Vita ICE is a 17 oz. zero-calorie sparkling beverage that comes in a variety of fruit flavors. Sound familiar? It’s a clear play on Sparkling ICE in terms of branding, flavor and formulation. Not that there’s anything wrong with (at least in theory) emulating a larger, more successful brand... except that there's a lot to fix in this case...
Harmless Harvest’s Cinnamon & Clove 100% Raw Coconut Water is a new “seasonal” product that is being introduced for the 2013 holiday season (it’s launching in early November in Whole Foods nationwide). As far as flavor goes, it’s definitely something that’s unique and creative, almost to a fault (at least from a natural appeal perspective).
Building on the same elderflower base that’s in the company's Elderflower Presse flavor, this variety adds lemon and rose extracts to the mix. While lemon juice and rose petal extract are definitely complimentary flavors, rose seems to be one of those “love it or hate it” type of flavors. Nevertheless, Belvoir Fruit Farms has created a well-executed and sophisticated product that will likely do well with its customer base.
Compared with the other varieties that make up the TumericALIVE brand, this product is definitely the most unique tasting and has the lightest turmeric flavor of the line. And while the product is being marketed as a turmeric drink, it definitely feels like it could contend as an iced tea alternative as well.
Unlike most “lite” or diet energy drinks out there, many of which are formulated with a zero-calorie sweetener, Scheckter’s OrganicEnergy Lite is simply a lighter version of the original version. The product has 70 calories and 18 grams of sugar per 8 oz. can, and the company seems to be betting that consumers will accept a few more calories to get something that is USDA Organic and that doesn’t contain stevia. Will that work?
Beat Juice, whose tagline is “a truly functional beverage,” is a blend of 80 percent juice, including pomegranate, concord grape juice, and beet juice, with added hibiscus and grape seed extract. Yes, all of the ingredients included in the product have health benefits, but describing them in the way the company has is definitely cause for concern in terms of both the anticipated flavor and the overall credibility of the drink.
Gutz Energy Drink, which is the flagship flavor of the company’s line of shots and energy drinks, is one of those unfortunate brands that, as is so often the case in the energy category, has put the cart before the horse.
Reed's has in recent months seen quite bit of traction with its Culture Club Kombucha line having gained new distribution for the products in several mainstream and natural retailers, including Kroger. With steadily increasing sales, the company recently rolled out two new varieties -- Lemon Ginger Raspberry and Passion Mango Ginger -- for the brand, and both are excellent additions to an already solid line-up.
L.I.F.E. (aka “Let It Fly Energy”) Fruit Punch is a “vitamin enhanced energy drink” that is sweetened with sucralose and stevia. For the most part, we enjoyed the formulation of the beverage, but the design of its package and the branding of the product (beginning with the name itself) are both causes for concern.
Diabolo “Loco” Acai Berry Guava is a reduced-calorie energy drink and one of two varieties that make up the brand’s “Energizing Collection.” While we’re not sold on the company's segmentation of “Refreshing” and “Energizing” products (all of them look like energy drinks), this is definitely one of the more enjoyable varieties that we’ve sampled from Diabolo.
Although consumption of mainstream CSDs continues to slide, natural and specialty soda brands are finding some opportunity in the space with the launch of innovative flavors and packaging options. DRY…
Something Natural, a line of flavored sparkling waters that are sweetened with stevia and cane sugar, recently underwent a visual refresh. While the product still uses the same chic 11 oz. blue glass bottle, the brand features more approachable graphics and imagery.
Now in its production ready format, Harmless Harvest’s 100% Raw Tea has been refined and given a packaging update. The beverages are still made with raw tea leaves and are USDA Organic certified and high pressure processed, and the labels have been given an upgrade. But how could the company improve on something that we already reviewed as being exceptional...?
Sambazon’s Peppermint + Mocha Energy is a limited release product for the 2013 holiday season. The product blends acai, soy, coffee, yerba mate, vanilla, mint and a few other ingredients, and is packaged with a playful seasonal-themed label. As far as holiday-themed beverages go, this one is pretty good.
