Acai Berry Products – Some Reputable Some Not

According to a recent New York Times report there was an increase from 4 products in 2004 to 53 food & drink products in 2008 being introduced into the US marketplace. A market research company (Spins) looked at items containing acai as a foremost ingredient and suggest sales in the last year for these products surpass one hundred million dollars. Some products have found consumer favor while others have been a consumer nightmare.

Trying to stay away from the negative press that has recently been attached to some of the acai berry companies are celebrities like Oprah & Rachel Ray. Over the past few years they seem to have in some way or another found their names associated to the acai berry, but the use of their name by some questionable companies has prompted them both to publish statements on their websites indicating use of their name with these products is unauthorized.

One of the biggest complaints currently in the marketplace is with some of the online products being offered with free trials. Many of these companies take your credit card details before providing the free trial and if you don't contact them (which is often very difficult) to cancel after the trial, you receive monthly products along with credit card charges, sometimes over $80. A couple of the companies in the heat of these complaints are Acai Berry Maxx and Central Coast Nutraceuticals. Other consumer complaints include people who believe the marketing claims of some of the acai berry products are false and refunds are not being honored where promised. These complaints have certainly kept many Better Business Bureaus busy, however, on a positive note the BBB in Salt Lake City has acknowledged that Monavie, one of the more popular acai berry juices available, has been good at providing refunds when requested.

The flip side of the coin has the happy acai berry consumers, of which many profess great benefits. Monavie, as well as Sambazon are two very well know acai berry products that have a fairly strong following of very happy consumers. A massage therapist, Sarah Taylor, has used Sambazon acai powder for the last year and said after the first day she noticed an increased energy level and has been using it ever since. Commenting on some of her older clients that also drink acai she said "It is so exciting to watch people react to something so well".

Source: nytimes.com