Phil Lempert's SupermarketGuru
 

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

ViB Vacation in a Bottle Pomegranate Berry Flavor

[Image of: Relaxation Beverage]
84
Who would not want a vacation in a bottle? Just think, a caffeine free, low calorie, vitamin enriched, carbonated beverage that promises to be a happy relaxation drink. This flavor is Pomegranate Berry and is actually pretty tasty – the question is whether or not this new fad of relaxation drinks is really going to take hold, or if they really deliver on their promises. This metal bottle which is also one of the thickest I have ever seen makes me want to never throw it out, but it must be much more expensive to produce (and you know who is paying for that!) Retails for $1.99 - $2.49.

ViB Holdings L.L.C.
214 749 7767
http://www.vacationinabottle.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Mrs. Fields Cookie Dough Snacks Chocolate Chip Flavor

[Image of: Cookie Dough]
84
Raw cookie dough has been a food safety nightmare, but now Mrs. Fields Cookie Dough Snacks has come to the rescue. You don’t bake it and it contains no eggs. If you are a fan of cookie dough, you’ll probably like this. I would love to be eavesdropping on their consumer hotline and discover just how many people call in complaining, because they baked it. You do not bake it! Eat it right out of the package. I tried the Chocolate Chip flavor and I would like to see the chips a little bit bigger. Retails for $3.99. Please note: although this product didn't reach an 85 we made it a HIT because it came oh so close.

Rich Products Corporation
888 732 7251
http://www.cookiedoughsnacks.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Nuttzo Omega 3 Multi-Nut Butter

[Image of: Nut Butter]
94
This product is a HIT! I love this product, the flavor, the blend of peanuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and flax seeds is great! Just one serving, (which is 2 tablespoons) is 50% of the recommended daily value of omega 3s. I also love the fact that there is no sugar added and they are smart enough to put the label on upside down for storage to keep it from separating - but remember once it is opened put it right side up in the refrigerator to avoid making a mess when you open the jar. Retails for $12.55.

JagRma LLC
619 723 0052
http://www.gonuttzo.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Sunbelt Sweet and Salty Chewy Peanut Granola Bars

[Image of: Granola Bar]
84
I have discovered on of the best buys in the supermarket. This Sunbelt Sweet and Salty Granola Bar is only $2.59 for a box of 8 – that comes out to 32 cents a bar! Not only is it priced right, but it is tasty and if you like chocolate you will love this. I found it to be more sweet than salty and it did not have as strong of a peanut flavor as I like, but at 32 cents a bar I am not complaining. Retails for $2.59. Please note: although this product didn't reach an 85 we made it a HIT because it came oh so close.

McKee Foods
800 522 4499
http://www.sunbeltsnacks.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Splash! Pomegranate Port Reduction Sauce

[Image of: cooking condiment]
85
This product is a HIT! If you’re looking for a naturally sweetened Port Reduction Sauce Splash! could be it. No fat, no sodium, no soy and gluten free, this reduction adds a nice sweet pomegranate flavor, but remember it does contain port wine and it does have 9 g of sugars in one tablespoon. Retails for $13.49.

Marxana Brand Foods
888 560 3562
http://www.marxanabrandfoods.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.