Llama Mama is a new line of organic sparkling beverages that are enhanced with prebiotics and antioxidants through the use of Peruvian superfoods camu camu and yacon. The product line comes in three flavors, including Clementine, Cherry Berry and Lemon Lime, each 45 calories and no added sugar per 12 ounce can.

Yacon, which is promoted as the source of the drink’s antioxidants, is also presumably its sweetener and provides the drink’s 7 grams of sugar (and allows the product to avoid adding refined sugars). Other ingredients include camu camu, inulin, organic flavors, lemon juice and ascorbic acid.

The resulting product has a pleasing and easy to drink flavor that’s reminiscent of classic soda flavors like orange, lemon lime and black cherry. Of course, these are much lighter in body and sweetness but they fit nicely in the mid-calorie sparkling space.

We also like that they’ve kept the functionality as something that feels more like a bonus than a reason for being: There’s little to no learning curve to understand the drink’s callouts for prebiotics, immune support, and antioxidant benefits, and none of which get in the way of the drink’s enjoyment factor. 

For its packaging, Llama Mama uses a slim 12 ounce can that has a pressure sensitive label that is mostly white aside from an accent color that’s used for some of the text as well as some bands around the lower portion of the can. The Llama Mama logo is the most dominant element of the label although a cartoonish image of a Llama’s head and neck are a pretty close second.  Both the name and this image give the product a light and approachable vibe, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

The label copy describes the product as an “organic & sparkling tonic” and, below the logo, you’ll find the core benefits including “prebiotic,” “immune support,” and “antioxidant” as well as smaller callouts for “vitamin C 200%” and “no sugar added.”  Finally, at the very bottom (inside one of the previously mentioned colored bands) is where you’ll find the SKU’s name/flavor. 

While we definitely like the playfulness of the branding and think that it is something that could cut through the clutter, we think the label needs a bit of organizational improvement to properly communicate what the product is. Specifically, we’d like to see the flavor name and the “organic & sparkling tonic” place closer together – or function as a single unit. These are the most important product attributes and it would be better if your eye didn’t have to jump from top to bottom to put this together. 

In the end, Llama Mama is a product that delivers an enjoyable take on a mid-calorie better-for-you sparkling beverage with unique and fun branding. The liquid feels like it’s immediately ready to compete, while the branding needs just a little bit of refinement to be in a good spot to play in this extremely competitive category.