Maybe They Should Have Picked A Different Name

My wife and I were at the grocery store the other day and I saw a new product that really made me think someone should have chosen another name. It was Ripple, a milk substitute. Of course, I thought of Ripple, the cheap, fortified wine that was so iconic back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I do believe it was almost listed as a character on Sanford and Son due to the number of times it was referenced in the show, though I could be mistaken.

Is this really the name one should have chosen for a milk alternative that is supposed to be healthy? Healthy is its whole schtick. Do thoughts of cheap, fortified wine jibe with that? It was so iconic that I doubt that no one will remember. This seems like a bad idea to me.

As part of a discussion on this, Steven Dunn mentioned that Red Bull faced a similar situation, having first been a malt liquor before being an energy drink.

[image error]

However, it does strike me that Red Bull is by no means supposed to be healthy. Further, it’s pretty heavily paired with alcohol too (Red Bull and vodka, Jägerbombs, and so on). I just don’t think the energy drink will hit the same issues from the malt liquor that a milk substitute would hit from a cheap, fortified wine.

Personally, I’d rather have the wine. (Yeah, I talked about this on Facebook already. Whatever.)