Tepache Gold is a new RTD take on tepache, (a traditional Mexican sparkling fermented beverage made with pineapple, that comes packaged in 12 ounce cans. The line comes in three flavors – Wellness Blend, Spicy Mango and Traditional. For this review, we sampled Wellness Blend and Spicy Mango. 

The two varieties both have 80 calories, although Spicy Mango has added cane sugar and Wellness Blend does not. In addition, both drinks are made with a base of water, fermented ginger and pineapple juice that provides the tepache flavor. Spicy Mango also has added mango puree as well as jalapeño and chili extracts.

After trying the two flavors, , we think Tepache Gold can hold its own in terms of quality against the handful of RTD tepache drinks currently on the market. However, we do think that they need to create additional flavors to really be competitive – even in this nascent category. 

The brand’s functional callouts further complicate things. Spicy Mango is marketed as a probiotic beverage and Wellness Blend is marketed as a prebiotic beverage. These drinks feel a bit like apples and oranges, starting with the fact that one of the SKUs, Spicy Mango, has a name that speaks to flavor while the other, Wellness Blend, sounds like a functional beverage. We’d love to see Wellness Blend renamed to “Original” (or something to that effect) and for the brand to focus on one functional benefit. 

When it comes to flavor, both products are very pleasing. Wellness Blend is the lighter of the pair, with notes of pineapple and ginger as well as a hint of black pepper and turmeric at the drink’s otherwise dry finish. Spicy Mango is a bit more flavor forward and complex, with layers of pineapple, mango and a good amount of heat.  There’s also a hint of nutmeg at the finish. This flavor was definitely our preferred flavor. 

As far as the packaging and branding is concerned, Tepache Gold takes a relatively straightforward and simple approach. The shrink sleeve label has a gold background and the majority of the front panel is open space. In the center, there’s an illustration of a pineapple that’s sliced in half horizontally.  Sitting in the sliced area is the Tepache Gold logo, which…missing something? 

Unfortunately, there are some technical issues with the label, starting with the placement of the flavor name at the very bottom of the front panel. It’s very easy to miss and in some of the cans that we received, it was cut off since it’s at the edge of the shrink sleeve.  Furthermore, some key attributes are omitted from the label, including directly stating this is a sparkling beverage (the word “Fizzy” appears on the top of the can on the back, but this isn’t sufficient in our opinion) and the juice content of the drinks. Lastly, they need to increase the size of the Nutrition Facts panel and ingredients list – it’s too small to read. 

Overall, we think that Tepache Gold has crafted some enjoyable liquid and, with some further development of the brand and flavor lineup, this brand could have a chance against other mid-calorie prebiotic and probiotic sparkling beverages.