Austin, Texas based Live, which to date has been a marketer of kombucha beverages, has recently expanded its product portfolio to include a new line of probiotic shots. Branded simply as “Live Probiotic Tea Shots,” the products are packaged in 2 oz bottles and contain zero calories.

At launch, there are three flavors including “Don’t Inflame,” “Be Immune,” and “Just Relax.” All of the products contain a base of water and fermented black tea extract as well as 2 billion CFUs of probiotics (Bacillus subtilis probiotic DE111). There’s no mention of what the purpose or benefits are from using black tea extract -- it seems to just rely on the consumer to know that fermented foods are good for you. 

One thing that’s definitely unique is this product’s lack of sweetener. A zero calorie unsweetened shot isn’t something that we can recall seeing before and, as a result, these products are really mild in flavor. That, too, is very unique for the shot category as products tend to be more assertive in flavor than a normal RTD and this is the reverse. 

Let’s dive in a bit deeper on each SKU:

• Don’t Inflame: This variety features mango flavor and turmeric extract with the latter being both a flavor agent and functional ingredient. It’s earthy and mild tasting with a mellow turmeric flavor and just a hint of mango at the finish. From a taste perspective, this was our favorite of the bunch.

• Be Immune: This SKU doesn’t have any additional functional ingredients beyond what’s in the base and adds pineapple and coconut flavorings. Given the light flavor profile, these flavorings stand out a bit too much. 

• Just Relax: Featuring chamomile and lemon balm for both functionality and flavoring, this flavor is the mildest of the three and has a pleasant herbal flavor with a lemon finish. However, we wonder if a relaxation formulation will be a winning SKU for this brand.

One last note after looking at the three SKUs: we feel as though an energy formulation would be a layup to add on to the three (or perhaps a good replacement for Just Relax). There’s certainly a proven market for this and Live’s zero calorie and probiotic enhanced approach could make for something that’s immediately marketworthy. 

Moving on to packaging, this product is packaged in a clear 2 oz bottle that looks very similar to other super premium perishable shot products. As is common with this format, the label is somewhat jammed with small text to make full use of the compact space. 

This is definitely true on the front panel, which is divided into a top half that houses the Live logo, the name of the SKU, and “probiotic tea shots” (the name of the product line). The lower half has fruit images and a stack of text that includes a description of the flavor (in a script font, like the Live logo), some callouts for key ingredients, and badges for Non GMO and USDA Organic.

While everything is arranged in a clean way, we found our eye jumping around to figure out the function and the flavor of each SKU. There’s just a bit too much text on the front of the label -- and the fact that it’s zero calorie and zero sugar isn’t mentioned until the back panel. This definitely feels like a missed opportunity.

Lastly, we feel that Live’s logo doesn’t pop in the same way that it used to on their soda or kombucha beverages. Instead, what they’ve created feels almost like a product attribute (as in “live cultures”) rather than the brand identity. 

Overall, we think that Live’s extension into the shot category is a smart one. They’ve created something that feels like a logical extension of the brand and they’ve done it in an innovative way. We’d love to see the branding have a bit more punch to it, but these are otherwise really nicely executed products.