Iconic: Chocolate Truffle (2014)

Of the two flavors that Iconic currently offers, the Chocolate Truffle is our preferred variety. Compared with similar products in the protein drink category, it has a medium-bodied chocolate flavor that is only lightly sweetened (the company uses a blend of blue agave, stevia,and monk fruit) to the tune of 3g of sugar per 11 oz. container. We appreciate that it’s not gummy (often a problem in this category) and has only a slight sweetener finish. However, it’s not really what we expected when we saw the flavor name “Chocolate Truffle.” Nutritionally, the product has a lot going on for it, including 20g of protein (from milk protein concentrate), 4g of fiber, B vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, green tea extract, and cognitive ingredients choline and tyrosine. It certainly seems pretty well rounded in terms of what it offers, although it still seems as though the protein is the most marketable attribute of the product. Beyond that, the look of the product is clean in its choice of colors and arrangement of the graphic elements, but we feel as though it’s busy at the expense of being easy to understand. And we’re never fans of using phrases like “healthy lifestyle beverage” that don’t have real meaning to the consumer. Overall, we like the concept of the product and what’s inside the carton, but the copy on the carton could stand to be clarified.