POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice Product Review

November 8, 2008 · 13 comments

I was recently sent a case of POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice by Andrea, the POM Blogger. As I always do I made clear that I would be happy to receive the juice as long as she understood my review would be an honest one. If I didn’t like it, I would say so. And of course she insisted that I do no less, which I always like to hear from my sponsors (other than providing the juice POM Wonderful has not paid for this post in any way.)

Before I get to my thoughts on the juice I would like to share some general information about POM Wonderful and pomegranate juice in general.

A Little History
Here are some tidbits about pomegranates you may not have known:

Pomegranates are one of mankinds earliest cultivated fruits.
Man first began planting pomegranate trees sometime between 4000 B.C. and 3000 B.C.
Throughout history, the pomegranate has been revered as a symbol of health, fertility and rebirth.
Some cultures also believed it held profound and mystical healing powers.
The appeal and medicinal properties have also made it the subject of myths, epics and works of art, from Raphael and Cezanne to Homer and Shakespeare.

The Science
POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice is the only juice whose health benefits are backed by $25 Million in Medical research. Patients who participated in published clinical studies experienced significant improvement in heart, prostrate & erectile health after drinking eight ounces of POM Wonderful 100 Pomegranate Juice daily.

The Juice
It’s clear to me that POM Wonderful is differentiating themselves from other pomegranate juices on the market by showing how their juice is 100% authentic pomegranate juice made from only the “Wonderful” variety of pomegranate, which is the only variety that has the proven health benefits stated above. They state that they are the only brand guaranteed to contain 100% authentic pomegranate juice and their juice is all-natural and contains no added sugars, preservatives, colors or cheap filler juices. In addition they claim that other juices that state they are 100% pomegranate juice may not actually be so, because their juice comes from Iran or Turkey, where independent test labs have shown their juice contains fillers. Pom Wonderful juice is grown in the good old U S of A, in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

My Product Review
Trust me when I say I really wanted to like POM Wonderful. By engaging with me as they did they are practicing exactly what Gary Vaynerchuk told us the other day in the video of his that I shared - work the room with brand marketing Web style. POM Wonderful can engage directly with hundreds or even thousands of bloggers, and tens or hundreds of thousands of readers, for a pittance of what they would pay for a page advertisement in a magazine. And those online articles LAST FOREVER!

But here’s the thing: I didn’t like the juice. I’m not saying you still shouldn’t drink it for it’s heath benefits and that you shouldn’t try it for yourself, because you should, but I’m just telling you, I didn’t like it.

I loved the cute little bottles. My 10 year old daughter packed one in her lunch one day (she didn’t like it either). I love the idea of a healthy pomegranate juice. I love the company, from what little I have interacted with it so far.

Why didn’t I like the juice? Two reasons. First, it’s way too tart for me. I saw on the web that some people cut it with Concord Grape juice to sweeten it up a little bit and while I did not try that I can see how that would have helped. Second, it has 150 calories for an 8 ounce bottle. For me, on my journey from fat to fit, I need to savor every calorie I consume and I can’t be drinking 150 calories in 8 ounces of juice.

So, I won’t be drinking any more pomegranate juice but I encourage you to read up on the benefits and go buy a bottle for yourself - perhaps it will be just the thing you are looking for.

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{ 12 comments }

Sadie November 8, 2008 at 9:45 pm: I haven’t tried the juice yet, but I love the fruit. I just did a post about them last week. They are tart, but I think that’s why I like them. Since I’ve given up sugar, I’ve found that when I *do* eat things that are sweet, I find them *too* sweet, so I like the tarter things now.

You know, that actually makes sense. I’ve probably been eating too much sugar and my taste buds are rebelling against the tartness.
Mr. Meltdown November 9, 2008 at 12:02 am: Wow John! I agree that 150 calories is way too many for just an 8 ounce serving size. I tried that stuff a while back and yes it doesn’t taste great I admit. But I think most people drink it for the health benefits. If it promotes a healthier heart and prostrate I am all for it. I wonder if they sell a fat free bottle. I think you forgot to add that it is very expensive. If I remember correctly I think I saw ½ gallon for around $9.00 in my local grocery store. Before you ask me John, yes I am serious $9.00 lol

Oh yea before I forget thanks the site is back up!! I just fixed the problem.

