Made in Italy, Frizz Coffee is a sparkling and sweetened coffee drink. While this is certainly a niche product (it has no dairy and it’s sparkling -- two things that Americans don’t seem to like when it comes to coffee), it has definitely hit the nail on the head for what it is trying to be.
Riding the wave of momentum for lemonade drinks and health and wellness products, Mr. Mo's is a new line of organic lemonades. While the beverages are enjoyable from a taste perspective, the branding and packaging of Mr. Mo's leaves something to be desired.
Vinki, a line of all-natural juice drinks made with apple cider vinegar, recently underwent a mild rebranding. The products are still being positioned as a digestive health beverage, but feature a new label design that has a more modern and good for you feel. Overall, it’s definitely an improved product, but it’s not totally there yet.
Frizzante is a line of 100 percent natural sparkling juice drinks that comes in three flavors. For better or worse, the entire lineup is based on apple juice, meaning that the flavored varieties don’t actually have other fruits in them (they uses essences, a type of flavoring). The formulation of the drinks leads us to question the direction that the company has taken in its branding and packaging.
Another week, another new energy brand, and, unfortunately, our review of Plasma Energy cites many of the same issues facing other recent entries in the category.
Life Juice is a new line of cold-pressed, high pressure processed juices. The products are packaged and sold direct-to-consumer in individual bottles, as well as in one- or multi-day juice cleanse regimens. With new juice cleanse products continue to pop up everyday, it might be difficult for some brands to stand out in the category. However, we feel like Life Juice has done well to stand out from the pack in both formulation and packaging.
Ahhmigo is a new line of cap-activated drinks that comes in three health and wellness-focused varieties: Chia, Camu, and Greens. Having tried a lot of cap-activated beverages, we can say that this is one of the easier caps to figure out (just twist and push). However, the brand might need to consider a greater infusion of flavor or function into its drinks to find greater consumer pull.
Heart of Tea is a new all-natural line of ready to drink teas. The brand, which comes in three fruit-flavored varieties, is very straightforward and enjoyable in both its formulation and packaging, although it’s hard to see where this product fits amidst the massive sea of RTD teas that are already on the market.
Premier Protein is a line of flavored protein drinks that come in both Tetra-Pak and PET packaging. In our review of its PET bottles, we were impressed with both the formulation and branding of the drinks, which despite skewing toward the technical end of the protein category, are a solid entry into the space.
Calling on consumers to "Master the Energy," Manyk Energy is a four-SKU energy drink line that includes a zero-calorie product, and two tea-flavored varieties. While the formulation of the beverages is on par with much of what we've seen in the category, Manyk has a ways to go in revising its packaging.
And the cold brew coffee train keeps rolling... Fresh out of Southern California, Seaworth’s “Single Fin Sludge” is a new organic concentrated cold brew coffee. Well-executed in packaging and flavor, “Single Fin Sludge" is an impressive foray into a category that seems to be growing by the day.
Building on the rapid growth of cold brew and craft coffee brands, Dave’s Coffee is a new line of “coffee syrup” products. In concept, it’s not that much different than most of the other cold brew products that we’ve sampled, but the syrup is a concentrated form that can be mixed with water. However, the fact that it’s syrup form definitely makes it a bit more difficult to mix than other brands that are simply coffee concentrate.
North Carolina-based Cheerwine has launched a new 4-pack of 12 oz slim cans. For a brand with a ton of retro appeal, the foray into a modern-looking package is an interesting move. Nevertheless, we think that the company did a great job staying true to its branding - and formulation.
AriZona recently extended its line of Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear lemonades with a new mint-flavored variety. Although we find the blend of lemonade and mint flavors to be quite appealing, we question whether the brand as a whole can ultimately carve out a successful niche in that there is something that seems disconnected between the image of the golfer and the thoughts of summertime that are inevitable when drinking lemonade.
