Since being acquired by Pure Steeps in 2016, Wonder Drink, which has been in the kombucha business since 1999, has been undergoing a bit of an evolution in both branding and messaging. Now, months after the acquisition, the brand has added its first new flavors to the lineup.

The products are perishable offerings and packaged in 15.2 oz. bottles that look similar to those marketed by brands such as GT’s or KeVita.

As for the actual flavors, there are three: Thai Carrot, Honey Lavender, and Strawberry Basil. Both the Thai Carrot and Strawberry Basil offerings have some decent juice content to them (39 percent and 14 percent, respectively), while the Honey Lavender is a more traditional style kombucha. And all three have added probiotic cultures (as opposed to relying exclusively on probiotics from the kombucha) in the form of bacillus coagulansMTCC5856.

Here are our thoughts on each of the three flavors:

• Honey Lavender -- This variety has a clean, classic kombucha flavor that’s slightly tea-forward and crisp in its finish. Honey acts as both a sweetener (along with added sugar) and flavoring agent, while the lavender gives the product a mild herbaceous note.

• Thai Carrot -- The most juice heavy of the bunch, Thai Carrot is a product that tastes almost more like juice than kombucha. There’s a heavy vegetable note to it, followed by some sweetness, and some slight bite from the kombucha at the end. Honestly, the only thing we really don’t like about this product is the use of “Thai,” which is distracting from the brand’s “Spirit of Portland” tag line that is displayed on every bottle.

• Strawberry Basil -- This formulation has a very summery flavor that we’d describe as fresh and tart. Strawberry, basil and kombucha pair quite well, with the bite of the kombucha helping to temper the naturally sweet and tart note of strawberry. We would, however, like there to be a bit more basil flavor to it.

On the packaging and branding side of things, the look of these Wonder Drink offerings is a vast improvement over anything we’ve seen from the brand in the past. It’s clean, modern, and has visualpop to it. Furthermore, we really like how the company is are calling out its roots, which show longevity with “established 1999” and an artisanal side with the “spirit of Portland” tagline.

If there’s anything that the company could do to make it better, it would be to help the consumer understand what’s going on from a functional perspective. Pure Steeps has been outspoken on science and efficacy of kombucha, but this really does not come through in the product. Fortunately, we think this product can succeed on flavor and packaging, but this might help take it to another level.

Overall, this is a big step forward for Wonder Drink and we’re excited to see what the company comes up with next.