Izze soda…too good to be true?
October 2, 2011 at 2:17 am 27 comments
I can’t stand how delicious Izze soda is. From the colorful packaging, to the healthy ingredients, to the phenomenal taste, I thought Izze might be too good to be true.
I tried my first Izze several years back. I was never a soda drinker, but I was on vacation and thought I would try something “special” so I grabbed a bright orange Izze Clementine “sparkling juice” from the case and popped it open. Wow.
It tasted so good I was afraid to look at the ingredients. Afraid I would find high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors or colors. Or worse…find out that Izze is a subsidiary of Coke .
This stuff is so healthy it belongs in your fruit basket
I was amazed at what I found:
- all natural ingredients
- 70% pure fruit juice
- no artificial anything
- 2 servings of fruit in every bottle
- started in 2002 by two guys who wanted to make a great drink and give back to the world
- they got the name “Izze” from one of the founders daughter’s name, Isabelle…come on…I mean…come on…it doesn’t get cuter than that!
To be the nation’s leading, premium, aspirational, lifestyle-driven non-alcoholic sparkling beverage brand. We also strive to be socially responsible, mindful of the environment and promote our best asset – our people.
They have several varieties of beverages:
- Sparkling juice: just what is says…. just sparkling water and juice with no sugar or added color
- Esque: low calorie sparkling water made with sparkling water (duh), juice, citric acid (a natural flavor preserver), colors created by carrot, blueberry, and radish juice. 50 calories per bottle NO ASPERTAME!
- Fortified: same as sparkling juice but with added vitamins B and C
- Sparkling soda: The newest addition to the linup, these beverages contain natural birch and ginger oils with sugar and natural flavors and colors.
Izze also gives back in many ways…both locally and globally.
Entry filed under: diet, health, healthy diet, nutrition, vegan diet. Tags: healthy drinks, healthy soda, Izze soda, Izze sparkling beverage, natural soda.
27 Comments Add your own
So whaddya think?
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1.
virtuos and beautiful | October 2, 2011 at 7:34 am
Izze is one of my favorite sodas! Actually, the only soda I really like. When I first read the title of your blog post, I was so worried that it was going to be about the dark side of Izze! But what an amazing philosophy it has!
2.
The Savvy Sister | October 2, 2011 at 1:34 pm
I love it too. I hope they don’t sell out like my former favorite drink Sweet leaf Iced Tea. I am really hoping there is not “dark side”….it’s hard not to be cinical!
3.
bookjtinyisland (@bookjtinyisland) | October 2, 2011 at 9:45 am
I want some Izze…sounds great
Like you, I thought too good to be true at first.
Glad I can still check out your latest posts through tweets. Formerly on wordpress the subscription made things so much easier.
4.
The Savvy Sister | October 2, 2011 at 7:05 pm
I know! I miss your celebrity posts in my mailbox. I’m very “behind” on my celebrity gossip and pictures!
5.
blackhuff | October 5, 2011 at 11:25 am
Sounds like such a nice soda – shame we don’t have it here
6.
The Savvy Sister | October 5, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Maybe someday you will!
7.
elisecrets | October 6, 2011 at 3:25 pm
I’ve never heard of it! But if you’re posting about it… I’ll try and find some
8.
The Savvy Sister | October 6, 2011 at 8:28 pm
It’s worth the search! The blueberry is really to die for.
9.
Kaho | October 8, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Wow, Izzy sounds like cool hip drink! I like the packaging, too. I’m a sucker for package designs. All natural is so attractive. I haven’t announced on my blog yet, but I’m preggie and I had enjoyed sparkling water during my first trimester. If I lived in the U.S. I would’ve tried the Izzy soda!!
10.
The Savvy Sister | October 8, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Oh!! Congrats to you! How exciting! I bet your girls will just be great big sisters! SInce you haven’t officially announced it yet, I won’t tell anyone
Izzy is great. I would not be surprised if went worldwide very soon. It’s so hard to find products that you believe in and they taste great.
11.
John Ellis | November 3, 2011 at 12:34 am
I must admit I am addicted to Izze, especially the clementine flavor.
That said, as an organic farmer, I question anything labeled as “natural”. No agency considers the word natural to mean anything in the food biz, anyone can use the word for any product. My concern is that nowhere on the label does it say where the “natural” ingredients are grown, I’m guessing China for the clementines. The other bit of info you might find interesting is that Pepsi owns the IZZE company. They have stayed out of the way, from what I’ve heard but none the less, they bought the founders out three or four years ago.
12.
The Savvy Sister | November 3, 2011 at 12:52 am
Thanks for your great comment farmer John (sorry…) I agree with the “natural” thing…where are they getting their stuff? I will have to check on their web site, because they make it very clear that they are NOT owned by another big corporation…….(have I been duped again? sob) I am going to call them and I will reply here. Thanks for the mission! (clementine shlementine…try the blueberry!)
13.
Vickie | May 17, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Love the grapefruit Izze soda in bottles. I haven’t seen blueberry but I’ll look for it. Unfortunately, I heard that 1. Pepsi bought out Izze in 2006 and 2. All soda cans have BPA in them. You should only drink bottled drinks.
14.
The Savvy Sister | May 18, 2012 at 6:32 am
Owned by Pepsi? I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ME!
15.
