Ferm Fatale

by Ferm Fatale

Review: Ferm Fatale Shrub-Bucha

Posted: Dec 12, 2019 at 5:19 PM (Last Updated: Dec 13, 2019 at 1:11 PM)

Covers Products: Cosmopolitan Shrub-Bucha, Margarita Shrub-Bucha

Ferm Fatale’s Shrub-Bucha is a monk fruit sweetened probiotic mocktail that, as the name suggests, marries kombucha with a shrub. The line includes two flavors, Margarita and Cosmopolitan, both of which are packaged in 7 oz. glass bottles.

The formulations are light, dry and crisp. There’s a noticeable note of vinegar to both flavors, which is followed by a very light amount of fruit (lime in the Margarita and lime and cranberry in the Cosmopolitan) and tea flavor. The monk fruit comes through in the finish, but otherwise we didn’t notice it.

Both products are meant to be sipped rather than gulped; at least to that end, they feel like they’d fit the bill as a mocktail. We think that Ferm Fatale has done a really nice job in formulating these two products. 

The packaging, which is round at its base and contains a narrow neck and opening, sports a pretty sophisticated look. They’ve placed a label featuring the Ferm Fatale “FF” logo at the top of the neck. Around the midsection of the bottle, the primary label features “SHRUB-BUCHA” in white letters, along with an orange triangle and the flavor name in rather tiny, dark letters. 

While they’ve created a cool and unique looking aesthetic that they’ve created, we think that the label needs some work. Specifically, we feel as though the Ferm Fatale logo needs to be much larger. We’d also suggest dialing down the size of the large orange triangle, which doesn’t really add anything to the party. Finally, we’d abbreviate “fluid ounces” to “FL OZ” as you’ll find on most beverage containers, which would also create some room to add something that we think is important for Margarita and Cosmopolitan flavored beverages: “alcohol free.”

While some of these topics are addressed in the 6-pack carton format, we feel strongly that the product should be able to stand alone as a single serve, since that’s what will eventually end up in consumers’ hands.

Beyond this, we wonder if this product’s positioning as a “shrub-bucha” is specific enough. Perhaps positioning the product more explicitly as a mocktail would help consumers better understand the intended use occasion. Then again, we do see anytime drinking potential for these SKUs if they simply changed the flavor names to something that won’t make the consumer feel odd if they are consuming these during the day.

Overall, Ferm Fatale’s Shrub-Bucha is a big step forward for the brand and, with some packaging help, we think it has the chance to be a player in the mocktail space.


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