Bai

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16.9 oz PET
BevNET Review: Made with 12 percent juice, which, according the label, is exclusively peach juice, Bai'’s Kenya Peach variety has a very enjoyable peach flavor. The rest of the mix includes added sugar, coffee fruit extract, white tea extract, citric acid, vegetable juice and saffron for color, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). As a result, the product has an almost tea like flavor, which is likely due to the coffee berry extract giving the product a slightly astringent note. Functionally, the product’'s 3,000 ORAC units (antioxidants) are certainly a plus, but we don’'t think that a consumer can contextualize what this benefit means. On the packaging front, we can only reiterate what we'’ve said in the other flavor reviews about the product’'s attractive and clean design as well as the seemingly extraneous mention of “Kenya.” Overall, this is another solid entry from Bai.Reviewed on: 7/6/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16.9 oz PET
BevNET Review: Like Bai'’s other 5 calorie offering, this one uses a mixture of erythritol and stevia. They’'ve hit the nail on the head in terms of the delicate balance of delivering natural sweetness and minimal aftertaste and, at least in our opinion, their low calorie efforts are more impressive than their sugar based varieties. However, this is the only flavor of Bai that we sampled that does not have the fruit juice mentioned in the flavor name. This variety instead relies on pomegranate and strawberry juices (totaling 4 percent) and natural flavors. While it’'s not as fruity or accurate as some of Bai's other flavors, it’'s definitely a massive improvement over other low calorie fruit drinks. Functionally, they’'ve stayed the course with their blend of coffee berry and white tea extracts, which, like the other flavors, results in 3,000 ORAC units (antioxidants). That'’s all well and good, but it’'s the flavor that'’s going to keep consumers drinking this product. Packaging is simple and clean, with a nicely arranged front panel and a modern look to both the logo and the visual elements. However, the number 5 seems like it would be better placed in the text below (e.g. “5 calorie antioxidant infusion” instead of “low calorie”) and we still aren’'t fans of the use of a seemingly random country name being added to the flavor name. Overall, we think they'’ve got a bit of improvement on the branding, but what'’s inside the bottle is spot on.Reviewed on: 7/6/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16.9 oz PET
BevNET Review: Using a blend of berry juices (blueberry, blackberry, and strawberry totaling 10 percent) and fortified with coffee fruit and white tea extracts, Bai'’s Jamaica Blue Berry tastes different that expected. Fortunately, it still tastes good, with a refreshingly fruity flavor that’'s tart and moderately sweet. It’s hard to pinpoint whether or not the coffee fruit has an impact on the flavor, but that’s not really as far as we’re concerned. Functionally, this product claims to be very high in antioxidants, with 3000 ORAC units. All in all, it’s very pleasing experience. However, looking at the product from a packaging and presentation point of view, we have a couple of concerns. First, calling it Jamaica Blue Berry is confusing and looks like a typo. That said, some form of visual connection would be very helpful, or they should just drop this approach altogether. Plus, having a blueberry on the front of the package is confusing in the sense that this product isn’'t just a blueberry-flavored drink. Otherwise, we like the minimalist look of the design and the very clean presentation of the front panel. The explanation on the back is definitely helpful in terms of contextualizing the product'’s function. Overall, this product, which is a juice drink at heart, is extremely enjoyable to drink and, with a few visual improvements, is definitely on the right track to being a winner. Reviewed on: 7/6/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16.9 oz PET
BevNET Review: Using 10 percent juice, including strawberry and pomegranate, Bai Tanzania Strawberry variety is very enjoyable. The mixture, which includes coffee fruit extract and white tea extract, makes for something that has big fruit flavor (you can definitely taste the pomegranate and strawberry) with a slight note of coffee fruit at the finish. It all goes quite well together, with the tartness of the fruit flavors offering some nice balance to the coffee fruit flavor. Honestly, the only thing that we were slightly surprised about was the absence of the word “pomegranate” on the label. Typically, brand marketers will jump at any opportunity to get this highly marketable flavor on their products. Functionally, the product’s 3,000 ORAC units (antioxidants) are certainly a big plus, but we think that consumer education on the coffee fruit is definitely going to be needed as some consumers will likely think that the product contains coffee. Packaging is clean and appealing, with the vibrant image of a strawberry helping to whet the appetite. We also still don'’t see the point of adding the country association to the product. Tanzania certainly doesn’'t mean a whole lot to the average US consumer. Overall, this is a product that'’s likely to be purchased as a juice product rather than a functional product, but, fortunately for Bai, this is an area where the product really excels. Definitely a solid entry into the juice drink category. Reviewed on: 7/6/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16.9 oz PET
BevNET Review: Panama Peach is one of the 5 calorie entries from Bai. To achieve this, they'’ve used 4 percent peach juice and a blend of stevia and erythritol. Honestly, this is one of the best tasting low calorie products that we’'ve ever tasted, with a level of sweetness and lack of aftertaste that'’s close to what you’'ll find in sugar sweetened drinks. There’'s a bold peach flavor to the product, which is the clear result of using peach juice instead of flavorings and filler juices. While the drink is fortified with coffee berry and white tea extracts for functional purposes (the drink has 3000 ORAC units), the product drinks very much like a juice drink. And that'’s fine by us:– they certainly have a bigger opportunity to win consumers over on great taste than on the product'’s functional benefits. On the outside, the use of a 16.9 oz. PET bottle provides a familiar-looking format that they’'ve nicely decorated with a visually pleasing label. However, the placement of the “5” (meant to designate 5 calories) seems visually lost, especially when the bottle is lined up against other flavors from the brand. Moving this away from the logo – and perhaps putting “5 calories” instead of just a number would certainly be an improvement. In addition, the word "“Panama”" seems rather extraneous without further explanation. Overall, extremely impressive flavor, but some visual improvement on the label would be very helpful. Reviewed on: 7/6/2010