Yeah, I didn’t mention price because I really didn’t know how much it cost - but it isn’t surprising if it is expensive. Truly considering the health benefits it could be worth it.

Glad you got the site fixed, I was worrying about ya!
Levi November 9, 2008 at 11:39 am: I haven’t tried POM Wonderful, but I had a couple random brands of 100% pomegranate juice, and I didn’t like any of them. It was a lot like cranberry juice - not very exciting.

They weren’t bad, but they just weren’t as good as I hoped.

About the only time I have Cranberry juice is when I am flying, then I usually get CranApple juice, but man they have a lot of sugar too. I just can’t be drinking much in the way of fruit juice, although if they really are as good as they say maybe I should be not worrying about the calories.
Cynthia November 9, 2008 at 8:31 pm: I just never see why people want to go for a product instead of simply buying a pomegranate and eating it. It’s like buying orange juice instead of eating oranges. Only you get a lot more calories per serving.

It’s great that they are not adding fillers or sugars, but it’s still juice. And no fiber to go with it.

I’ve had whole pomegranate, it really isn’t the easiest thing to eat - weird texture. Plus not the easiest to get to the fruit, either. So I can see the benefit of juice in that sense. If you believe the health benefits, better to drink the juice than not have it at all.
Merry Mary November 11, 2008 at 9:40 pm: Very interesting review. Every time I see this stuff at the grocery store I have been curious about it but never took the time to investigate further. So thanks for posting… I might try it!

I think you absolutely should try it!
Georgie Girl November 15, 2008 at 3:17 am: I tried it awhile back and determined it wasn’t really great tasting. It’s not something I can guzzle… it’s more like sip… sip… sip. That’s a good thing, considering how many calories are in one serving. However, I sorta like eating a pomegranate. It can be very messy, but it tastes a whole lot better than the juice.
Jules November 18, 2008 at 9:39 am: For what it is worth MarXana Brand Foods is new on the scene and produces one of the healthiest pomegranate reduction sauces on the market. Everything you can do with Pom you can do with these products. Not only that the recent ORAC value, independent lab tested ant-oxidant value is superior to anything on the market. 7,000 units per gram. It contains 60 calories per tablespoon of which only one to two teaspoons is all that is needed to add to a 6 oz. liquid drink or food. It is being sold in upscale stores and on the http://www.marxanabrandfoods.com website.
Brad November 26, 2008 at 2:26 pm: I drink the POM Wonderful Pomegranate Blueberry. I like it. It is very tart, but that’s cool with me. It’s best if you put it in the freezer and let it get very very cold.

You know, I can see where the freezer trick would work - I should have tried that myself.
Kevan January 25, 2009 at 1:34 am: It is rather tart, but it’s an excellent juice for use in smoothies. It provides an extra punch, a beautiful pink color, and tons of extra antioxidant benefits over other filler juices!
meee January 25, 2009 at 2:17 am: I just bought the exact same bottle and i agree it’s not very good to my tastebuds. But i think i gulped a few drinks of it while telling myself “it’s good for you! “
Niki March 28, 2009 at 10:21 am: I really liked the taste of the Pom Juice .I also love tart tasting foods .So I do agree if you hate the tart this juice may not be for you . Im a nightshift nurse and love how it gives me a boost of energy in the wee morning hours between 2-4 am. Its better than those other energy drinks and it has health benefits that wont in the end let you crash like other drinks . Im so for the pom juice .
Vladi August 27, 2009 at 3:58 am: The interesting thing about about Pom Wonderful is that even though its “100% real juice” its still from concentrate. I myself love the pomegranate fruit itself. Peel the entire fruits and just eat the seeds. True, they are more on the tart side rather than the sweet, but grab a few handfuls of the seeds and you will love it. The only real natural juice I like is Simply Apple, now thats something that really is worth the buck. Pom Wonderful simply advertises that it does contain 100% real pomegranates, but in their actual mixture there is probably 10% of the juice itself, the rest added is “other natural flavors”