Pricklee

Fresh off an appearance on NBC’s Shark Tank, Pricklee Cactus Water, which originally launched as Pricklee Superfruit Water a few years ago, has just launched a substantial rebrand to their core lineup. They’ve also adjusted the formulations since we last reviewed the products in 2019.

The lineup still consists of the same three flavors: Prickly Pear Original, Wild Strawberry + Hibiscus and Tropical Mango + Ginger. The products are made with water, prickly pear puree, agave, natural flavors, lemon juice, and vitamin C. The end result are formulations that have 40 calories, 7 grams of sugar, 90 mg of potassium and 23 mg of vitamin C. 

They are marketed as having antioxidants and electrolytes as well as having half the sugar and calories of coconut water.

Before we get into the taste, we want to address Pricklee’s rebrand. The old packaging, which was heavy on shades of blue, felt much more like it was trying to be an offshoot of coconut water since the category largely uses this same color scheme. The new design has less blue and uses more vibrant colors to give it a more modern look. In addition, the Pricklee logo has a new type treatment, which is a script font that has straight rather than curved edges.

Now described simply as “cactus water” rather than “superfruit water,” Pricklee’s new labels are built around a desert landscape that features its individual fruit flavoring as well as a large cactus that almost has the shape of a person. This feels a lot more playful and inviting than the wave illustration that was prominent in its previous iteration. At the bottom, there’s a blue area that is drawn to look like water in which they’ve placed the flavor name and a callout for the calorie content. 

The visual rebrand is a transformative move for Pricklee. The revamped product feels both fresh and polished at a level that wasn’t quite there in the prior versions.

As for the liquid, the flavor tastes slightly refined from what we remember of their earlier products – although we remember liking these formulations, too. The prickly pear flavor is mild and refreshing, especially with the touch of sweetness from the added agave. 

Prickly Pear Original has the cleanest flavor of the bunch, while the flavors in Tropical Mango + Ginger Wild Strawberry + Hibiscus  are both accurate, although we’d probably favor the former. Still, both are quite enjoyable. 

Finally, there’s Pricklee’s positioning. We definitely like that they are embracing cactus water, which definitely feels more intuitive than the previous “superfruit” branding. However, we’re still not sold on the comparisons to coconut water – a mature category that feels a bit dated relatively. Fortunately, this feels like a much more secondary message than it was in Pricklee’s previous efforts. 

Overall, this rebrand is a massive step forward for Pricklee. With the branding and the liquid both in a really great place, we think that this is the brand’s best opportunity for success so far.

Pricklee Superfruit Water is a line of still flavored water beverages that are enhanced with electrolytes and antioxidants. Lightly sweetened with agave nectar, each 12 oz. can of Pricklee contains only 35 calories.

The initial lineup includes three flavors: Prickly Pear, Strawberry Hibiscus, and Mango Ginger. All feature prickly pear puree and lemon juice, which results in the product having a base of 5% juice. The Mango Ginger variety also includes ginger juice (6% juice).

When it comes to taste, these products certainly fit the bill of a flavored water product. Each one has just a relatively light level of flavor and a touch of sweetness and are pretty gulpable products. We most enjoyed the original Prickly Pear, which has the cleanest flavor in our opinion, and Mango Ginger, which benefits greatly from having added ginger juice. Strawberry Hibiscus, which is the final flavor of the trio, has a nice hibiscus note to it, but we felt as though the strawberry flavor (or at least its balance with the prickly pear and hibiscus) needs some improvement. 

On the outside, the choice of a 12 oz. slim can is something that is unique as far as still flavored water beverages go (plastic bottles are much more typical). We think that this is both an opportunity and a challenge for Pricklee, especially in terms of educating consumers and getting proper placement at retail. 

That said, the product has a vibrant and eye-catching look. The blue background, which features an image of a wave, certainly sets the tone for a water product. From there, you’ll find an image of a cactus, which features a different color flower for each flavor. It’s a nice looking, modern feeling design. 

However, there’s nothing on the front of this can that says “non-carbonated” or “still,” which is something that we think will be an important point to communicate. On that same note, there’s a callout for “electrolytes + antioxidants” and “crafted by pharmacists” that we think should be accompanied by more detail about which ingredient and how much of it is in the drink. In its current rendition, it feels like more of a distraction than something that will help sell the product.

Overall, Pricklee is an interesting concept with solid products behind it, but we think that further refinement is required for this brand to reach its full potential.