This Is the Best Zero Sugar Drink, According to 40,000 People

We love it, we just love it, when we see a brand come back from the brink because people genuinely love it. In the last few years, that’s what’s happened with Clearly Canadian, a sparkling water company that suffered a huge decline in its fortunes throughout the 2010s, only to be brought back to life by a crowdsourcing campaign. You just can’t keep a good brand down, guys, and in the last couple of years, Clearly Canadian’s been back in business. 

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Now, the final jewel has been placed in the crown. The Product Of The Year awards have just named Clearly Canadian Zero Sugar as the best zero-sugar beverage you can buy today. Given that this was voted on by 40,000 people, we’d say you can trust it. 

The Underdog Fights Back

Clearly Canadian Zero Sugar, which can be found over on Amazon in Cherry, Blackberry, and Tropical Splash flavors, was the winner in the Product of the Year category after a pretty rigorous voting process. According to the awards’ official rules, products are first reviewed by a group of press and industry professionals, who confirm that the “innovation criteria” are met before they’re passed onto the public vote. Then, a group of 40,000 consumers pitches in to judge the eligible products by “product appeal, satisfaction, advocacy, purchase interest, uniqueness, relevance and excitement.” Excitement. We love that that’s a thing that people vote on. 

The Zero-Sugar Beverage category wasn’t the only one in which Clearly Canadian came out on top. The brand also won in the Healthy Beverage category for its Clearly Canadian Originals drink. Y’know, the one that comes in a glass bottle. Talk about a comeback story. This is a particular win for the company as the Product of the Year awards can lead to a big boost in sales, and given Clearly Canadian’s turnaround in its fortunes, it probably won’t complain about that one. 

The Winner Takes It All

This is the first year that the Product of the Year awards have included a Zero-Sugar Beverage category, making Clearly Canadian the inaugural winner. Last year, though, its Healthy Beverage winner was Summit Popz Prebiotic Soda, which was only available at Aldi – and the store did very well in this year’s stakes, too. Aldi won three Product of the Year awards this year, for its granola bites, milkshakes, and wine. 

As for the other winners this year, Eggo saw a victory in the Breakfast category for its Protein Waffles and Pancakes (we liked the former, but weren’t so impressed by the latter). Butterball’s Cook from Frozen Whole Turkey, meanwhile, took the top spot in the frozen entrée stakes. Check out the Product of the Year awards’ website for a full list of the items you should probably be buying this year.