Koia

by Rawnature Corp

Review: Koia Coffee

Posted: Jan 06, 2020 at 2:22 PM (Last Updated: Jan 07, 2020 at 11:09 AM)

Covers Products: Coffee - Mocha Latte, Coffee - Salted Caramel, Coffee - Vanilla Latte

Plant-based protein shake brand Koia is expanding its lineup again with the launch of Koia Coffee, a three-SKU line that features coffee (and 200 mg of caffeine) as well as 5 grams of MCT oil.

The line, which is launching exclusively at Whole Foods nationwide in January 2020, is a pretty close competitor to the likes of Kitu Life Super Coffee and Bulletproof’s RTD offering, with one of the key differences for this brand being that it’s a perishable product.

Compared with the core Koia line, the biggest marketable difference for this line is the added coffee and the caffeine kick that comes with it. This not only creates a new function for the brand, but it also adds a new use occasion and, therefore, customer base to the fold. To that end, we very much like this approach to innovation, as opposed to just adding more flavors to the core line.

The three SKUs include flavors that are flavored coffee staples: Mocha Latte, Vanilla Latte and Salted Caramel. The first ingredient for all of the products is organic fair trade coffee, followed by coconut milk, a blend of plant proteins and MCT oil. Like Koia’s Keto line, the coffees are sugar free and sweetened with monk fruit. 

From a taste perspective, we think they’ve done a superb job with all three. There’s a good amount of coffee flavor which balances well with the richness provided by the underlying protein and coconut milk blend. There’s a touch of coconut flavor in all three, but this ultimately just feels like part of the added flavoring.

Speaking of which, we like the execution of the flavors themselves. They are present but don’t get in the way, helping to bind everything else together. As is often the case with flavored coffee drinks, we found Mocha Latte to be the best tasting. But Vanilla Latte and Salted Caramel, which are relatively mild as far as these flavors typically go, are quite good, too. We honestly wouldn’t change anything about them -- and they’ve even done a really nice job of masking the monk fruit. 

On the outside, these products, which are packaged in 12 oz clear plastic bottles, utilize the core Koia branding scheme that’s found on all of their products. To make it clear that this is a sub line they’ve added “coffee” under the Koia logo and given the label a brown accent color. The end result is something that feels like a part of the Koia brand but is easily identifiable as its own thing. 

Overall, Koia Coffee is a very well-executed line extension that should help further expand the brand’s consumer base. 


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