I’m not a big fan in spending $3-5 at Starbucks. I’m not the only one. Well-known personal finance guru David Bach has written a lot about the latte factor. Specifically he points out that people spend a thousand dollars a year or more on this coffee habit. He makes a strong argument that it’s why Americans have under-funded emergency funds, credit problems, under-funded retirement accounts, etc. Bach has realized that a lot of small expenses over time really do add up.

When you pay for coffee at Starbucks, you are also paying for the overhead that Starbucks has in running many stores and employing many baristas. You also pay for the experience of Starbucks which is greater than just coffee – it’s a comfy chair and nice music.

MonaVie does not have the overhead of running a store. It does not provide an experience beyond drinking juice in your home.

The great thing about coffee is that it can be made at home relatively cheaply for just a few cents for a large mug. MonaVie does not provide this relatively cheap option. One can clearly see these are not comparable.

I would also like to point out that MonaVie does not provide a thirst quenching replacement for another beverage. Thus people drinking MonaVie are likely also going to be spending an additional $3-5 at Starbucks anyway. Thus buying MonaVie adds a “Latte Factor” to people’s lives, without providing nutrition or quenching one’s thirst.. That seems like lose-lose-lose to me.

As far as the health goes, other beverages that are more healthy such as Welch’s Grape Juice avoid the latte factor and quench thirst. I see that as a win-win-win for consumers.

Originally posted 2010-04-25 09:51:15.

MonaVie says that it can’t disclose the amount of acai in it’s blend because it would be giving up a trade secret. In theory, someone else could use the information to help decode part of the MonaVie’s secret recipe.

One thing we do know, açai is the first ingredient on the MonaVie label. With 18 other fruits in the juice, there’s likely at least 5.3% açai. As a consumer, one should take a skeptical look with their money and not assume there’s any more than that. I don’t know anyone who drinks Coca-cola for health. They pay a small amount of money for the taste. The ingredients or secret recipe is not important to the value that one receives in buying Coke if they just want good taste. If MonaVie wants to bill itself as something that tastes great and price itself similar to Coke, I’m fine with that. If it wants to bill itself as a healthy beverage, it should have to show why it’s healthier than other competing beverages at less than 1/10th the cost (like V8 Fusion Açai Berry).

It is my belief that a premium price requires proof of a lot of premium ingredients. Is that what’s in MonaVie? Only MonaVie knows, and they aren’t saying.

Originally posted 2009-03-07 10:32:23.

In addition to these costs you want to either add shipping or a will charge price if you pick it up a distribution center (oh and gas to get to the distribution center).

Originally posted 2009-03-07 10:11:05.