In today’s review I’m going to tell you about a product called Onward. It’s a product made by aspiring entrepreneur Rob Bailey, who with his wife Linn created the unique-looking supplement. In this in-depth review I’m going to tell you about my experience with this interesting drink. I’ll tell you what I personally used it for, and how it worked for me. I’ll then discuss the ingredients so we can kind of reverse-engineer this stuff and see exactly what the intended purpose of the product is. Of course I’ll talk about packaging, flavor, and then end with a final evaluation and award Onward it’s official BPW grade. Enough small talk. Let’s move ONWARD to the official review.
Onward came on my radar on Instagram (where else?) when I was doing my morning IG discovery. It never ceases to amaze me how Instagram has a strange knowledge of exactly what I’m interested in. Anyways, I was browsing through and I see something that catches my eye. Why did it catch your eye Allie? Believe it or not, I’ve become so ingrained in supplement culture that I can identify a pre workout powder tub basically subconsciously. That’s either amazing, or sad. I can’t decide.
the Onward pic caught my eye because it really does have a distinct packaging setup. I’ll talk way more about that in a second, but first I want to give you a first-hand account of how the product tastes and performs. I think before I do that however, I need to kick things off with a sort of disclaimer. And this is going to be a common theme in this review- and this will lead to my overarching point that I want to make about this product. This is not a pre workout drink. It’s also not a fat burner. It’s also not a recovery drink. So what the heck is it? Well, that’s where I went to do some research while I waited for my product to arrive. According to the about video on the Onward website, this product meets the needs of folks who, live normal but a little bit more. I know. Not super clear what that means. But from what I gathered from the video, this product would mostly serve as an immune system support drink, possibly with some energizing effects. With that in mind- I figured out the perfect way to bench test this product.
Onward Drink Flavor Grade: 8.4
Before I discuss if Onward works- I have to tell you a bit about how the product tastes. I ordered the ‘berriade’ flavor of the Onward drink. To my knowledge this is the only flavor available, and it’s actually ok. I really like the name, and was expecting some sort of, well, berry flavor. What I noticed first was that the product really is quite sweet. The artificial sweeteners are very noticeable, and do a nice job of making the product drinkable and pleasant going down. The taste itself is not very authentic of a berry taste. It tastes strongly of artificial blueberry and raspberry- possibly with some artificial cherry as well. I’m giving it an average ‘B’ grade because I did like it, but was expecting just a little bit more. It could have been that the name set high expectations that didn’t quite live up to, or maybe it’s just that I’ve tried so many delicious supplements like Pre Jym that this one couldn’t match up. Onward tastes pretty good- but how does it perform?
Onward Drink Performance/ Does it Work? 8.0
I drink Onward about a half hour ago. I’m on a plane coming back from a super fun weekend visiting a friend that I haven’t seen in a long time, and, as Rob Bailey would say, I lived a little bit more this weekend. I worked out hard, I went out every night, and didn’t get a ton of sleep. I had so much fun, but can tell that my body is not really happy with me right now. It never ceases to frustrate me how I can treat my body with so much care during the week only to hang it out to dry on the weekends. Literally to dry- alcohol dehydrates the crap out of you! But I’m glad that I bought some Onward for this trip because it was a fantastic trip to test it on.
I took Onward every morning when I woke up, and also every night before I went to bed. I guess to be blunt I took Onward as an attempted hangover cure. So did it work? I guess I don’t even know. I wasn’t sick at any point…so I guess that’s something. I was still feeling pretty run-down and hungover each morning, but there is no ‘magic bullet’ in my experience that can fix the effects of having a little too much fun the night before. Time, Tylenol, and sleep are the only things that work for me. And burritos.
Onward might have helped me feel a bit more alert and capable in the mornings. Come to think of it, I was actually quite productive helping my friend volunteer at our friends produce stand at market. I actually went for a decent run on Saturday afternoon as well. Overall not too shabby considering I had just a tiny bit of sleep.
My favorite thing about Onward, however, isn’t about energy, hangovers, or immunity. It’s about mood. I snuck a peek at the Onward supplement facts panel before the flight and immediately got a bit giddy. Because as I sit here now writing this post, I have a really nice little cocktail of nootropics powering my synapses and helping me think clearly and efficiently. Can’t you tell that this review is even more well-written and clear than some of my others? Sure you can. Because Onward is doing a fantastic job of keeping me focused and on track. For those of you who don’t know- a nootropic is a class of drugs or supplements that are designed to support memory, cognition, and focus. Basically these are brain supplements. And if you blog, study, read, memorize, or do anything that requires more brainpower than horsepower, chances are you might benefit from a nootropic. I’ve tried several stand-alone nootropic products and think that Onward actually holds it’s own as an effective focus-enhancer. Let’s look at the supplement facts and see what’s in this product that provides these effects.
Onward Supplement Facts and Formula Grade: 8.0
Here are the main ingredients in Onward:
- Vitamins A, B, C, D, H, K, E
- L-Taurine
- L-Glutamine
- L-Tyrosine,
- Caffeine
- Echinacea
- Noopept
I’m giving Onward a B because it’s very disjointed and doesn’t seem to have a clear goal. It’s got vitamins on vitamins on vitamins. And then it’s got some aminos and the nootropic support ingredients. The product has enough caffeine to pick you up. The main ingredients in the formula are taurine, tyrosine, vitamin-C, and the aforementioned caffeine. Glutamine is also a feature ingredient in the nearly 5g proprietary main blend. So we have vitamins, a key muscle recovery amino, a bunch of cognitive and adrenal supporting aminos in tyrosine and taurine, and then caffeine. And then noopept which is the primary nootropic. I just don’t understand really what the purpose of the product is. There’s not enough kick from caffeine to make it a pre workout. I guess there’s a broad enough spectrum of vitamins in here to make it a sort of half-baked multivitamin. And I guess there’s enough noopept to make it an ok nootropic. But you see what the problem is here? I would never buy this to take as a multivitamin. Or an immunity enhancer.
Onward Packaging Review: 9.6
Drumroll please! Time to give some credit where credit is due. The packaging of Onward is simply brilliant. I don’t care that it’s an average performing product, or that the formula is a kitchen sink without a purpose. This packaging is pure gold. You know enough from reading my other reviews that I’m an absolute packaging stickler, and all too often this section is my way to vent my life frustrations on a poor lowly supplement package designer. But not today. Onward packaging is beautifully original, stunning in how daring and against the grain it is. You will find almost no hint or clue as to what the product does on this package. You also can’t even read what the product name is. But I don’t care one bit. I have such an emotional reaction to this design that I swear to you, it makes the product more effective. The red is used so tastefully, and is so artistically overlayed on the background black and white graphic. Pure brilliance.
Onward Supplement Value and Final Score: 8.0
- Onward Drink Flavor Grade: 8.4
- Onward Drink Performance/ Does it Work? 8.0
- Onward Supplement Facts and Formula Grade: 8.0
- Onward Packaging Review: 9.6
- Onward Value: 7.8
There are things that I like about Onward. It’s packaging is magnificent. The flavor is actually quite pleasant. The cognitive benefits are evident, though not fantastic. This product, and entrepreneurial story may have an unfortunate end. Because I just don’t know WHO is going to buy it. Someone looking for a pre workout will get a pre workout. Someone looking for Airborne will get Airborne. Someone looking for a multivitamin will get a multivitamin. People won’t know that they want some sort of hybrid medley of things. And there aren’t that many people who live Rob Bailey’s ‘more’ lifestyle and would even need such a product. If you are convinced that you do, and are looking for an interesting new vitamin drink to try, and have $50 worth of interest in it, then give Onward a try.
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