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I must say every time I leave Brazil, even though I don't really enjoy the country that much, I REALLY miss Guaraná LOL. It's so much better than any other soda
by doodlesdev 4y ago
I must say every time I leave Brazil, even though I don't really enjoy the country that much, I REALLY miss Guaraná LOL. It's so much better than any other soda, specially in the US where Coke has something like 5 tons of sugar per milliliter. I often wonder why the national companies haven't managed to widely export these or produce them elsewhere, I think a lot of people would really enjoy it.
Meanwhile Coca-Cola has made their own version of Guaraná called Kuat [0], but it's mehh at best, I seriously hope it doesn't mess with outsider's perception of the drink. They then created yet _another_ soft drink with Guaraná under the Fanta brand [1], that one is better IMO but a lot of people don't like it too. Wonder what's so different between those recipes.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuat_(drink) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuat_(drink)
[1]: https://the-soda.fandom.com/wiki/Fanta_Guarana https://the-soda.fandom.com/wiki/Fanta_Guarana
- s5300 4y agoDo you have any experience with BAWLS (guarana) & how it compares to what you get in Brazil?
- doodlesdev 4y agoUnfortunately never tasted it, seems like it's also pretty hard to find nowadays. Next time I hop in the US I might take the plunge and order it from their online store LOL. Something I do know is that Guaraná soft drinks generally have really low caffeine amounts (they have less than 0.5% of the composition as actual Guaraná extract), meanwhile Brawl is highly caffeinated, not sure if added or just a higher concentration of Guaraná.
- gota 4y agoCoca-cola has acquired one of the most prominent regional variations (as mentioned below by tambourine_man) - Guaraná Jesus It's pink, tastes like bubblegum and sweeter than other Guaraná sodas I've tasted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaran%C3%A1_Jesus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaran%C3%A1_Jesus Edit: the can depicted in the Wikipedia picture is not the design I like and am familiar with: https://www.sucos.com/artikel/guarana-jesus/ https://www.sucos.com/artikel/guarana-jesus/
- bananamerica 4y agoGuaraná Jesus is largely a novelty in most of the country, and don't even register as worthy of mention. It is funny to have a soda named *Jesus ".
- jrumbut 4y agoI was just looking to try this soda and it looks like regular Guarana has almost exactly the same amount of sugar as a Coke. If anyone is interested in other sodas I recently had the chance to try Materva, a yerba mate soda, and I would recommend it if you can find the sugar free variety or have room in your life for a sugary treat.
- doodlesdev 4y agoIn which country? Coke has different amounts of added sugars in between regions to adapt to regional tastes. AFAIK the United States is the one with the most sugar, although don't quote me on that.
- jrumbut 4y agoBoth versions I checked were in the USA, but the Guarana page was in Portuguese so it may be the version in Brazil.
- wil421 4y agoWow! Almost everything has more sugar in America/North America except Thailand Sprite. https://www.actiononsugar.org/media/actiononsugar/news-centre/surveys-/2015/International-Drinks-Data.pdf https://www.actiononsugar.org/media/actiononsugar/news-centr...
- jrumbut 4y agoBy the way I got a chance to try the soda, it's very good!
- crazygringo 4y agoI was going to say. Americans have a sweet tooth but Brazilians are the world champions of adding sugar. Only place I've ever been where it's considered perfectly normal to add sugar to your orange juice in the morning. Guaraná is definitely just as sweet as American sodas. I personally find it too sweet because it doesn't have as much acid balancing it that Coke does.
- 4y ago
- crazygringo 4y agoI think it's just that it occupies the same "place" as lemon-lime soda (Sprite, 7-Up) in other countries like the US. It's the main "fruity" alternative to Coke. Obviously guaraná and lemon-lime taste different, but you don't really need both in the same market. Just one main fruity non-cola. (I'm speaking from the perspective of product lines of course. I totally realize individual consumers may prefer guaraná over lemon-lime or vice-versa.)
- marcosdumay 4y agoGuaraná is more of a direct competitor to Coke, it's not a "fruity" (if you want to call lemon by that) option at all.
- crazygringo 4y agoThat what I meant by alternative. In the US if you go to an event and there are two sugary sodas they'll probably be Coke and Sprite. In Brazil they'll be Coke and Guaraná. And Guaraná is a lighter fruit flavor. As is lemon-lime. Coke is not -- it's a harsher, more intense flavor.
- MichaelZuo 4y agoIsn't Crush a popular drink too?
- marcosdumay 4y agoCoca Cola brought Crush and shut it down some 30 years ago. Some times try to get some market back in one city or another by using the brand again, but I know of no place where it lasts.
- MichaelZuo 4y agoHuh? Crush has been made by the Keurig Dr. Pepper / Pepsico groups for several decades now.
- alister 4y ago> I often wonder why the national companies haven't managed to widely export these or produce them elsewhere The reverse is true as well. Some popular soft drinks in the USA are unknown in Brazil -- such as root beer, Dr Pepper, and cream soda.[1] I think guaraná would be a success in the US and root beer could be a success in Brazil too. My assumption is that nobody wants to spend the money to create the market in a new country unless they're going to have a monopoly for at least awhile. But nobody own the flavors of guaraná and root beer, or even those names. After you've spent all the money to educate the public, some established domestic company would swoop in and take the market away from you. [1] http://brazilsense.com/index.php?title=Common_in_the_USA_and_Canada_but_rare_in_Brazil http://brazilsense.com/index.php?title=Common_in_the_USA_and...
- FoomFries 4y agoGuarana flavored soda is the original flavor of Bawls energy drink, based in the US. Pretty tasty.
- joshspankit 4y agoHow I first learned about Guarana, and Bawls had something that still outshines everything else since.
- wirrbel 4y agoas a German who LOVES root beer, it is kind of an acquired taste and most of the friends I introduced to root beer don't like it. You can actually buy root beer in larger supermarkets here but there isn't a guarantee that its in stock always and I am sure its a low sales volume item). So IMHO root beer has its market share in the US because it got popular at a time when there wasn't such a great variety in sugary drinks, kind of a founder effect, and that is not replicated in a different market, as competition is hire so people don't get to drink the 3-4 cans of root beer that I guess are necessary to get hooked.
- elondaits 4y agoAs an Argentinian who LOVES root beer (and Dr Pepper, and Guarana) I agree. Enough people like Guarana in Argentina, but I don't imagine root beer succeeding. Weirdly, a mate-based soda is super popular in Germany, but when we had a (different) mate-based soda in Argentina it came and went very quickly.
- mc32 4y agoGUS soda available in many supermarkets is not as sugary as most other brands, if you’re looking for dryer soda pop.
- rodrigodlu 4y agoKuat today is full of sugar and added caramel, to be cheaper and compete with smaller brands. Fanta is trying to compete with Antarctica (that is from AmBev). I'm buying Fanta because it's cheaper than Antarctica. 2L pet bottle is here: R$ 3.99 Kuat R$ 5.99 Fanta Guaraná R$ 7.99 Antarctica In US$ it's about 0.79 1.20 1.60