Tim | August 17, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Why would that matter assuming the ingredients didn’t change?
16.
The Savvy Sister | August 17, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Totally psychological there, Tim. I am just more comfortable drinking something made with pride by a small business then drinking something made by a company that doesn’t really care what’s in it as long as it sells.
I dunno…call me crazy.
17.
Tim | August 17, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Haha, that’s not so crazy. I’m just glad that Pepsi isn’t changing the formula, and I can find Izzes at way more places now.
18.
Regina | January 5, 2013 at 6:35 am
Commenting on this after doing an ingredient search….are you guys still drinking this stuff? 2 1/2 tbsp of sugar per beverage folks. We Americans do love our sugar, don’t we!
19.
The Savvy Sister | January 5, 2013 at 8:26 am
Hmmmm…not sure where you’re getting your info from, but the ingredients in izzy do not contain added “sugar”. Do you mean the natural sugar in the fruit juice? If so, the regular izzy contains 20 grams of “carbs” which is less than half the “carbs” or “sugar” of a can of soda. (If you’re talking teaspoons here, a can of coke has 10-12 teaspoons and a bottle of regular izzy has 6 teaspoons which is 2 tablespoons as 1 teaspoon has 4.2 grams)
But you can’t really compare two different types of sugar as far as health and metabolism. Fructose, glucose and sucrose (which is what we all know of as “sugar”) and high fructose corn syrup as all different forms of sugar. Yes, they are all carbs, but a bit different.
Soda usually uses high fructose corn syrup to sweeten their product which is far more damaging than fruit juice.
So if someone is trying to cut back on chemical laden high fructose corn syrup containing, caramel cancer causing soda, izzy is a good choice when you just have it once in a while in place of a can of Coke
Thanks for your comment! please keep reading and commenting!
20.
Joseph B. Turbeville | February 7, 2013 at 10:17 pm
JUST WHEN U THINK “FOOD NEWS” CAN’T GET WORSE…
More “CRAP” in food…LITERALLY!!!
Is castoreum the “natural flavor” in Izze drinks??? If they won’t tell U what it is…it could be! READ ON…
The dried perineal glands of the beaver contain castoreum — a food additive usually listed as ‘natural flavoring’ in the ingredient list. This food flavoring is extracted from the castor sac scent glands, located between the anus and genitalia, of male and female adult beavers. It has been used for over 80 years in both foods and beverages as a vanilla, raspberry and strawberry flavoring. The FDA says it’s GRAS, meaning it’s “generally recognized as safe.” You won’t see this one on the food label because it’s generally listed as “natural flavoring.” It’s natural all right AND DISGUSTING. My question is, “Who was the nutcake that looked at this by-product of slaughtered beavers, knowing its’ origin, took a bite and decided ‘This tastes like vanilla’ and was able to sell this to food processors as a NATURAL FLAVORING?” (More genius than nutcake, I suppose). AND, Ladies, it gets worse, this product is also used in perfumes… ANOTHER GREAT BIG, WHO KNEW???
21.
Joseph B. Turbeville | February 7, 2013 at 10:27 pm
BTW, Izze drinks taste great and are my favorite. It would be nice to know though, exactly what the “natural flavor” is … all other ingredients are listed by name. Hey, if it is castoreum, at least I know and would feel better about the product…as far as the vegans, however, I think they would be very displeased…just saying!!!
22.
The Savvy Sister | February 8, 2013 at 7:22 am
Thanks Joseph, for taking the time to enlighten us and nauseate us all at the same time.
23.
John Ellis | February 8, 2013 at 1:51 pm
What an interesting comment! I can’t believe there is much truth to it but interesting just the same. I seriously doubt there are enough beavers in the world to supply enough of any animal part for Izze, much less any other food with castoreum in it. I suspect most food additives are made from oil seeds, such as castor beans. I didn’t realize it was April first already!
24.
Whole Foods Market과 Starbucks에서 파는 탄산음료 IZZE « Memes from Korea | February 16, 2013 at 12:06 am
[...] 그 밖에도 뭔가 밝고, 긍정적이고, 건강한 느낌의 홈페이지와 제품 디자인을 통해 브랜드와 제품에 대해 큰 호감을 가질 수 있게 되었다. IZZE를 좋아한다는 미국의 한 블로거 언니도 IZZE에 대해 좋았던 점을 아래와 같이 이야기 하고 있었다.(Izze soda…too good to be true?) [...]
25.
The Savvy Sister | February 16, 2013 at 8:09 am
Thanks for your mention in your post. I do agree about even healthy drinks being unhealthy because of sugar whether it’s natural or high fructose corn syrup. My suggestion is to use Izzy as a “step down” drink to gradually curb your tastes so that you can eventually get to water, which is really what we should all be drinking.
When I like a little “treat” I will sometimes reach for one of these….but not as much as I used to
26.
Keldorai | March 4, 2013 at 1:34 pm
I had no idea about how healthier izze was when I first tried it. I’ve been lookin for alternatives to soda lately. Vitamin water was probably worse, but then I looked at izze soda, which tasted good enough to be any regular soda, and I was in a but of shock.
Now I just need a steady source of this stuff
27.
The Savvy Sister | March 4, 2013 at 1:44 pm
It’s def better than soda or sports drinks. they also have a product called izzyesque and it’s even healthier. Of course water is the ultimate health drink