Wonder Drink

Announced at the Natural Products Expo West 2018, Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha is a three-flavor line of USDA Certified organic kombucha drinks.

Adding prebiotic content to kombucha is Wonder Drink’s latest attempt to differentiate in a category that has seen competition stiffen amid a seemingly never-ending supply of new product entries. However, with this comes what is potentially an added layer of complexity for the consumer:They not only have to understand what kombucha is all about, but they will also need to understand what the addition of prebiotics does to to the underlying drink.

As for the explanation, which is found on the back of the can, Wonder Drink hopes that these products will further aid digestive health by providing something (prebiotics) that aren’t naturally found in your gut.

However, as we've said in other product reviews, health benefits are only useful if the beverage is something that the consumer actually wants to drink. Fortunately, we think Wonder Drink has done a pretty nice job formulating these products with the mainstream consumer in mind.

Each of the three flavors, which includes Ginger Peach, Apple Mint, and Tropical Mango, has 50 calories per can and utilizes a blend of cane sugar and Stevia for sweetness. There are added juice concentrates as well as natural flavors to give these products their fruit flavors. That being said, these products taste less like kombucha and more like flavored tea drinks aside from a slight bite at the finish.

The obvious comparison will be to existing kombucha products, but this is definitely something that tastes different and probably isn't for the consumer who was already drinking kombucha on a daily basis. Instead, we think that this is probably geared more towards a mainstream consumer who hasn't yet latched on to the slightly fermented flavor that is associated with the category. It's hard to tell if this is a good approach or not, but it certainly gives the brand its own niche in the space.

For our palate, we would prefer less flavoring and more of the natural taste of the added fruit juice. And we could certainly live without the slight note of stevia that you’ll find at the finish.

On the outside, the products are packaged in a slim 12 oz can that features a red metallic paint job. It's visually appealing and definitely catches the eye even from afar. They've arranged all of the text in a way that's easy to read calling the most attention to the word “prebiotic” which is in all capital letters.

As we stated at the beginning, we think that there's a lot to digest here in the sense that the consumer will have to stop and think about the word prebiotic and what it means in relation kombucha. Introducing a new and different word (since all other competitors focus exclusively on probiotics) comes with the risk that the consumer will just go with what they know. We’d love to see the word probiotic given just a bit more emphasis than it presently. 

All in all, Wonder Drink Prebiotic Kombucha could certainly use a bit of fine-tuning when it comes to the execution of the flavor and perhaps the label copy, but it otherwise seems like a well-developed product with a nice point of differentiation.

Since being acquired by Pure Steeps in 2016, Wonder Drink, which has been in the kombucha business since 1999, has been undergoing a bit of an evolution in both branding and messaging. Now, months after the acquisition, the brand has added its first new flavors to the lineup.

The products are perishable offerings and packaged in 15.2 oz. bottles that look similar to those marketed by brands such as GT’s or KeVita.

As for the actual flavors, there are three: Thai Carrot, Honey Lavender, and Strawberry Basil. Both the Thai Carrot and Strawberry Basil offerings have some decent juice content to them (39 percent and 14 percent, respectively), while the Honey Lavender is a more traditional style kombucha. And all three have added probiotic cultures (as opposed to relying exclusively on probiotics from the kombucha) in the form of bacillus coagulansMTCC5856.

Here are our thoughts on each of the three flavors:

• Honey Lavender -- This variety has a clean, classic kombucha flavor that’s slightly tea-forward and crisp in its finish. Honey acts as both a sweetener (along with added sugar) and flavoring agent, while the lavender gives the product a mild herbaceous note.

• Thai Carrot -- The most juice heavy of the bunch, Thai Carrot is a product that tastes almost more like juice than kombucha. There’s a heavy vegetable note to it, followed by some sweetness, and some slight bite from the kombucha at the end. Honestly, the only thing we really don’t like about this product is the use of “Thai,” which is distracting from the brand’s “Spirit of Portland” tag line that is displayed on every bottle.

• Strawberry Basil -- This formulation has a very summery flavor that we’d describe as fresh and tart. Strawberry, basil and kombucha pair quite well, with the bite of the kombucha helping to temper the naturally sweet and tart note of strawberry. We would, however, like there to be a bit more basil flavor to it.

On the packaging and branding side of things, the look of these Wonder Drink offerings is a vast improvement over anything we’ve seen from the brand in the past. It’s clean, modern, and has visualpop to it. Furthermore, we really like how the company is are calling out its roots, which show longevity with “established 1999” and an artisanal side with the “spirit of Portland” tagline.

If there’s anything that the company could do to make it better, it would be to help the consumer understand what’s going on from a functional perspective. Pure Steeps has been outspoken on science and efficacy of kombucha, but this really does not come through in the product. Fortunately, we think this product can succeed on flavor and packaging, but this might help take it to another level.

Overall, this is a big step forward for Wonder Drink and we’re excited to see what the company comes up with next.