ALO: Allure (2009)

ALO’s latest flavor is known as “ALLURE” and is a mixture of aloe, mangosteen, and mango. The addition of the mango flavor offers some sweetness that nicely complements the flavor of the aloe (it’s made with 25 percent aloe vera juice and pulp). Plus, it makes for a more familiar and, therefore, marketable mixture. Despite having 36g of sugar per bottle, Allure has a relatively mild level of sweetness, which is good as the rather thick body of this drink would not pair well with a high level of sweetness. All in all, we think that this is definitely one of the better tasting ALO flavors. However, with several flavors as part of this line using similar color tones, we wonder if more prominent placement of the flavor name would work better than a conceptual name like “Allure.” In addition, the product uses a stock 16.9 oz. bottle that many other imported aloe drinks use as well. Usually that’s an issue for us, but ALO has done a nice job designing a label that has a credible health and natural vibe to it, complete with images of aloe, mangosteen, and mango. Selling health and wellness is, in our opinion, a much better angle than selling aloe as an exotic or ethnic beverage as much of the competition is doing. Still, ALO has the same challenge that they do, which is to create demand for a flavor that the American palate doesn’t natively know. Overall, Allure is, at least from a flavor point of view, ALO’s best effort to date and one that offers the consumer an enjoyable and familiar flavor.