SoBe V Water Low Cal 0% Sugar, Stevia Sweetened

Since I don't like the taste of plain water, I generally choose a no added sugar concentrate to add flavour to my cold drinks. However, if I’m out and about and need something thirst quenching, it's not always easy finding something that's sugar free.

I recently came across these flavoured waters called SoBe V Water. SoBe’s range of flavoured waters are also known as ‘functional drinks’. This generally means they’ve been enriched with various vitamins and minerals as well as certain herbal extracts to provide extra health benefits.

Normally I avoid these functional water drinks as they’re often loaded with sugar. However, I was happy to notice that this range of SoBe V Water drinks had 0% sugar and was naturally sweetened with Stevia extract.

I have come across SoBe V Water in the past but hadn't tried them because they had sugar in them. However, it appears that Britvic and PepsiCo have recently relaunched their range of SoBe V Waters using Stevia. So now you can find the whole range with 0% sugar.

The range includes:

• Shield (Lemon & Lime) with Vitamin C, Zinc & Echinacea
• Detox (Elderflower & Pear) with B Vitamins, Artichoke & Dandelion
• Vrroom (Tropical Citrus) with Vitamins C, D & E, Calcium, Zinc & Selenium
• Kick (Ginger & Mango) with Ginseng, Vitamins C, B3, 5, 6 & 12
• Glow (Pomegranate & Blueberry) with Zinc, Selenium and Vitamins E & C
• Forti-fight (Blackcurrant & Goji Berry) with Zinc & Vitamin C

Here’s an extract from Britvic:

Jon Evans, Head of Seed Brands at Britvic, comments:

“SoBe V Water offers consumers a great tasting low calorie drink with the added benefit of vitamins. Each individual flavour includes a mix of vitamins designed to suit every consumer, no matter their mood or need-state.
“Functional Water has been a star performer over the past year with sales of V Water growing by 152%*, however, we believe there is even more room for growth. That is why we are investing £5m in marketing the new SoBe V Water range, which our research shows will help extend the appeal of the brand and help grow the category.”

On this occasion I chose the Ginger & Mango flavour. This one is called ‘KICK’ and has just 10 calories per bottle. It's flavoured with natural ginseng and lime as well as natural mango. Vitamins include C, B3, B5, B6 and B12. According to the label it 'Helps reduce tiredness and fatigue. Supports energy production and helps normal mental performance.'

The ginger and mango is quite mild tasting but I can't really taste the ginger. It's also not quite as strong as I’d make myself, but definitely thirst quenching. A 500ml bottle is a lot and I only needed about half and saved the rest for later.

I’d definitely buy a drink from this range in the future. At a cost of £1.39 in the shop I bought it from, it’s not too high a price to put me off buying it. Plus it has advantages over other vitamin drinks such as being sugar-free and it's sweetened with Stevia, a natural, calorie-free, sugar alternative.

Nutrition information per 100ml: 2 calories, 0g protein, 0.1g carbohydrates, 0g sugars, 0.1g fat, trace saturates, 0g fibre, 0g sodium, 16mg Vitamin C, 4.0mg Niacin (B3), 0.56mg Vitamin B6, 0.25ug Vitamin B12, 1.2mg pantothenic acid.