WellWell

When we first looked at WellWell back in April 2016, we appreciated the effort to create something innovative and memorable but felt as though there was room for improvement in both the formulation and the messaging.

Now, a relatively short eight months later, the company is back with an update. They’ve cut the calories and sugar content so that it now clocks in at about 100 calories per bottle, with 20g of sugar (compared with 150 and 30, respectively, in the old version). This is a meaningful cut and it’s one that has somewhat reshaped the flavor profile. There’s less cherry flavor and more watermelon, which is a lot more palatable and refreshing than the first go around.

While the label design has been adjusted to allow for a see through panel, the bigger update is, at least in our opinion, how they’ve changed the text on the label. The “vital hydration for a life in motion” tag line has been replaced with “Prime. Perform. Recover.” which is a bit more direct with regards to the product’s purpose. Also, they’ve made the cold-pressed juice callout much more subtle, which takes it from the product’s reason for being to something that’s simply an attribute.

But the most important change is how they’ve dialed in on watermelon as the flavor. In the first version, it listed watermelon, cherry, and lemon with equal prominence, which left us wondering what the liquid would taste like. With the formulation change and the new emphasis on watermelon, it feels a lot more intuitive.

While all of these changes seem like a step in the right direction, our concern about this product’s unique appearance, which doesn’t really fit with the juice category, still remains to some extent. The shift that they’ve made definitely pushes it more towards a performance or sports drink, but the product still functions more like a juice in that it requires refrigeration and is very perishable. We’re not quite sure how they should navigate this, but it’s definitely a hurdle that they’ll have to figure out how to clear as time goes on.

Overall, we always love to see brands evolve and continue to innovate -- and WellWell’s updated packaging and formulation are a step in the right direction.

WellWell is an entry into the cold-pressed and high pressure processed (HPP) beverage space that is attempting a less traditional approach to branding and marketing. 

Specifically, the company has shunned the traditional look and feel of the category, which usually entails allowing the user to see the liquid through the bottle walls, the use of label color that matches the fruits, or on-pack imagery of the ingredients. Instead, this product has an aqua blue label and a name and subhead --  “vital hydration for a life in motion” -- that don’t really speak to what’s inside the bottle. The disclosure of what’s inside isn’t found until you get to the lower portion of the bottle, where WellWell lists the ingredients: watermelon, tart cherry, and biodynamic lemons.

But, the liquid inside the bottle is both unique and excellent tasting. Pairing the tartness of cherry, the light summery flavor of watermelon, and the sharpness of lemon makes for a  very flavorful, well-balanced combo. The product has some sweetness (30g of sugars and 150 calories per bottle), but it doesn’t taste too sweet and, since it’s 100 percent juice with no sugar added, tastes accurate to the fruits. As you drink it, the watermelon, which is clearly the primary juice used in the product, starts to make its way to your palate. This not only helps lure you back in for more, but sets it apart and elevates it above straight watermelon or tart cherry juice (their potential immediate  competition).

On the outside, WellWell has done a great job with this flavor and the packaging has a unique look. We have a few concerns about what the company has created, however. First and foremost is that it’s a single-SKU brand. This creates a challenge in that if the consumer isn’t in the mood for this flavor, they’re moving on to another brand. With HPP competitors making it a practice to have many flavor offerings, this potentially puts WellWell at a serious disadvantage and makes it hard to develop this as a brand. Yes, other brands have done this (e.g. Harmless Harvest), but what they are offering is generally simpler and more straightforward. Second, we are concerned that they’ve taken the design and messaging a bit too far towards the functional end of the scale. There’s almost nothing on the bottle that speaks to the senses, which doesn’t feel like the best strategy for a product of this type. 

So where does this leave WellWell? While we appreciate its unique approach, we feel as though the company will need to dial it down a little bit to make this product a real commercial success. That’s not to say that it should just do what everyone else is doing, but rather that the company should factor in the sensory side of things. If it can successfully do that and maintain the brand's identity, we think it has a great foundation to work with.