Jones Zilch Zero Calorie Soda

Product Type:Carbonated Soft Drink: Diet; Container: 12 oz bottle
BevNET Review: Of the three initial flavors of Jones Zilch, this one has perhaps the most traditional and mainstream flavor. After all, who hasn’t had a black cherry soda in their day? To that extent, there’s nothing really new or innovative to what’s inside the bottle, short of the added vitamin C (30%). However, the strong execution of the formula is what really makes the drink enjoyable, with minimal aftertaste and a bold black cherry flavor that’s about as good as you’ll get when going sugar free. The product’s packaging is quite good as well, with the Zilch brand looking like a slightly evolved version of the core Jones design, complete with black and white user submitted photo. And as stated in the other two reviews, Zilch fits nicely with the character of the rest of the Jones brand. It’s visually appealing and extremely polished, with each element carefully and properly placed on the label. What more can we ask for? Reviewed on: 11/16/2009

Product Type:Carbonated Soft Drink: Diet; Container: 12 oz bottle
BevNET Review: Jones’ Zilch Vanilla Bean Soda is a sucralose sweetened zero calorie CSD that’s basically a rebranded version of Jones Sugar Free Cream Soda. The flavor of this drink is quite impressive, especially for using straight sucralose, delivering a level of sweetness that’s not so far from what you’ll find in Jones’ Pure Cane Soda line. The vanilla flavor is pretty good, although clearly from vanilla flavoring, with a moderate amount of creaminess to it. Plus, they’ve added vitamin C (30% RDA), but we’re not convinced that will make any sort of impact on the product’s success. More important is the Zilch branding, which is a much hipper sounding way to say diet than “sugar free.” They’ve erased the diet stigma and replaced it with something that’s slightly offbeat, but still straightforward. Visual execution is a slightly modernized version of the classic Jones brand, with a photo placed front and center while text surrounds it. If anything, we’d like to see the placement of the word “ZILCH” changed a bit as right now, it sits atop the Jones logo just a bit. Overall, a very enjoyable zero calorie product that shows that Jones is still capable of making fun – and marketable – products. Reviewed on: 11/16/2009

Product Type:Carbonated Soft Drink: Diet; Container: 12 oz bottle
BevNET Review: The Pomegranate flavor of Jones Zilch is a surprisingly good one. The flavor of the drink doesn’t taste exactly like pomegranate – we’d call it more of a slightly tart fruit punch – but either way it’s a very addictive and enjoyable flavor. They’ve sweetened the drink with sucralose to keep it at zero calories, while also adding 30 percent of your RDA of vitamin C. While there is a slight sweetener aftertaste, it’s pretty tolerable, especially compared to the many mainstream brands that are significantly worse in the aftertaste department. Visually, the product has some pop to it, with bright red liquid creating a nice contrast between a label that’s mostly black and white. The same shade of red that colors the fluid has been used on the label as an accent color, which also creates some polish through the visual continuity that is created by the red. Last, but not least, we really like the “Zilch” brand. It simultaneously conveys the key selling point of the brand and adds additional personality to the product. And for a brand like Jones, we think that’s key, staying true to the company’s roots while still being able to create a marketable product. Overall, a really well executed and enjoyable product.Reviewed on: 11/16/2009