Who: Wow Food & Drink
What: Wow Focus: Mixed Berry
Where: Soft drinks
How much: £1.24 for 250ml
Why: Wow Focus is a sugar-free energy drink containing vitamins, amino acids and natural caffeine. It promises to provide “a natural and immediate boost in alertness and supports cognitive function” without risk of “the jitters”. The product sits in a buoyant part of the energy drinks category: diet stimulation is up 26.2% in take-home value sales [Kantar 52 w/e 24 February 2019]. It’s now worth £43.3m within a larger market that has added £11.8m to reach £239.5m.
Consumer verdict: There was very little pre-trial interest in Wow’s drink - and that didn’t change after tasting. It scored below the norm on the taste metric, with shoppers calling it “really unpleasant” and “chemically and very weak”. The product’s price also proved offputting - as did the 32mg of caffeine per 100ml. But consumers were not without praise for the fruit-flavoured beverage. Some said it was “refreshing” with “nice fizz” and “a nice look and feel”.
Pre-trial purchase: 15%
Post-trial purchase: 15%
Better than what’s out there: 21%
New and different: 23%
Overall score: 29/50
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