hrbvor

by hrbvor

Review: Hrbvor

Posted: Oct 21, 2020 at 8:05 PM (Last Updated: Oct 22, 2020 at 9:00 AM)
Hrbvor

Covers Products: Revive (Moringa, Hibiscus, Mint & Lemongrass)

Hrbvor, which is short for “herbivore,” is a new sparkling beverage made with a cold-brewed infusion of organic leaves and flowers, including moringa, hibiscus, lemongrass and peppermint. The line is sweetened with raw honey, erythritol and monk fruit.

The resulting product, which is packaged in a 12 ounce can, has 70 calories and 10 grams of sugar per container. It also contains electrolytes from the moringa, resulting in 220 mg of potassium and 40 mg of magnesium. 

The product has a moderately sweet flavor with notes of the four herbal ingredients. However, the hibiscus is really the star of the show. It has a clean and smooth flavor that pairs quite nicely with both the carbonation and the added honey. Notes of mint and lemongrass are also pretty easy to distinguish from the mix, while the moringa, which is the most challenging ingredient to work with, is much more of a background flavor. 

Lastly, we were quite pleased with the fact that the added erythritol and monk fruit weren’t noticeable. We honestly wonder if they could push it a bit further to get the calories closer to 50, which definitely wouldn’t hurt.

Still, we think that what they’ve formulated is in a really good spot. It’s one of the better sparkling “tea” products that we’ve sampled and the use of real ingredients definitely makes a difference.

While the liquid seems like it’s in a good spot, the branding and packaging aren’t quite there yet. This starts with the effort to abbreviate herbivore, which feels like something that’s going to make most consumers stumble without a front-of-can explanation (you’ll find one on the back). 

This is only complicated by the fact that trying to brand a common word is going to be challenging -- and it unfortunately isn’t one that has an overly appetizing ring to it. There’s certainly a path to making this work without a name change, but we think it’s going to take some creative thinking and strong execution.

Putting that aside, the label copy and product description also needs to be tightened up. There’s a white ring at the top of the can that says “cold brew super herbs,” a ring at the bottom that says “revive,” and the word “sparkling” sitting beneath the list of ingredients. And the functional benefits require several bullet points (found on the back) to explain what use occaions the product is intended for. 

In its present form, Hrbvor definitely has some nice liquid, but we think there are a few too many dots for the consumer to connect in order to really understand what this product is all about. In order to grow, they need to turn this into a cohesive product that the consumer can quickly understand.


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