Review: C2O Coconut Water with Chocolate Flavor

C2O’s Coconut Water with Chocolate Flavor is, despite its similar looks, a pretty different product than the company's flagship coconut water line. While the label implies that this is simply coconut water with chocolate flavoring, the product is enhanced with several other ingredients, including coconut milk, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, guar gum, microcrystalline fructose, and natural flavor. The resulting product is rich and indulgent tasting, with a heavy note of coconut milk and cocoa. Added sugar is gives it the level of sweetness that’s on par with a chocolate drink more so than a coconut water. And if you look at it as a chocolate drink rather than a coconut water, it’s honestly quite good both in terms of its overall flavor and dairy-free formulation. However, we do feel that consumers will be confused by something that says “coconut water” on the front of the container. Despite having nearly the same sugar content as C2O Coconut Water, this product has more than twice the calories (comparing 8 oz. servings) and 4.5 grams of fat. In our opinion, we believe that the company should either clarify this on the front panel OR adjust the formulation to match the current copy. Otherwise, we like the look of the packaging and the use of a 33.8 oz. resealable container. We feel as though it has a more premium look than the brand's can-based product and the layout is clean and easy-to-read. Overall, the current product is definitely enjoyable, but we think that C2O needs to get the formulation and the packaging in synch with one another.