Assure

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 12 oz Pouch
BevNET Review: Designed as a “for heart” formulation, the latest flavor of Assure is a kiwi strawberry melon flavored beverage. From a flavor perspective, the 60 calorie formulation is fairly pleasant tasting, although it largely tastes like something reminiscent of a children’s juice box. It’s mildly sweet (from agave, cane syrup, and erythritol), while the fruit flavor provides a tangy note, but isn’t really accurate relative to the flavor name. Instead, we taste pear, white grape, strawberry, and melon. Functionally, the product has EPA and DHA, vitamins, and electrolytes, which gives it its “heart healthy” and hydrating properties. On the packaging front, we still feel as though there is extraneous text on the front of the package and we have issues opening the closure (it requires a lot of force to remove the cap). Otherwise, we like their use of the pouch, which provides a nice point of differentiation and takes up less space (and weighs less) than traditional beverage containers. Overall, a good addition to the Assure lineup.Reviewed on: 11/18/2011

Product Type:Sports Drinks: Fitness and Supplement Drinks; Container: 12 oz Pak
BevNET Review: Like the other Assure varieties, Peach Mango starts off with an agave and sugar-sweetened formulation that has been given a pleasant fruit flavor. It’s easily recognizable as peach mango, which is to say that it’s basically the same flavoring that you’ll find in other peach mango drinks. Functionally, it features 10 percent of the RDA of calcium as well as glucosamine (67mg), vitamins, and electrolytes. Marketed as a drink for “active boomers on the go," both the product’s sugar sweetened formulation and pouch packaging (which is typically used for kids drinks) seem to be misaligned with the target consumer. And from a functional point of view, taking a drink with 10 percent calcium and glucosamine and limiting it as a drink for women seems extremely risky. That’s not to say that we don’t like the product – we just think that putting something else on the front panel and adjusting the target demographic would result in broader appeal.Reviewed on: 3/3/2011

Product Type:Sports Drinks: Fitness and Supplement Drinks; Container: 12 oz Pak
BevNET Review: Assure’s Goji Lemonade “For Him” is best described as a sports drink alternative for the baby boomer demographic. Lightly sweetened with agave and cane syrup (to the tune of 40 calories per serving), the product has a mellow fruit flavor that features notes of lemon, apple, and berry. That said, this product’s flavor is very reminiscent of vitaminwater. Functionally, the product features vitamins, electrolytes, and zinc, with amounts on par with other products on the market today. The packaging is the most unique part about the product, with a 12 oz.pouch the format of choice. The closure is somewhat difficult to open, which might prove to be an issue for the target demographic. Despite having a good visual appeal, the layout of the pouch leaves something to be desired, with several different elements competing for your attention. In addition, “for him” is something that isn’t quantified well enough – nor is it clear as to why a female wouldn’t want to consume a product containing zinc. Overall, it’s a nice tasting product with the key differentiation being the choice of packaging, but simplifying the look of the package would go a long way.Reviewed on: 3/3/2011

Product Type:Sports Drinks: Fitness and Supplement Drinks; Container: 12 oz PET
BevNET Review: Labeled as the “For Body” variety, Raspberry Acai is a fiber enhanced (3g) beverage that is sweetened with agave and sugar. Like the other flavors, it tastes very much like something that would fit into the “enhanced water” category, so we think that the appeal of this flavor could be pretty broad. On the packaging front, they’ve definitely called attention to a buzzword (fiber) that will have appeal to baby boomers. However, there’s something about the packaging, which is a common format for kids drinks, that doesn’t feel like a product that will resonate with baby boomers. Furthermore, calling it what it is – a vitamin enhanced fiber drink – rather than using conceptual pieces of text such as “for body” would make the product more intuitive. Overall, we like the taste, the function, and the packaging, but the approach to the product’s positioning is at a disconnect with its target demographic.Reviewed on: 3/3/2011