New Products Hits & Misses for 11/04/2009

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:

(30 points) Taste: The most important attribute of any food
(20 points) Value: Is it worth it?
(15 points) Health: Based off the nutritional information, is it nutritionally balanced?
(15 points) Ingredients: What's in it, how natural is it?
(5 points) Preparation: When applicable, how accurate or good are the directions *
(5 points) Appearance: Is it appetizing and does it resemble its photo or description
(5 points) Packaging: Is it appropriate for the product and does it have any benefits such as resealability, added freshness, better storage, etc.
(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

Breyer’s Yo Crunch Cheesecake Flavored Nonfat Yogurt with Graham Cookie Pieces 100 Calorie Pack

73

This product is a MISS! Yogurt is one of the fastest growing categories in the supermarket and out of those, as I have said before, the Greek yogurt, that authentic yogurt flavor that is loaded with live cultures is among the fastest. And then there are those people who want their yogurt to taste like cheesecake, which this really does not, and add Graham Cracker Cookie Crunch. Breyer’s Yo Crunch is loaded with 14 g of sugar in just a 100 calorie size and frankly tastes nothing like yogurt. It is important to note they use erythritol as a sweetener which is a sugar alcohol, instead of an artificial sweetener. Retails for $3.19.

Breyer’s Yogurt Company
866 YO CRUNCH
http://www.yocrunch.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Fyxx Hybrid Lucky Lemon Blast

70

This product is a MISS! See this name Fyxx? Well that is exactly what this company needs to do – fix this product. The front of the label proclaims ‘spring water’, but a look at the ingredients shows that the product contains more purified water than spring water. Yes, I see that the label also says ‘hybrid’, but come on. I can hardly taste the lemon and while it says that it is caffeine infused, nowhere on the label does it say how much caffeine. Retails for $1.69 – 1.89.

str8tup Beverages, LLC
888 226 3122
http://www.fyxxwater.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Susta Natural Sweetener

86

This product is a HIT! Just when we thought it was getting easier to decide which sweetener to use SUSTA hits the supermarket shelves. Each package contains just 5 calories and according to the company is loaded with both prebiotics and probiotics – the prebiotics come from inulin, which is the first ingredient and stimulate the growth or activity of bacteria in the digestive tract, helping the probiotics. The probiotics are a strain, Bacillus coagulans, which has been proven in independent research to actually survive extremes of heat, acidity of the stomach and bile acids...and does not need refrigeration. But when it comes to sweeteners it is all about the sweetness – how sweet is it? Like the other sweeteners that are out there it is a very fine powder, sweeter than sugar and when I tasted it with my finger I actually found it to be sticky. Unless you are a diabetic, my recommendation is to stick with real sugar or try one of the new stevia products. Retails for $6.99 for 50 packets.

NXT Nutritionals, Inc
800 535 4315
http://www.sustastore.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Homemade Harvey Snack Mango, Pineapple, Banana & Passionfruit Flavor

95

This product is a HIT! Get past the idea of squeezing crushed fruit through this spout into your mouth. Yes it looks like astronaut food, but Harvey is absolutely delicious, made with just fruits that are almost all organic this is the perfect snack or afternoon-pick-me-up. Harvey comes in three different flavors, all of which are 100 calories or less. It is made from whole fruits grown locally in California. While the package makes it look like it is just for kids it is anything but – it is perfect for both kids’ and adults’ lunchboxes, but do not forget it does need to be refrigerated, so you might want to throw one in the freezer and pack it with your lunch so as it defrosts it will also keep your lunch cool. Retails for $1.49.

Homemade Harvey
800 854 8507
http://www.HomemadeHarvey.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Chef Gerard and Chuck’s Green Stuff Salsa Hot Flavor

92

This product is a HIT! I’m glad I only tasted the ‘Hot’ instead of the ‘Blazing Hot’. Chef Gerard and Chuck’s Green Stuff Salsa is one of the freshest, best tasting salsas I have ever had. When you unscrew the lid the fresh aroma is intoxicating and I swear you can even smell how hot it is. Unlike so many salsas it has a clean hot flavor that does not linger. It is green instead of red because they use fresh whole green onions, fresh jalapenos and fresh cilantro. It is sold in the refrigerator case, but have no fear, it has a 12 month shelf life. Pour this on a baked potato and you will have a tasty low cal, low fat, satisfying meal. Or use it on fish, poultry, a steak or even a burger. Retails for $6.99.

Salsa Fresca Inc
805 404 6752
http://www.jalafresca.net

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.