Hawaiian OLA

Product Type:Functional: Energy Shot; Container: 2.5oz Platic Bottle
BevNET Review: Hawaiian Ola is an energy shot that is made with 75 percent juice (noni, mango, pear, apple, acai, goji, and lilikoi juice. For energy, it contains green tea and yerba mate, which give the product 140 mg of natural caffeine. As far as drinkability is concerned, this is much better than some of the medicinal tasting products that are currently on the market. It’s tart and sweet, with a rich fruit flavor that requires sipping rather than just knocking it back. From a textural perspective, there’s some slight grit to the product, which might take some getting used to for certain consumers. Visually, we like the tropical design that they’ve used, which borrows colors from acai and yerba mate products that are already on the market. However, the logo for the brand hasn’t been given enough emphasis, which might make it easy to misread. Beyond that, there’s a lot competing for your eye -- noni, goji, acai -- although the big “energy” call out and “75% juice” tagline makes it pretty clear as to what it is. Whether those are meaningful points of differentiation for a category that really has only one player is tough to say, but it certainly seems like something that will be right at home in the natural channel. If the plan for Hawaiian Ola is to go beyond natural, we think that further branding work needs to be done. Overall, a nice start that can definitely be improved upon.Reviewed on: 10/25/2012