-By Phil Lempert

Editor's Note: With over 40,000 products in the average supermarket, people don't have the time (or the money) to test every product on the shelves. So Phil Lempert does it for you. His consumer panel taste-tests and judges each product based on the following criteria:
1. (30 points) Taste: The most important attribute of any food.
2. (20 points) Value: Is it worth it?
3. (15 points) Health: Based on the nutritional information, is it nutritionally balanced?
4. (15 points) Ingredients: What's in it, how natural is it?
5. (10 points) Preparation: When applicable, how accurate or good are the directions?
6. (5 points) Appearance: Is it appetizing and does it resemble its photo or description?
7. (5 points) Packaging: Is it appropriate for the product and does it have any benefits such as resealability, added freshness, better storage, etc.?
Products that receive an 85 or above will be considered a hit, and those that receive 95 and above will be "rising stars."


Virgil's Diet Root Beer
There's no caffeine in this product, which is great. The flavor's great, too! Americans just love their soda and it's unfortunate that major soda companies are so far off-track from meeting consumers' taste and health needs. Virgil's Diet Root Beer contains no artificial sweeteners (they use Xylitol and Stevia) and does contain a perfectly tasty variety of herbs and spices. Our only concern is that the intense flavor might interfere with the flavors of some foods that you may be eating at the same time. No question that this particular soda would make the perfect root beer float! Different flavors available. Retails for $4.99–$5.99/4 bottles of 12 fl. oz.



Rocks and Rolls French Munching Cookies Raspberry Chocolate Chip
What first attracted us to this unique-looking cookie was its petite size and shape. One bite of these "French Munching Cookies" and you immediately taste raspberry, not sugar or the artificial flavors typical in other cookies -- a pleasant surprise for your palate, and also a pleasant surprise to see that these cookies are low-fat, low-sugar, and no cholesterol or dairy. Our only complaint is that once you open the package, there's no way reseal it --although we doubt there will be many of these original mini cookies left once you open the package! Available in other flavors. Retails for $3.99 for 10 oz.



Grandpa Po's Originals
"The Crunchy Popcorn Snack with Soybeans" that Grandpa Po has created makes us want to meet the ol' man and give him a pat on the back! While we are questioning the slogan on the package --"Better Than Food" --there is, however, no questioning this recipe for a great-tasting, healthy snack. The mix of organic popcorn and organic soybeans makes a great alternative snack food, and we love the resealable pouch. With just the right proportion of soybeans to popcorn, this product comes from a company that celebrates food. Hooray! Available in other flavors. Retails for $3.29–$3.49/5-oz. package.



Naturally Nora Surprising Stars Cake Mix and Frosting
Here are two new products that we had to review together, for obvious reasons ... let's just say "yum!" This cake mix and frosting combo make a very tasty cake with natural ingredients -- a great alternative to all those not-so-natural cake mixes out there. We like that the chocolate stars are already incorporated in the cake mix, but we are a bit concerned that the cake mix package is somewhat misleading; the image shows an already-frosted cake without "serving suggestion" printed anywhere on the package. The frosting package is not nearly so misleading as it shows a spatula loaded with frosting in front of the cake image, while the cake mix just shows a fork full of frosted cake. Top line is that this is a tasty, moist and yummy product. But remember, before you grab that second helping, that each serving of this frosted cake is going to be about 500 calories, 67 grams of carbs and a whopping 45 grams of sugar! Available in other flavors. Retails for $3.29/21.3-oz. cake mix and $3.29/10.9-oz. frosting.



Wallaby Organic Creamy Australian Style Yogurt Strawberry Banana
This is a great new line of yogurts with a nice clean flavor, great mouth-feel, and no aftertaste at all. The strawberry banana flavor does not overpower the yogurt taste as so many of the flavored yogurts do. Don't expect any bright artificial colorings or flavorings here -- this is truly all-natural as yogurt should be. We love this product and we're also happy to see that they are saving wasteful packaging by not adding an extra plastic lid --the aluminum foil top is sufficient. If you like yogurt with active cultures that tastes like yogurt should ... buy this one! Available in other flavors. Retails for 99¢ for 6 oz.



Aristo Body and Mind Wellness Bar Acai-Blueberry and Lime With Chocolate
First, we have to say we love that this bar substantiates and explains the claims made on the package, and we were intrigued by the "Acai-Blueberry and Lime with Chocolate" flavor concoction, but sadly none of the flavors actually come through. However, like most nutrition bars these days, this product is dense and chewy, and consuming this bar of just 130 calories will satisfy most snacking appetites. Lastly, we love that this bar has 60 percent organic ingredients. Available in other flavors. Retails for $1.89/1.30 oz.



Fred
What is Fred? Who is he? And why should we care? Well, in this case, Fred is a water, but don't be disappointed, because he's got a lot going for him! We were first attracted to the simplicity of the package design, which reinforces what water should be --both the marketing concept and the packaging itself are "refreshing," if you'll forgive the pun. The bottle closely resembles a half-pint spirits bottle, and we can only expect refilled Fred bottles to be popping up at sports events and other parties, quickly becoming the new hip accessory. The "Natural Spring Water" in Fred is sourced from the Catskill Mountains in New York; some of the best-tasting spring water you can find, with the specific spring source printed on the back of the bottle -- we love it when consumers are given as much information as possible. Most people don't think there's much difference in the taste of water, but in fact, the taste can widely vary based on the soil and mineral content around the source. This water is crisp, tasteless and odorless -- as close to perfect spring water as you can buy. Retails for $1.59/20-oz. bottle. Also available in other sizes.



Funky Monkey Carnaval Mix
Over the last couple of years, lots of freeze-dried fruit had become available in individual serving packages like this one, but this is the first that understands that a bag containing one type of fruit can be dull. Funky Monkey Carnaval contains a satisfying, tasty mix of bananas, pineapple, apple, papaya and raisins that leaves your taste buds zinging. Just a few bites make us want to hop on the next plane to Brazil where this healthy snack originates. With no added sugar, no fat and no artificial anything, this product is a winner! Available in other flavors. Retails for $1.99–$2.49/1 oz.



Nui Kid Water Raging Red Flavor
This new kid's beverage claims to be "A Big Wave of Nutrition" with antioxidants, vitamins, electrolytes and fiber. It sounds great, but we have to say that no parent should be fooled by the claim that it contains "1/2 the sugar of apple juice" (and with ingredients like potassium hydroxide, we will run to the apple juice shelf). As the product is only 40 percent juice, it should really have 40 percent of the sugar content of apple juice, not 50 percent. There is an unappealing sediment in the bottle, and even though we love that it is sweetened with fruit juice and doesn't contain high-fructose corn syrup, and that 50 percent of profits go to children's charities, we're afraid no kid is going to drink this more than once. Also available in Purple Power and Outrageous Orange flavors. Retails for $1.39/10 fl. oz.


Philip Lempert has gained wide acclaim for his marketing savvy and broad experience. A distinguished speaker, exclusively represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau, he has addressed over 600,000 people over the past 10 years, and is a respected analyst with an uncanny ability to identify and explain trends to both industry and consumers in a thought-provoking and entertaining manner. To see more of Phil Lempert's Hits & Misses, click here. You can contact him directly at plempert@supermarketguru.com.