Shrubbly is a line of sparkling waters that are enhanced with a shrub – a mixture of apple cider vinegar and fruit. The product line currently features two 12 oz SKUs: the 5-calorie, no-sugar-added Lemon + Ginger + Aronia Berry and the 25-calorie Pomegranate + Aronia Berry, which contains 6 grams of sugar.

Both products have a very clean list of ingredients. Lemon + Ginger + Aronia Berry is made with carbonated water, aronia juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and ginger juice (total 5% juice) while Pomegranate + Aronia Berry is made with sparkling water, aronia berry juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, pomegranate juice concentrate (total 4% juice), and cardamom.

Both drinks have a light and crisp flavor. The Lemon + Ginger + Aronia Berry variety is extremely light; although you can definitely taste the apple cider vinegar, it’s quite dry in finish. Thanks to the addition of honey, Pomegranate + Aronia Berry has a touch of sweetness and a slightly tart flavor profile. There’s some nice tang coming from the apple cider vinegar, but it’s definitely much more subtle than a full strength shrub or apple cider vinegar drink.

Shrubbly has definitely delivered in terms of creating a beverage witha super clean label and a differentiated flavor profile. However, we think the product offering would be stronger and more cohesive if the two SKUs were consistent in sweetness and calories. We think there’s a path forward with either zero-sugar added or 5 grams from honey; if they chose a single direction, we think it would be easier to expand the product line.

On the outside, both Shrubbly’s flavors feature a glossy shrink sleeve label with a dark blue background. The Shrubbly logo, which features an easy to read sans-serif font, catches the eye right away. Beneath it, the tagline “Bubbly Superdrink” sits atop some fruit images that are meant to call out the key fruit ingredients. Also in this area is a callout for “Farmer Owned,” wrapped around the USDA Organic sea. 

Finally, at the bottom of the can you’ll find several lines of text that describe the liquid. The first line states the flavor name in a sans serif font, which is fine although we think the flavor names should be simplified (“Lemon + Ginger + Aronia Berry” is a bit much). The second line switches to a script font and says “with Apple Cider Vinegar” while the third line, which says “+ Sparkling Water” switches back to a sans-serif font.

While the overall aesthetic is well executed and visually appealing, we think the messaging and positioning of the product could use some refinement. Specifically, we’d like the flavor name and tagline to be succinct and something that complements one another. Presently, they feel like competing items and we think consumers could be confused as to whether this is a soda or sparkling water. In addition, stating the calories on the front of the can would be helpful.

Overall, we like Shrubbly’s approach to using apple cider vinegar in a low calorie sparkling beverage. While there’s opportunity to improve on the messaging and, as a result, the positioning, we think that the liquid and the brand are at a good point for this early stage brand.