Review: Butterfly

One of the two flavors that make up the Go N’Syde brand at its launch, Butterfly is a “melodic beverage” that is inspired by singer Mariah Carey (the other is “40/40” a tea inspired by Jay Z’s 40/40 Club in NYC). A key part of the product is an augmented reality experience that delivers exclusive content via a mobile app. As for the beverage, it’s a berry-flavored product that’s sweetened sugar and sucralose. There are 160 calories and 42g of sugar per 16 oz. bottle. While the berry like flavor is tolerable, it’s definitely not something that we’d come back to. There’s something very familiar about it -- as if the same flavor had previously been used in the enhanced water category. On the outside, we’re honestly very perplexed by what the company has created. There are two products in the Go N’Syde line, but they are very different and lack a true logo. More importantly, the look of the label is sloppy and unappealing. The large “scan here” icon doesn’t help matters either. It’s in the way and seems like something that isn’t going to help anything more than a novelty or one-time purchase. As for the app, should the consumer bother to download it, offers an augmented reality view of butterflies flying around the bottle as well as what appear to be stock images of Mariah Carey and a video (the sound did not work on the video for us). Regardless, we’re not convinced that any of us this helps make up for product’s shortcomings. Ultimately, if the marketer wants to build a brand and not just a gimmick, the product should sell without the need of these digital add-ons. Otherwise, we have a hard time believing that the consumer will adopt a beverage simply for a celebrity name and a digital experience. They’ll just pick the superior product.

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