Review: UCE JUICE

UCE Juice Taro Twist is a 45 percent juice-based beverage that is enhanced with caffeine (60 mg per 8 oz.) and sweetened with fruit juices and stevia. From a flavor perspective, banana, pineapple, mango and apple are the primary notes that make up this product, while added noni juice gives it a berry-like finish. You can definitely pick up the stevia, but only at the finish and it fortunately doesn’t linger. All in all, it’s a decent tasting juice cocktail product that is probably best described as caffeinated fruit punch. To that end, we’re honestly somewhat confused as to what this product is and where it fits in the market. Self-described as “Taro Twist” and a “functional beverage” with a tagline of “The Never Ending Boost,” we think UCE Juice has gone too conceptual to the point where it’s going to hurt, rather than help, the product sell. The reality is that UCE Juice will stand next to other products that are easier to understand and more clearly state what they are. If they intend to be a juice, rebranding to be more in line with the juice category would make sense. Otherwise, being a more broad “functional beverage” is a strategy in which a great many of products have failed. And with UCE Juice having only one flavor, it’s hard to see the outcome being any different for this product if that’s the path that the company chooses. Overall, what’s inside the bottle is drinkable, but the branding and positioning of this product definitely need help.