(no subject)

[hatman]

The problem with V8 juice has always been the taste. (Well, that and the high sodium count.) It's the juices of eight vegetables blended together, but it pretty much tastes like thickened, salty tomato juice.

They finally realized that a little while back and came out with V8 Splash and then V8 Fusion. They blend vegetable juice with fruit juice (Splash is more fruit, Fusion is more balanced). That makes it much sweeter and more palatable, but of course it adds sugar. They do make "light" and "diet" versions, though. Unfortunately, the "diet" version appears to be watered down carrot juice with some other trace juices and flavors thrown in.

It was slow to take off at first, but it does seem to be selling reasonably well now. Which prompted the Ocean Spray people to follow suit. They now have a few flavors of "Fruit & Veggie juice." Of course, they've got the same problem - sugar/calories. So they also make a "light" version.

The "light" versions of V8 Fusion and Ocean Spray Fruit & Veggie have about half the calories and offer about half the nutritional benefits (1 combined serving of fruits & vegetables instead of 2, etc.) of the regular... so guess what the difference is. Can you guess?

It's... water! Yes, while the regular flavors list various juices as their first (and thus primary) ingredients, the light equivalents of those flavors list water first. They took the same juices, watered them down, and called the result "light." The kicker? The "light" juices are the same price as the regular.

Comments

[kareila]

If you look at the juices marketed to small children, e.g. "Mott's For Tots" - same deal, it's just watered down for the same price.

[hatman]

Don't think I've seen those. The little juice boxes were great for me because they were 4oz each - one diabetic exchange.

Incidentally, I love your icon. WTG, Millie!

[shippen_stand]

It's for shipping the water. It's one of their bigger expenses.

In the 70s gas crunch, Windex tried an "eco" version of their spray, which came in the usual bottle, but had only the dry ingredients. You were to add water. It was less expensive, and it failed.

[hatman]

lol, I'm sure shipping isn't cheap. But still, juice is more expensive than water and costs just as much to ship.

Interesting about the Windex, though. I'd have been behind that. I wonder why it didn't sell.

[dame_grise]

Well, then I'm for buying the regular version if you like it and adding my own water. I already make Crystal light tubs with 2x as much water because the artificial sweeteners are just too damn strong.

[annabtg.livejournal.com]

...Hum. Well, if that's true... it kind of makes sense? For one, I think the watered down version will taste slightly different - I know that I don't like my juice too thick. And... it's technically lighter, and what else could you call it...?

Can't say it's not weird, though.

It reminds me of this: http://community.livejournal.com/mock_the_stupid/3238858.html?thread=107347658#t107347658

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

It makes sense that it would be "light." And, true, it's not the dumbest marketing gimmick I've seen. The thing is that you could just buy the regular and mix it with water yourself (as we often do with juices around here anyway). You'd get twice as much for the same price!