Ribena Plus

I was recently given the opportunity to try the new Ribena drinks. Growing up, I lived on Ribena...so it was just as well that my Dad worked for Glaxo, who merged with Smith-Kline Beechum who made it, and we got it at a very low price from the staff shop. I drank loads of it but as I grew older, I did move onto other things (you've not lived until you've had lemon Fanta)! I still buy the odd carton when out for myself or even for Moo so I was delighted to be offered the chance to try their new range.

I remember when Ribena launched 'Toothkind' and I wasn't a fan, it had a very funny after-taste and I was used to the original formula. Ribena Plus is a similar product in that it's target is children and is a healthier version of juice drinks with no added sugar but extra calcium/vitamins, promoting oral health and strong bones.

As parents we know that it can be liquid gold but if it doesn't taste nice, good luck getting it down that little one's neck. Moo literally hands things back to me and tells me they're 'nasty' if she doesn't like it. So how does it fair taste-wise? Well, I was sent three flavours; summer fruits, raspberry and apple as well as peach and apple. I couldn't drink the latter because anything peach makes me ill, even the smell makes my eyes water, so I let Moo have them as she's only a month shy of three (they're not recommended for the under threes, as are most juice drinks). I let her have them with food, which is the rule in our house, and she seemed to really enjoy them. When I asked her if it was nice, she said yes and continued to drink from the carton...I'm not going to get much more from an almost-three-year-old if I'm honest. She asked for another the next day so obviously it was a pleasant flavour to her palette.

I tried the apple and raspberry as well as the summer fruits which are both flavours that I would generally buy anyway when it comes to juice drinks and I liked both, apple and raspberry being my favourite. Both had the sweetness of fruit without being too sickening and you could taste the flavours rather than just a sweetness that you get with some drinks. Chilled, both flavours were refreshing in the middle of the day and with food and I'd be happy for Moo to have them though the carton size is a little on the big size for toddlers, these are more an ideal size for school lunch boxes.

All in all I was very impressed with Ribena Plus, I thought they were thirst-quenching and tasted nice with no lingering aftertaste that a lot of low/no sugar drinks have. The one thing that did make me feel a bit uncomfortable was the ingredient 'aspartame' which has been linked with medical problems and had a lot of bad press. Because of the amount of artificial sweeteners within the product, I would limit Moo to having these only on special occasions but I certainly wouldn't be out off letting her have them completely.

Ribena Plus comes in four flavours (the three mentioned above and red apple) and can be bought from most supermarkets in Carton multi-packs.

Clare

The Ribena Plus cartons were provided to me for the purpose of review via BzzAgent, all opinions are my own.