Ruby Hibiscus Water (Discontinued)

The follow up to its non-carbonated hibiscus beverages that launched in 2020, Ruby’s new line of organic sparkling drinks in 12 oz. cans come in three varieties: Unsweetened, Concord Grape and Blood Orange. 

The products use a very clean and short list of ingredients, starting with a base of sparkling water and hibiscus.  For the Unsweetened variety, this is the end of the ingredient list; as a result, the product has zero calories and zero sugar. Blood Orange contains added blood orange and orange juices (9% juice) and has 15 calories and 3 grams of sugar (from the juice). Finally, there’s Concord Grape, which contains 3% juice from added concord grape juice concentrate.

When it comes to flavor, all three of these SKUs are, as expected, hibiscus forward. Compared with the non-sparkling line, the added carbonation definitely gives the product a lighter mouthfeel and helps make the hibiscus a bit less tart. This in turn makes the product easier to drink and should help Ruby expand its potential consumer base. 

This is particularly true with the fruit flavors, which add some light sweetness and additional layers of flavor. While the Unsweetened will serve the purists, these flavors feel like the direction that Ruby should pursue. 

On the outside, Ruby has gone with a shrink sleeve label with a glossy finish. We’d describe the look of the product as whimsical and fun with a lot more personality than Ruby’s glass-based line. Plus, unlike the bottles that have an identical red backdrop from the liquid, these products each have their own visual identity. 

The design centers around the concept of “The Rubyverse,” which uses retro style space images and fonts to create something that is playful and oddly inviting. Each flavor has its own background color while the format of the label is consistent across the three. This starts with a large white Ruby logo and “Hibiscus Water” tagline that sit near the top of the front panel. Below this is an image of what we assume is the Rubyverse – a cartoonish landscape of a volcano with a hibiscus flower coming out of it and the whole thing is wrapped inside a carbonation bubble. 

The rest of the can has many text elements sprinkled throughout. This includes important informational text (package size, calories content, no added sugar) that’s placed around the top of the can while the flavor name is at the bottom and is set behind the Rubyverse bubble. On the back of the can, there’s more text, but thanks to good layout the unstructured approach still manages to catch your eye with the key attributes. 

All in all, the look that they’ve created definitely stands out, creates some visual intrigue with its seemingly random space theme, and just looks cool in your hand. Really, the only thing we question about this product is the word “water” in the name – especially since it has a visual disconnect from the word “sparkling.” Tightening these up would be helpful for the brand’s ability to communicate its value proposition quickly. 

Overall, Ruby’s sparkling offering is a smart and well-executed move for the brand. The product concept is stronger as a sparkling beverage and they’ve done a nice job creating something that is both enjoyable and innovative.

Ruby is a recently launched line of hibiscus beverages that is being marketed as “hibiscus water.” The product line presently includes two flavors, Unsweetened and Lightly Sweetened.

When it comes to flavor, this product is very much what you see is what you get. The Unsweetened SKU is made with two ingredients -- water and hibiscus flower -- and the Lightly Sweetened is the same but with the addition of 4 grams of sugar and, as a result, 15 calories. 

Thanks to that straightforward recipe, Ruby is big on hibiscus flavor and does a great job showcasing the flower’s natural complexities. The product is tart and tannic with a mild floral note throughout and is definitely one of the more intensely flavored and authentic hibiscus drinks that we’ve ever sampled.  

However, we definitely see the Lightly Sweetened SKU as the one that probably has the most legs to it. It’s extremely lightly sweetened, which helps cut the tartness and create something that’s much more smooth than the Unsweetened version. 

Sure, there are probably hibiscus purists out there that will enjoy the unadulterated version, but we feel as though there’s much more potential if Ruby uses the Lightly Sweetened to be the flagship (aka “Original”) variety. It also seems like it could be a good base for additional flavors.

Beyond that, we can’t help but wonder whether “hibiscus water” is the right label for this product. It’s low in calories, but otherwise it’s full bodied and quite dark in color. Following the herd, this product would probably be labeled as a herbal tea and, while we certainly appreciate that Ruby is trying to do something different, we feel like it’s going to be a challenge to get consumers to think about this in the same light as a flavored water (or even something like a coconut water).

On the packaging front, Ruby uses a 10 ounce glass bottle that features a clear label and a monochrome design for the lettering. They’ve chosen pink for Lightly Sweetened and white for Unsweetened but otherwise the only difference between the two flavors is in the bottom portion of the label copy that calls out the sugar and calories. For whatever reason, we found ourselves doing a double take to figure out which SKU is which -- even after we had seen the product a few times. 

But there’s definitely something that is attractive about this branding. The Ruby lettering catches the eye as does the small bottle and bright red liquid that serves as the backdrop to the label. It has a cool and modern vibe to it, which is something of a different approach than what we’ve seen from most of the hibiscus drinks that have come before it.

Ultimately, we think that this first effort from Ruby is enjoyable, fun, and tasty. There’s definitely some room for further iteration and evolution, and these products should be a nice foundation to build upon.