Olade

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: Of the three red-colored products that are in the Olade line, the Cranberry flavor is our favorite. Made with 7 percent juice, the product has a natural fruit flavor, although both the cranberry and lemon flavors are rather muted. It’'s sweetened with stevia, which keeps the calories and carbohydrates very low, and, thanks to good execution, the aftertaste is minimal. However, our biggest concern (and this can be said about the Strawberry and Pomegranate flavors as well) is that the product tastes very little like a lemonade and more like a juice cocktail. As a result, we suspect that consumers will find something inside the bottle that'’s not in line with the look and feel of the exterior. On the surface, we like the look of the product’, which has vibrant colors and a black backdrop, which seems unique to the category. However, a sliced cranberry is not a familiar image, which results in a big loss of appeal and familiarity for the benefit of consistency for the brand. Like the other flavors, the product also needs help in its message. Right now, the product is sold as an upgraded lemonade with electrolytes and as a juice beverage with zero added sugar. If the product is a lemonade first and foremost, it seems logical for the brand to have something visual (like an image of a lemon) that’'s consistent across the brand. Overall, a nice tasting product, but the brand’s identity crisis is likely to get in the way of success. Reviewed on: 1/20/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: Diet lemonade beverages have generally never worked well, with the sharp citrus flavor not helping the acidic aftertaste that is found in most artificial sweeteners. In the case of Olade, they’ve taken a slightly different approach, both by using stevia (SweetLeaf brand) and by using a fair amount of lemon juice (7 percent). While this doesn’'t fully mask the sweetener aftertaste, it'’s definitely a big step forward over the competition. The lemon flavor is extremely natural, which is the result of lemon juice and lemon oil being used without the aid of any filler juice. Ultimately, the flavor is quite drinkable, assuming you don'’t mind a slight aftertaste in order to get a 10 calorie (per bottle) formulation. Added electrolytes are an added bonus, although the manufacturer doesn'’t do anything to contextualize how this drink fares against a sports drink (or something else that’s commonly known for having electrolytes). That leads us to the drink'’s branding, which is definitely much improved over the first version. Now sporting a vibrant black backdrop with yellow graphics and text, the product has some nice pop to it. They’'ve adopted a tag line of '“upgrade your lemonade”,' while smaller text points out that the drink is “99 percent organic”, has added electrolytes, and zero added sugar. Those last two points seem worthy of some better billing, especially since they are what sets the drink apart from your standard sugar sweetened lemonade. Overall, well-done flavor and an eye-catching bottle, but the communication of the drink'’s benefits needs to be better.”Reviewed on: 1/20/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: Olade'’s Lemon Ginger is flavored with lemon juice (4 percent), lemon extract, lemon oil, and ginger powder, which gives the product a nice yin and yang of flavors. Like the other flavors, it'’s sweetened with SweetLeaf brand stevia, which keeps the calories at only 10 per bottle. This variety also has the least amount of sweetener aftertaste, thanks to the spice of the ginger. However, along with the heat, the ginger powder adds some unwanted grit to the mixture. All in all, this is a very nice flavor, though. On the outside, the black backdrop has some nice pop to it, but the ginger image isn'’t easily identifiable as a ginger root from afar. Simply changing to a different graphic of a ginger root would help this. Otherwise, we'’d certainly like to see more prominent promotion of the electrolytes and sugar-free formulation, both of which are key differentiators of this brand. In its current rendition, it would easy to mistake this for just another sugar sweetened lemonade, especially if you are quickly packing a cooler as consumers often do. Overall, an enjoyable flavor whose biggest need is to better communicate what’s inside the bottle.Reviewed on: 1/20/2010

Product Type:Juice: Juice Drink; Container: 16 oz PET
BevNET Review: Of the fruit flavored Olade products, this is the best of the bunch. That’'s largely due to the use of a 20 percent juice blend, including lemon, pineapple, mango, and passionfruit. However, they'’ve still kept the calories low (20 per bottle) thanks to a stevia formulation. It lives up to its “Tropical” name, with notes of each of the fruit flavors making their way into the pleasant tasting mixture. The use of stevia is noticeable in both the body and aftertaste, but it’'s tolerable, especially since the fruit flavors mask it more so than in competing products. However, we can'’t help but want a bit more lemon flavor to the mix, especially since this line is primarily positioned in that category. Added electrolytes are a plus, but seem lost in the shuffle, especially since they aren'’t mentioned anywhere else than the fine print on the front panel. Visually, this product catches the eye, with the same black background and similarly polished looking graphics as the other flavors. In this case, the sliced mango is more easily identifiable than some of the other fruits, but it'’s still not immediately obvious that this drink is a sugar-free flavored lemonade with electrolytes. Having a better balance of form and function seems like the obvious next step, perhaps starting by calling it “TROPICAL LEMONADE” instead of “TROPICAL Juice Beverage”. Overall, it tastes nice, despite the muted lemonade flavor, but the bigger opportunity lies in correcting the presentation of the product. Reviewed on: 1/20/2010