Snapple Metabolism Juice Drink

Posted By elissa on Feb 6, 2009 | 4 comments

Snapple beverages are a familiar sight on the supermarket shelves. Founded in 1972, Snapple is now part of the Dr. Pepper-Snapple Group, which formed following the breakup of Cadbury-Schweppes. Although there are 65 beverages in the line, the “Metabolism” juice drinks are two of the (comparatively few) low calorie offerings. There are two flavors in the line: Kiwi Pear and Noni Berry.

Manufacturer’s Description: Help give your attitude and metabolism a boost at the same time! Did you know that early Polynesians made frequent canoe voyages of thousands of miles just to transport this unique fruit? But this was no ordinary fruit. The Noni is said to improve energy to promote a happier, more positive outlook. Besides – the fact that you don’t have to travel thousands of miles by canoe to experience this fruit should make you feel better already.

Snapple… made from the best stuff on Earth.

Product Label:

Comments: I have to admit…it was the “Noni Berry” that caught my eye as I was walking past the beverage display at the store. Both Paul and I have written extensively about the superfruit craze over on the blog, so I had to take it for a test drive.  It was pretty reasonable: $1.00 for a 17.5 oz. bottle.

The drink itself is light, sweet and fruity, albeit in a sort of generic, berry sense…overall, it was pretty refreshing.  I got a bit of a chuckle out of the label, however.  Despite the paragraphs extolling the virtues of noni, the drink itself is only 5% juice; and of that 5%, the primary ingredient is pear juice.  If I had to guess, I’d say the noni is nothing more than “label decoration” – although this is probably a good thing, since noni juice doesn’t taste very good. 

As you might have guessed, the “metabolism” benefits (such as they are) don’t have anything to do with noni…rather, they’re from green tea extract and caffeine.  As the small print on the label states: “Studies show that consumption of 300mg of EGCG per day (along with caffeine) effectively boosts metabolism.” Even that’s a bit of a fooler, though, as there are only 55mg of EGCG and 30 mg of caffeine in each bottle: far too low for there to be any significant thermogenic effects. 

Well, whatever.  It still tastes reasonably good for a diet drink, even if the branding is a tad deceptive.

‘Nuff said.  It’s a good drink if you’re just looking for a low cal, decent-tasting, portable drink – just don’t get fooled into thinking it will do anything more for your metabolism than the equivalent amount of water.

[usrlist “Taste:4.5” “Quality:3.0” “Efficacy:2.0” “Value:4.5″ avg=”true”]