September 2, 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

Earth’s Best French Toast Sticks

[Image of: Frozen Breakfast]
80
Earth’s Best changed the world of baby food decades ago – now they have ventured into the frozen arena with their French Toast Sticks. What I like is that there are 9g of whole grains per serving, what I don’t like is that they seem to ignore all the packaging technology that today makes microwaving foolproof. This French toast is a little more chewy because of the whole wheat flour which is why the correct cooking is essential. The taste is good, but most parents would probably balk at 5g of sugars per serving because you know that kids are going to add either syrup or sugar on top. Retails for $3.55 - 4.35.

Hain Celestial Group, Inc
800 434 4246
http://www.earthsbest.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Godiva Chocolatier Chocolate Truffle Ground Coffee

[Image of: Coffee]
77
The concept is simple – if you love Godiva Chocolate you would love Godiva Chocolate Truffle Coffee, but the beverage just does not deliver on the concept. The coffee’s aroma and taste is much too artificial and has a mild chemical aftertaste. If you do love coffee and chocolate my recommendation is use your favorite coffee and add your own dark chocolate shavings – oh and for $8.99 a pound they should at least tell us where the coffee beans come from. Retails for $8.99.

Godiva Chocolatier, Inc
877 865 2819
http://www.godivacoffees.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Sauces ‘n Love Vegan Pesto

[Image of: Pesto]
89
This product is a HIT! So here is a pesto from Sauces ‘n’ Love that is vegan because there is no cheese. This pesto has a mild garlic flavor and uses tofu instead of the cheese. It is a bit more bland than I typically like my pesto, but if you are trying to avoid Parmesan it is a great alternative. Don't limit it to just pasta, I would use this on grilled fish, vegetables and even as a dipping sauce for crudités. Retails for $5.99.

Sauces ‘n Love, Inc
866 772 8237
http://www.saucesnlove.com

Scoring Breakdown:

Amazing Grass Berry Whole Food Energy Bar

[Image of: Energy Bar]
91
This product is a HIT! You might remember about 6 months ago I reviewed Amazing Grass Superfood Drink Powder – it got a great review, but my caution was to close your eyes before you drank it. Their new Berry Whole Food Energy Bar also gets a great review with a terrific taste and loaded with fruits, nuts and vegetables – once again, close your eyes before you take a bite. This does not look like your typical energy bar in either color or texture. It is also about double the price of the competition. Retails for $2.99.

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

Scoring Breakdown:

Dei Fratelli Arrabbiata Sauce

[Image of: Pasta Sauce]
93
This product is a HIT! I just love it when I can read the ingredient statement on pasta sauce and I do not see any tomato paste or high fructose corn syrup. Crushed tomatoes are the first ingredient, diced tomatoes the second and the blend of spices makes this one of the best arrabbiatas I have ever tasted from a jar. I do like my pasta sauce a little thicker, but I am just being picky. What is also a nice touch is that the glass mason jar is embossed with markings for ½, ¾ and 1 pint. Retails for $2.49.

Hirzel Canning Company
877 592 6736
http://www.hirzel.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.