Reviews

SToK is a relative latecomer to the cold brew coffee category, and we think it’s going to take some serious brand building effort to get traction.

From a packaging perspective, the new green label more effectively catches the eye than prior efforts. You are almost immediately drawn to the “Original Coconut Smoothie,” which is both the flavor name and the descriptor of what’s inside the bottle.

Vita 500 is a vitamin drink that is popular in South Korea, which is where the product is manufactured. Its key benefits are its 500mg of vitamin C (830% RDA) as well as B vitamins, which come inside a formulation that tastes somewhat like a non-carbonated cousin of an energy drink.

For the purposes of this review, we sampled two flavors, Pinot Sage and Apple Juniper. As far as “mainstream” kombucha flavors go, these definitely seem far from it. The products have only trace amounts of bubbles, a modest amount of sweetness, and a slight oak note.

Jittery John’s offers a diverse line of cold-brew coffee offerings. They have seemingly every type of cold-brew covered: ready to drink, nitro, concentrate, office delivery, single origin, New Orleans style, and even a high pressure processed variety with Brazil nut milk.

Love Grace’s Herbal Energy is a three-flavor line of USDA organic certified high pressure processed beverages that was created to complement its cold-pressed juice lineup. The common theme across the three flavors is described in the tag line “energy and nutrition balanced.”

We didn’t necessarily think there was something essentially wrong with their old label. But the new one reflects the evolution of the tea category as well as where guayusa, Runa’s key ingredient, stands within it.

With the market for vinegar products continuing to evolve -- and BluePrint continuing to build its brand beyond the juice cleanse -- the company is trying to extend its product set with an apple cider vinegar (ACV) drink.

Sap! is a two-SKU line of beverages that are made with a single ingredient: carbonated maple sap. It’s a play that’s not dissimilar from that of maple water, which is also maple sap but in its natural, non-carbonated format.

If Zingerman’s is looking to succeed, it’s going to take some meaningful improvements in both the liquid, packaging and lineup.

Given the current onslaught of cold-brewed coffees, upstart players face a renewed need to innovate and differentiate. While some companies are doing this with flavor or packaging, Veritas is using a different method of producing the coffee itself.

Sparkling Bitters, made with a blend of sparkling water and a dash of tonic bitters, is an unsweetened zero-calorie line of sparkling beverages. In terms of sparkling beverages, it’s a unique and interesting concept: the base of the drink is basically a lighter cousin of tonic water.

Sparkling Ice “Essence of Sparkling Water” is the first unsweetened line extension to the Sparkling Ice brand, and the company’s response to the growing number of sparkling flavored waters on the market today.