Voila! Juice

Product Type:Juice: Smoothie; Container: 16oz
BevNET Review: Voila’s “Classic Pineapple Coconut Juice” is made with pineapple juice from concentrate, coconut milk extract, creamed coconut, and water. “Classic” is definitely an accurate word for this product, with a flavor that tastes like it was made with canned juice rather than something fresh. Due to the use of ingredients that are naturally thick, this product has a heavy body and is definitely a challenge to drink. This might not be the worst thing in the world, considering that the product has 320 calories, 4g of fat, and 68g of sugars per bottle and limited nutrition content. Furthermore, using juice from concentrate seems like a mistake given this product’s perishable format and high price point. Visually, it’s clean, simple, and very straightforward. However, we take issue with presenting a “buy local” badge on the front of the product. When it comes to food, “Local” has an implied meaning of grown locally, which is obviously not the case for a product made with pineapple and coconut (neither of which are grown in Oakland, CA where the company hails from). Overall, this is a so-so product whose biggest issue is that substantially better products can be purchased at the same price point. Reviewed on: 7/26/2012

Product Type:Juice: Smoothie; Container: 16oz
BevNET Review: Unlike your typical strawberry smoothie that uses a base of apples and bananas, Voila’s Strawberry Paradise Smoothie is made with pineapple juice concentrate, coconut milk extract, creamed coconut, whole strawberries and water. Right off the bat, using concentrates and extracts as the first ingredients undermines their use of whole strawberries, both in flavor and perceived value. Fortunately, the strawberry flavor still comes through, but we’d like more of it and less of the other stuff. That’s especially true at the drink’s finish, which has a slightly off note that appears to be from the coconut cream or coconut milk extract. In any event, this product is good, but it’s still far from the best strawberry smoothie we’ve ever had from a bottle. Another issue for this product is in its nutrition panel, which, at 260 calories, 3g of fat, and 54g of sugar per bottle, largely reads as being empty calories aside from having 2g of protein, 70 percent RDA vitamin C, and 4 percent RDA of iron per bottle. Again, this is a far cry from what many competing brands contain in terms of nutritional benefits. Packaging is a 16oz plastic smoothie bottle, which features a simple but clean label design. In this particular case, we actually prefer Voila’s approach to the competition, mainly because they’ve kept the front panel free from excessive text and kept the emphasis on the fruit images. Overall, good, wholesome appearance, but what’s inside the bottle needs improvement.Reviewed on: 7/26/2012

Product Type:Juice: Fruit Juice; Container: 16oz
BevNET Review: Of the flavors we sampled, this variety of Voila Juice was our favorite. The product uses only two ingredients, mango puree and white grape juice, which makes for a cleaner and more enjoyable flavor. Really all that you taste in this product is mango, with the white grape being used to thin out the product and keep it from being totally overwhelming. In terms of the design, the simple looking label is easy to understand and, thanks to the limited amount of text and an image of a mango, whets the appetite. However, the name of the product doesn’t exactly bolster the simplicity of the brand. In addition, competing brands, which tout their all-natural or organic ingredients, will have a leg up on Voila. Overall, a very enjoyable and straightforward beverage, but it still feels like it could be improved upon.Reviewed on: 7/26/2012