Company: PepsiCo

RSP: £2.49

Market size: £1.8bn (juices and smoothies) 

The competition: Oasis, Capri-Sun, Innocent


The consumer
The images on the carton led me to expect a thicker fruit drink, but the black packaging is classy and has a great retro feel — I would definitely notice it in a supermarket. The taste is good, although perhaps a little tart, but it's certainly not significantly better than other, cheaper fruit juices on the shelf. If I were to pay £2.49 for a soft drink, I would expect something a little more exciting — this was good, but a bit pedestrian for the price. Three stars (out of five)
Jess Dowie, yoga instructor, London


The retailer
Tropicana has launched Tropicana Gold with the intention of tapping into the current trend of entertaining at home rather than going out. The premium packaging differentiates the drink from the standard range and the taste profiles hit the mark. The key to the success of this brand is capturing consumers trading down from smoothies and being prepared to pay the rsp of £2.49. Four stars
Peter Seabrook, trading manager, Musgrave Retail Partners


The Grocer
The packaging will certainly make this product stand out on the shelf — you don't see many fruit juices in black cartons. The juices are tasty, and the mixture of two or more very different fruits in each drink works well, in combinations you wouldn't normally see, such as mango and lime. But in this time of tightened purse-strings, splurging on a premium fruit juice may not appeal to the majority, and at £2.49 rsp, I'm not convinced shoppers will choose the range over regular Tropicana juice. Three stars
Nicolette Allen, food and drink reporter