Corsa

by Corsa Co LLC

Review: Corsa Hydration Tonic

Posted: Aug 22, 2021 at 4:21 PM (Last Updated: Aug 23, 2021 at 11:32 AM)

Covers Products: Ginger Hibiscus, Heritage Kola, Orange Spritz

New Beverage Showdown 18 winner Corsa has rebranded and repositioned its flagship line of non-alcoholic spritz beverages. Now known as Corsa Hydration Tonics, the products are packaged in 8 ounce cans and feature added electrolytes to deliver a “recovery” function.

The product line features the three SKUs, including Heritage Kola, Ginger Hibiscus and Orange Spritz. Each  has 60 calories and 11 grams of added sugar ( 13 grams of total sugars) per 8 ounce can, which is certainly modest in comparison to a mainstream CSD. 

Ingredients include water, unrefined cane sugar and coconut water, as well as a blend of botanical extracts that is unique to each flavor.

From a taste perspective, we really like the new formulation. The products are more full bodied and have an almost salty flavor to the finish and a hint of coconut water on the front end.  

All three flavors are really well executed and enjoyable. Heritage Kola has a nice kola nut and spiced flavor with notes of vanilla and citrus — think your classic cola but elevated. Orange Spritz is a nice riff on a classic orange soda with notes of blood orange, coconut, orange and lime, as well as a bitter note from added gentian root and cinchona bark. Ginger Hibiscus is the most original — and complex tasting — creation of the trio with ginger, allspice, clove, cassia, orange and lime peels, and hibiscus. 

As for the packaging and branding, Corsa Hydration Tonic utilizes the same retro style branding that was found on their intial product line. However, in this case, the product has a white label on a silver can and it has a lot more text on the front panel to add the “hydration tonic,” “recovery” and list of core ingredients.

To that end, we think that Corsa still has some work to do to tighten up the front panel and to make this all function as a cohesive unit. In its current form, we feel like the retro look of the Corsa brand is slightly at odds with the more modern sound of hydration tonic that’s pitching recovery as its benefit. Finally, making the Corsa logo pop more (it really stood out on the original) would strengthen the look of the product.

In the end, we really like Corsa’s repositioning into a Hydration Tonic. Not only does it give the brand a point of differentiation from other CSDs, it also makes the product into something more than just a refreshment beverage or mixer. In addition, the new formulas actually taste better than their non-functional predecessors which isn’t usually the case when a product adds functionality. With a little bit of tuning to the messaging and branding, we think this product will be in a really good spot.


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