In collaboration with Steuben Foods, Cold Stone Creamery recently launched Milk Shakers, a line of ready-to-drink shakes that come in three decadent varieties. It's clear that the goal of the brand is to translate the decadent flavors of Cold Stone into a convenient on-the-go product. With flavors that reach 450 calories and 15g of fat per bottle, the line is certainly decadent.
Marketed as a "Vitality Energy Drink," is a USDA certified organic energy drink that is made with zero calories and no sugar. On the branding end of things, we’re honestly a little confused as to what this product is trying to be. It feels very much like a product that is attempting to go after night clubs, but the messaging, which includes tagline “The Smart Choice,” seems to be more focused on selling a “better for you” product.
Earlier this year, Vita Coco unveiled a new name and packaging for its Coco Cafe line of espresso and coconut water lattes. Visually, the switch to a brand now known as Vita Coco Cafe was something that we were a bit skeptical of. That said, we definitely see this as an upgrade for the drinks.
Go Body’s Berry Pomegranate, which was the only flavor available at the time of review, is a pleasant tasting sports drink-style protein drink. It packs in 25g of protein with only 8g of sugar and 150 calories per bottle along with a well rounded mix of vitamins, antioxidants, and more. But does the packaging do a good enough job communicating the brand to consumers?
Promoted as "Premium hydration for a Waterfull Life," Zotiko is an enhanced water/isotonic that is fortified with electrolytes, lightly flavored with cucumber and mint flavorings and sweetened with a touch of sugar and stevia. All in all, we like what's inside the bottle. The outside of the bottle, on the other hand, is a completely different story.
With about a dozen company-owned retail outlets and a popular retail and wholesale coffee bean business, Blue Bottle Coffee is a name that is well known in the high end coffee circuit. With the cold-brew coffee category heating up, it’s no surprise that Blue Bottle is throwing its hat in the ring with this product, a New Orleans Iced Coffee.
Lumen Water is an ultra-premium bottled water that touts itself as one of the purest and softest tasting waters on the market. The product, which currently comes packaged in a 500 mL plastic bottle with a chrome top, definitely presents itself well. As a luxury water brand, however, it feels like this product would be better off in glass...
EnerBee Organic Energy, which promotes itself as being made with organic honey, comes in a single variety: Lemon Green Tea. While we do think the company has successfully communicated that the product is a honey-based energy drink, the packaging feels a bit too aggressive and dark to be credible as a “better-for-you” offering.
Better Sweet is a USDA Organic maple water beverage that is made from a single ingredient: maple sap from Vermont maple trees. The overall approach to the design is polished and approachable, starting with its soft blue color palette. However, having the word “sweet” in the name implied that the product would be something a bit stronger.
Zola’s riff on a lemonade/coconut water product comes in the form of this product, a one liter Tetra Pak carton that is labeled as being 100 percent juice. The ingredients are, like the rest of Zola’s Tetra line, from concentrate, but that definitely doesn’t impede the company's ability to craft a great tasting and thirst-quenching product.
The concept behind Caffeinated Club is simple and straightforward: mix flavored club soda with a mild amount of caffeine. The result is something that’s pleasant tasting and familiar. However, it’s the branding and messaging of the product that leave something to be desired.
Offering a slightly different take on cold-pressed, HPP juices, Juisi markets itself as a company that "creates beverages that draw inspiration from specific regions, cultures, and history." In our review of the brand's Kale Punch, Pineapple Jamu, and Cucumber Chia blends, we were pleased with the formulation of the products, yet we’d like to see more organic ingredients in the mix (the blends are not 100 percent organic). On the packaging front, there’s definitely some room for improvement.
Plenty of buzz in the last couple weeks about Go N’Syde beverages, a new line of drinks with debut varieties designed in partnership with singer Mariah Carey and hip-hop artist Jay Z. Marketed as first of its kind products, the drinks are promoted to offer consumers an augmented reality experience that delivers exclusive content via a mobile app. Confused? So are we.
Runa has revamped the look of its Clean Energy line -- and it's a good step forward for the brand. The new design, which includes an image of a guayusa leaf front and center, more visually related to the core brand, while also being much more visually appealing. While we have some issues with the reformulation of the original variety of Clean Energy, we feel that, overall, Runa is moving in the right direction.
