Reviews

There’s a lot going on with Native Jack, a nitro cold brew coffee made with hemp oil and protein, but the branding lacks focus.

Normally, we applaud companies that choose to shift into a more proprietary or premium package, but, in the case of Black Medicine, moving to a 9.5 oz. slim can is great move.

Cave Shake is a vegan meal replacement shake that uses coconut milk as its base ingredient. Calling itself a shake as well as a dessert (and using the term “ready-to-eat”), this product seems to straddle the lines between food and beverage.

Califia Black Label Cold Brew represents the first time that the company has released a ready-to-drink straight cold brew. It was really the only piece missing from having a truly complete line.

Hailing from Ireland, Vit-Hit is a blend of water, juice, tea, and vitamins that is marketed as a low-calorie, naturally sweetened beverage. There is certainly no shortage of those, so why drink a Vit-Hit over the competition? That’s the piece that’s really missing for us.

Aqua's reduced-calorie flavored sparkling waters are visually appealing and deliver a refreshing and full-bodied flavor experience. But is the brand being forced into a category where it doesn’t quite belong?

People have tried several times to market a ready-to-drink rooibos tea to children, and it has always failed to catch on. To us, there seems to be a big disconnect between the purchaser (the parent who might be in tune with this) and the end user (a child). Can Bossi, a line of USDA Organic rooibos drinks marketed for kids, succeed where others did not?

Koia is a plant-based protein drink brand that is launching in three flavors. Koia's key selling points are its protein content (16-19 g per bottle depending on the variety), low sugar content, and non-GMO vegan formulation. It also has some really sharp looking packaging.

Mr. Mak’s Ginbao is this new company’s take on an Asian ginger bao (broth) that is delivered in ready-to-drink form. The product comes in three flavors, Original Dynasty, Dragonwell, and Queen Bee, each of which is packaged in an attractive looking 13.9 oz. glass bottle.

Bowery Coffee Co. is a Los Angeles, Calif.-based company that recently launched a five-flavor line of ready-to-drink cold brew coffee beverages. In an overflowing pool of cold brew brands, does Bowery do enough to tell its story in such a way that connects with consumers?

The cold-pressed/high pressure processed segment of the shot category is still a relatively young concept. This is both a good thing in that Saratoga will have less clutter to cut through, but it’s also adds a near term challenge in that the shelf space for this category isn’t as defined as it is for full size juices.

Caveman Coffee is a third wave coffee company that was founded by health conscious competitive athletes. As the name implies, there’s a strong paleo diet and “biohacking” bent to the company and a big part of what they do comes from their supporting products, which include coconut MCT oil and cacao butter.

Alpha Wolf is a low calorie line of supplement drinks that were designed to help improve the drinker’s ability to focus.

Solti Juice is a San Diego-based company that produces cold-pressed organic juice drinks that are aseptically processed with ultraviolet (UV) light filtration. The company claims that this delivers the best tasting and most nutrient-rich juice out there (aside from truly raw, of course).