One thing we learned a couple years ago (when our daughter was still in kindergarten) is she performs better at school when she has a decent breakfast. So, when she started the second grade a couple weeks ago, we made sure to buy the things we needed to provide that for her.
One of the items we ended up buying was a container of orange juice from the Wal-mart Great Value brand. Under normal circumstances, we probably wouldn’t have even considered this brand because, even though our daughter likes orange juice, she is a bit particular about the brands she actually likes to drink. And, considering what I said before about making sure she eats a good breakfast, we normally wouldn’t risk a new brand. However, money was a bit tight at the time we made this purchase and staying within our budget ultimately made the decision for us.
Unfortunately, this is one time taking a risk like that did not pay off.
Our first concern when we purchased this product was we weren’t sure whether or not it was pulp free (our daughter hates orange juice with a lot of pulp in it). Fortunately, it was. However, when it came to taste, this left a lot to be desired.
I personally don’t like orange juice (which usually surprises people because I do like oranges) and, when I tasted this, I did so knowing I wouldn’t like it regardless. But, even with that in mind, I thought it had a strange flavor to it.
I wasn’t alone in this. Our daughter, who, as I said before, loves orange juice, doesn’t drink this nearly as fast as she drinks other brands. She does drink it. But, she obviously doesn’t enjoy it as much. My wife also tried this orange juice and shared my opinion of the flavor. As she described it, it didn’t taste like orange juice. Instead, she believed it tasted like “fermented grapefruit juice.”
Even though I do appreciate the fact Wal-mart has an affordable brand like this, I personally feel this will be the last time we buy Great Value Orange Juice. The savings was pretty significant. But, I also feel we had to sacrifice quite a bit to get that savings. The next time we buy orange juice for our daughter’s breakfasts, we are going to stick to our regular brands; even if it means spending a bit more money.