhat lost in a visually overwhelming package.Reviewed on: 5/18/2010

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container: 20.5oz PET
BevNET Review: Of the Rescue Water varieties that we sampled, the Relax variety is our favorite. It beats the others in almost every area, starting with its pleasant, aftertaste free berry flavor. For whatever reason, the rebiana isn’t as noticeable in this mix, making for a much more pleasant drinking experience. In addition, they’ve created a relaxation formula that won’t keep you awake at night, including L-theanine, green tea extract, lemon balm extract, and vitamins. And on the outside, readability issues that were cited on the other labels are a non-issue with the darker colored backdrop. However, that’s not to say that this product is without the need of any refinement. Specifically, the pairing of AriZona and Twinlab is confusing and doesn’t add a ton of benefit in our opinion. Using ingredients from Twinlab is something that seems more suitable for the back panel; AriZona is perfectly capable of holding its own in the beverage cooler. Also, the color bands seem somewhat reminiscent of the category leader – that’s an approach that hasn’t worked so well for enhanced waters. If this product can somehow further establish its own visual identity, we think they’ll be a lot better off. Reviewed on: 5/18/2010