February 9, 2010
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Ratings Criteria

With over 50,000 products in the average supermarket, people don't have the time, or the money, to test every product on the shelves and with 15,000 new products every year consumers need to know what's out there!

So Phil does the testing and the tasting for you and gives the product a rating out of 100 so you know what you can expect when you try something new!

SupermarketGuru does not sell the foods we review, nor receive any compensation from the manufacturers for reviewing or rating them.

Phil taste-tests and judges each product based on the following 8 criteria:

  1. (30 points) Taste: The most important attribute of any food
  2. (20 points) Value: Is it worth it?
  3. (15 points) Health: Based off the nutritional information, is it nutritionally balanced?
  4. (15 points) Ingredients: What's in it, how natural is it?
  5. (5 points) Preparation: When applicable, how accurate or good are the directions *
  6. (5 points) Appearance: Is it appetizing and does it resemble its photo or description
  7. (5 points) Packaging: Is it appropriate for the product and does it have any benefits such as resealability, added freshness, better storage, etc.
  8. (5 Points) Sustainability: Is the packaging biodegradable, is it wasteful, is the company endeavoring to offset their carbon footprint?

* products that do not have any preparation will have the full value of these points included in their total score

Tillen Farms Merry Maraschino Cherries

[Image of: Maraschino Cherries]
96
This product is a HIT! As kids we all loved maraschino cherries… but then something happened… we learned to read and our taste buds became more sophisticated and now that sickeningly sweet syrup now makes us cringe at the idea of ever eating one again! Forget that – Tillen Farms Merry Maraschino Cherries are unbelievable. They taste fabulous and fresh and there is nothing artificial! I promise you will love these right out of the jar. Retails for $6.99.

Tillen Farms
212 957 0055
http://www.tillenfarms.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Chavela’s Chunky Hot Green Chile Salsa

[Image of: Salsa]
88
This product is a HIT! Chavela’s really does have a great recipe for salsa – this is for those who love spicy, hot and flavorful… My only complaint is that it is a little more runny than I would like, but the chunks of tomato and chile are great and this is perfect with fish. Retails for $3.40.

Alvarado Enterprises, Inc
N/A
http://www.chavelasonline.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Purista Mojito Hand Crafted Cocktail Mix

[Image of: Cocktail Mix]
88
This product is a HIT! Close your eyes. Now picture yourself lying in a beach chair on South Beach sipping a perfectly made Cuban mojito as the sun warms your toes. But who has time for that these days? Purista has done the work so we just have to enjoy. Made with organic sugar cane juice, the flavor is excellent although I do prefer my mojitos a little less sweet. Now you do not HAVE to add fresh mint – its already in here – but do it anyway so no one calls you a gringo! Retails for $9.99.

Synergy Beverages, Inc
N/A
http://www.puristacocktail.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Naturally More What Peanut Butter Should Be

[Image of: Peanut Butter]
90
This product is a HIT! What I hate about most natural peanut butters is that they separate and yes, it is because they don’t contain the artificial stuff that keeps the peanut butter from separating. Naturally More is made with peanuts, wheat germ, flaxseed, cane sugar, egg whites, honey and flaxseed oil – and that’s it. The taste is fabulous and if they could ever figure out how to keep it from separating this would be perfect. But there’s no way that every time I want peanut butter I’m gonna spend the time and muscle power mixing it together. Retails for $3.30.

SNACLite, LLC
N/A
http://www.naturallymore.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Amazing Grass Green SuperFood Berry Flavor Drink Powder

[Image of: Beverage]
90
This product is a HIT! Why do all superfoods have to be dense green? Dark green is just not an appetizing color for a beverage. The truth is that this Amazing Grass SuperFood actually tastes very fruity – so close your eyes to get past the color and drink up! One serving actually delivers your fruit and vegetable needs for the day – along with a ton of vitamins, including A, C and K. It’s also gluten free and vegan…terrific… but just change the color! Retails for $27.99 (which makes 30 6 oz servings).

Amazing Grass
866-472-7711
http://www.amazinggrass.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Thank You

We hope you enjoyed this edition of

New Product
Hits and Misses

If you would like Phil to consider your new product for review, please send 4 samples of each flavor you to submit for review, with the suggested retail price and other product information. We regret that we can not review all products submitted. Please send to:

New Product Review
SupermarketGuru.com
3015 Main Street, Suite 320
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Product reviews are conducted by randomly selecting one flavor of a product and taking into consideration the information available on the package itself as it would appear in the retail environment. Information contained in advertisements or on websites is not taken into account for evaluation or ratings.

Email danielle@supermarketguru.com with any questions and whenever possible please be environmentally friendly when packaging your products.