Review: Grapefruit

Alova’s Grapefruit flavor is a pleasant tasting CSD that blends grapefruit flavor and aloe vera in a simple, but flavorful sugar-sweetened beverage. Made in Mexico, the beverage has a very pleasant and full bodied flavor, which is quite surprising given that it has 80 calories in the 330 mL (11.16 oz.) bottle. Plus, it has no added coloring, a move that definitely tricks the mind into expecting something that’s closer to flavored seltzer than soda. In any event, the company has definitely done a nice job of crafting an enjoyable grapefruit-flavored soda. As far as it being an aloe drink, that’s a whole other story. For starters, we really don’t taste any aloe vera in the mix. That makes the product, for better or worse, have a completely different value proposition than the aloe vera juices that make up most of the category (you can certainly taste the aloe in those). Visually, we’d say the same thing, with the exception of the product’s name that is a very obvious play on “aloe.” Ultimately, we feel as though this product is in a slightly odd spot. It looks very much like something that’s going to be healthier and more exotic tasting than a standard soda, but the flavor is, well, just like a standard soda. We can’t imagine that many consumers will be expecting this. Overall, it’s a good start, but some refinement would make it better.