Dewdrop is a line of sparkling functional beverages that are enhanced with adaptogens and superfoods. The products are available in 12 oz. slim cans in three low-calorie (35-45 calories) and low-sugar (7-9 grams) SKUs that are packaged.

The three SKUs are named for their intended function: Pretty Happy, Pretty Bright and Pretty Balanced. They have taken an original approach to the flavors, too. Pretty Happy features passion fruit, cacao, and vanilla bean; Pretty Balanced is made with white peach, lemon verbena, and moringa; and Pretty Bright is flavored with yuzu, ginger and reishi mushroom. 

What you won’t find in any of these products are flavorings or zero calorie sweeteners. Instead, the sweetness comes from the added juice, which ranges from 5%-13%, depending on the SKU, and organic coconut nectar in the case of Pretty Bright and Pretty Happy.

For a product whose message, which we’ll talk about more in a bit, is skewed somewhat towards functionality, these formulations actually taste quite good. We particularly like the blend of cacao, vanilla, and passion fruit in Pretty Happy and the yuzu, ginger and salt note found in Pretty Bright. The peach and lemon verbena flavors in Pretty Balanced are also nice, but we found the other two to be a bit more memorable. 

But there’s more to these drinks than flavor alone. They’ve been added to Dewdrop for their functional benefits as well and, as the names suggest, each formulation has its own use occasion. Pretty Happy has added rhodiola for energy and also includes cacao and passion fruit, touted for its ability to reduce anxiety and improve skin health. Pretty Bright has reishi, while the yuzu and ginger are positioned as mood enhancers. And last, but not least, Pretty Balanced has ashwagandha for stress relief and lemon verbena and moringa for their phytonutrient benefits. 

While we won’t attempt to judge the efficacy of these formulations, we do think they’ve smartly kept most of this out of the face of the consumer and in places that don’t impact the look and feel of the brand, such as the back of the can (there’s a vertical strip that explains the functionality in relatively simple language) and the company’s web site,.

On the branding front, these products use a shrink sleeve label with a matte finish, with each label featuring unique artwork. The images, which feature the silhouette of a woman with a watercolor style to it, are light and whimsical but also have a clean and polished look. The Dewdrop logo sits at the top as does the tagline “sparkling functional beverage.” You’ll have to go to the bottom to find the SKU name. 

Taking a look at the bigger picture for this brand, we have a couple of pieces of feedback on what we think is a pretty solid lineup that could be fine tuned a bit. First, we think that the flavor needs to be a bit more prominent. The current approach, which doesn’t really describe the flavor beyond just listing the ingredients, leans in a bit too hard to the functional benefit and misses a chance to appeal to the consumer’s senses. Second, we think that taking certain ingredients, such as white peach juice, and casting them as having functional benefits is a bit of stretch and one that might undermine the credibility of the drink. We’d suggest focusing on the ones that have real merit.

In the end, these suggestions don’t take away from how we feel about Dewdrop: these are enjoyable and nice looking products with a clean ingredient list. We like where the drinks fall in terms of calorie and sugar content and while we think that there’s some room for improvement, these products are off to a great start.