Life Juice

Product Type:Dairy: Dairy Alternative; Container: 16oz Plastic
BevNET Review: For many of the raw cold-pressed juice brands that are coming to market, nut milks are becoming a standard part of the lineup. While several of these brands have taken these formulations and turned them into smoothies, Life Juice has kept it simple with its offering, Spiced Almond Milk. In the case of this product, you have something that’s a cousin (perhaps a distant one, though) to the highly processed almond milk products that litter the dairy alternative shelf in your local grocery store. It’s made with organic raw almonds, dates, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water, which have been high pressure processed (HPP) to give it some shelf life (it does, however, require refrigeration). In terms of flavor, it’s very much on par with what you’d get from making almond milk at home (using a nut milk bag), with a very subtle almond flavor a lightly spiced finish. It’s smooth and grit free, which is a testament to the quality of the execution. Visually, we very much like the look of the product from an aesthetic sense. However, we have two concerns about what they’ve done. First, the potential for a disconnect in the word “juice,” which this product really isn’t. Second, the name of the product implied, at least to us, a much stronger and potentially sweeter flavor than what’s inside the bottle. Tweaking the name, rather than the flavor (perhaps to “Almond Milk with Spices”), might be the easiest course of action. Overall, a very solid product from Life Juice that should serve as a nice foundation for additional nut milk offerings. Reviewed on: 1/29/2013

Product Type:Juice: Fruit Juice; Container: 16oz Plastic
BevNET Review: This product is a straightforward blend of carrot, apple, ginger, and lemon juices that have been blended in raw cold-pressed form (high pressure processing gives it its shelf life). The flavor of the drink is nicely balanced, with each of the four juices being easily distinguishable from the whole. Plus, the heat of the ginger and the sweetness of the apple help soften the flavor of the carrot juice (which has a pretty assertive flavor by itself), making this something that any consumer can pick up and enjoy. As far as the branding and positioning of the product go, we think that the name Life Juice is a great fit for a brand that’s targeting a health conscious consumer. The name for this flavor, “Bodacious Bunny,” adds a touch of personality and playfulness, while the orange liquid (which you can see through the clear 16 oz. bottle) is easily identifiable as carrot based. Overall, this is a very enjoyable and well executed flavor. Reviewed on: 1/9/2013

Product Type:Juice: Fruit Juice; Container: 16oz Plastic
BevNET Review: Happy Belly is a blend of purple cabbage, parsley, apple, ginger, and lemon blended together in raw, cold pressed form using high pressure processing. From a formulation perspective, we’re very impressed with their ability to transform purple cabbage (something that isn’t naturally appealing) into something that’s extremely flavorful and enjoyable. Yes, there’s a slightly exotic and earthy flavor to this product, but the familiar flavors of apple, ginger, and lemon make it something that’s easy to get hooked on. There’s a fair amount of sweetness to this drink (it has 28g of sugar and 160 calories per bottle), but it’s not overwhelming, especially considering the heat from the ginger that hits your tongue on the finish. Visually, this drink catches the eye, starting with the bright purple color of the liquid. However, we bet that most consumers who pick this up will be somewhat startled to find that it’s made with purple cabbage and not berries of some sort. It’s hard for us to say whether or not that will impact the decision to purchase this or not. Otherwise, the look of the label and the name “Happy Belly” definitely imply something that is designed with health in mind. It’s pretty simple and clean, but we’d like to see the “In Good Health” tagline better integrated with the logo and we’re not sold on having an icon that features the digestive tract placed on the front of the bottle (it spoils the fun a bit). Overall, we really like the creativity of the formulation and, minor design tweaks aside, this is very well-executed product.Reviewed on: 1/9/2013

Product Type:Juice: Fruit Juice; Container: 16oz Plastic
BevNET Review: Life Juice’s “Oh My Greens” is a raw cold pressed blend of spinach, kale, parsley, cucumber, celery, apple, ginger and lemon. The flavor of the drink is sweet, but hearty, with the apple flavor providing a modest amount of sweetness to help keep the drink from skewing too far towards straight vegetable juice. However, there is plenty of green flavor, with the celery and leafy greens providing a nice punch. The lemon definitely helps marry the sweet and green flavors, while we get just a touch of ginger to the finish. All in all, this is a very nice-tasting beverage that could definitely be consumed by a mainstream drinker. That is, of course, if they can get past the dark green color of the liquid (which is obviously inevitable for this product). As far as packaging goes, they’ve used a squarish 16 oz. clear bottle that has a squat top. The name Life Juice and the branding of the drink definitely feel like something that are going to be good for you. We’re fans of this approach, although the design treatment for the flavor name seems to have similar weight to the “In Good Health” callout. Making the flavor name pop a bit more might help consumers more quickly figure out what this product is. Nitpicking aside, this is a very well executed product.Reviewed on: 1/9/2013

Product Type:Juice: Fruit Juice; Container: 16oz Plastic
BevNET Review: Positive Balance is the most complex juice blend of the four Life Juice flavors that we sampled for the brand’s initial review. This particular flavor of raw cold-pressed juice includes spinach, kale, parsley, cucumber, celery, beet, apple, carrot, ginger, and lemon juices. It has a nice yin and yang of vegetable and fruit flavors, with a sweet and savory flavor that skews a bit towards the sweet side. Like the other Life Juice flavors, the use of high pressure processing rather than pasteurization (which essentially cooks the ingredients) results in an extremely fresh tasting product. On the packaging and branding front, this particular flavor seems a bit heavy on the “good for you” and lacking in the “it tastes great” front. Having some sort of front panel indication (be it in the form of text or a graphic) to help the consumer figure out what the product is going to taste like would be helpful. Eliminating the yin yang image and replacing it with a fruit image might be one way to accomplish this. Otherwise, we like the look of the product and the Life Juice brand name as it definitely has a polished look to it. Overall, a very nice tasting product that’s super high quality. The only improvements that we’d like to see are in how they communicate the flavor of the drink. Reviewed on: 1/9/2013