Victoria's Kitchen

Product Type:Juice: Coconut Water and Juice; Container: 16oz Glass
BevNET Review: With coconut water being all the rage and coconut being a relatively popular flavor trend, the combination of coconut and almond does, at least conceptually, make sense. However, given that the coconut flavor for this product is derived from flavoring and the almond flavor comes from almond extract, the two flavors seem to be in competition for who will win out. The resulting flavor is, for better or worse, a bit heavy handed on the coconut for our liking. In terms of the design, the addition of a coconut image is definitely a good starting point. However, there definitely needs to be more differentiation between the flavors. As it stands right now, it’s extremely easy miss that there is more than one flavor without looking closely (you really can’t tell if looking at the products through a cooler). That said, we hope they can figure out a way to evolve the look and flavor of this product further. Reviewed on: 3/13/2013

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container: 16oz Glass
BevNET Review: Of the two new additions to the Almond Water lineup, this was our preferred flavor. The addition of licorice and mint give the product some extra depth, albeit on top of a very similar flavor profile as their flagship flavor. But it delivers as promised, with notes of almond, licorice, and mint all being distinguishable from the mix. The use of cane sugar (28g per bottle) gives the product a mild to moderate amount of sweetness. Our biggest issue with what they’ve done is that we don’t think it necessarily expands their market as you still have to like almond water in order to enjoy this variety. Visually, they’ve stuck with the classic look that they designed for the original flavor, but a small image of licorice and mint has been added to the lower right. While it looks nice, it doesn’t have a very strong shelf presence. In addition, we think they need to add more differentiation between the flavors. Clearly, they can’t really change the color of the liquid to match the flavors, so adding some more color or at least larger flavor names would be a step in the right direction. Perhaps some color behind the logo (inside the oval) or a background on the label would be the place to start. Overall, a nice addition to the line, but we wish that it helped broaden the consumer base more. Reviewed on: 2/23/2013

Product Type:Water: Enhanced; Container: 16 oz Glass
BevNET Review: Using what might be one of the simplest formulations ever for a flavored beverage, Victoria’s Kitchen “Almond Water” is made with a blend of water, sugar, almond flavor, and citric acid. While the copy on the bottle makes this formula out to be some sort of family secret, it basically drinks like almond flavored sugar water. We’re not sure if that’s a good or bad thing -- it certainly might be refreshing to some people -- but we’re certain that this is something that would be hard to build a beverage brand around (we can’t imagine adding flavors to this or making flavors with other nut extracts). Plus, the 16 ounce format is a bit too big as we found ourselves losing interest after half of the bottle was consumed. That said, we could see this as an interesting sparkling drink, although that, too, is likely a niche concept at best. Overall, we appreciate the authenticity that they’ve created on the label, but we feel as though this branding could be used better on a different type of product. Reviewed on: 11/21/2011