NAKED JUICE

Hey All!
Kelly here!

I've begun taking notes when I visit the grocery store so that I can do the research on these companies and let you know at the end of this what products (ie. snacks, drinks etc) are "Kelly approved." I already have a pretty good list going, and I have a little free time since kids are either napping, playing with friends, or at school, so I decided to research the first company on my list: NAKED.

Now, you've heard of "NAKED juice," right? They're in the square bottles? 100% fruit and vegetables? Yeah, that one. Well, I just chatted with a Naked representative (hopefully she wasn't LITERALLY NAKED).

Here's my chat:

"Kelly: Can you tell me if the fruits and veggies you use are organic?
**Welcome to Naked Juice. Someone will be with you momentarily
Cathy has joined the session.
Cathy: Hi Kelly.
Cathy: I'm happy to chat with you today.
Cathy: Although some ingredients in Naked Juice are organic, our products are not certified as organic.
Kelly: Why is that? And, how do we know if what we're drinking has been genetically engineered?
Cathy: That's a good question, Kelly.
Kelly: Why spend the extra money using SOME organic ingredients if you're not going to go all the way?
Cathy: Sorry for the delay in my response.
Cathy: My computer is a little sluggish today.
Cathy: Back to your question...
Cathy: I can assure you that Naked Juice does not contain any genetically modified organisms (GMO's).
Kelly: That's good, but back to my question. WHY would Naked spend extra money on SOME organic ingredients, and not ALL of the ingredients?
Kelly: And, I didn't see anywhere on the website that said they don't use fruits and vegetables that contain GMOs."

Apparently she bailed on the conversation after that, so I don't know what to think. Here's the short version. You can read it and make the decision for yourself.

~Some ingredients in Naked juice are organic.
~Naked is not a certified organic product
~Naked does not contain GMOs (genetically modified organizms).

I decided that I should give chatting with Naked a second try since I didn't feel like my question was totally answered, so here's my second chat:

"Kelly: I'm wondering why Naked would use SOME organic fruits and vegetables, but not ALL organic fruits and vegetables.
**Welcome to Naked Juice. Someone will be with you momentarily
** Thank you for waiting. All of our representatives are still busy assisting other consumers. You are number 1 in line.
Margie has joined the session.
Margie: Hi Kelly!
Margie: That's a great question!
Kelly: Hey. was just chatting with someone, but our convo was cut short somehow.
Margie: I'm really sorry about that. Maybe there was a computer problem on our end.
Margie: I sincerely apologize.
Margie: To answer your question ~
Margie: Our products are not certified organic so we do not use all organic fruits.
Kelly: no prob. She also said Naked uses no fruits/vegetables that have GMOs. I didn't see anywhere on the website that mentioned no GMOs are used.
Kelly: My next question is this: WHY would Naked use ANY organic products if they weren't going to go all the way organic? To me, that doesn't make business sense since "regular" produce is cheaper.
Margie: I'm sorry that it's not on our website and I'll let our marketing gurus know you'd like to see it on there.
Kelly: I think that's important to know as a consumer! I think you'll find that more and more people are going organic because they are trying to get away from GMOs!
Margie: Actually, the following statement appears on our labels:
Margie: "While many ingredients do not exist in bioengineered varieties, Naked Juice does not use ingredients that were produced using biotechnology as a matter of principle."
Kelly: Well, that's great! I don't have a bottle in front of me, and I don't think the website says that anywhere! Weird!
Kelly: So, my second question? Why use ANY organic fruits/veggies (more expensive) if you're not going to go totally organic? To me, that doesn't make business sense.
Margie: Naked Juice ingredients are sourced from all over the world.
Margie: We work closely with our suppliers to ensure the safety of all of the materials we use to manufacture our products.
Margie: We use both domestic and imported fruit purees and juices.
Margie: Is there anything else I may help you with?
Kelly: So, then, I'm having to piece this together...Naked gets it's fruits/veggies from all over the world. They probably then just get whatever is ripe from wherever is ripe. If it happens to be from an organic farmer, then that's who they go with?
Margie: Another great question!
Margie: For example, some of our mango puree comes from Mexico and banana puree from Costa Rica.
Margie: Apple juice is from Oregon and we extract most of our own orange juice from domestic fruit, mainly from California.
Kelly: Right. So where does the organic farmer fit into all this?
Margie: While I'm not sure which organic farms/fruits we use, all suppliers, regardless of their location/country, must meet all applicable US food laws.
Margie: We also have an approved audit by PepsiCo our approved audit firm which includes all quality documents.
Margie: Please be assured that all incoming ingredients are tested prior to use at our plants.
Kelly: I'm sure they're safe to drink. The last lady told me that SOME of the ingredients are organic, and I am curious to know why any of them would be organic if Naked is not a certified organic company.
Margie: Our other representative was correct in what she told you. We purchase the best fruits that are out there and some may be organic at different times of the year.
Margie: We are not certified organic because our juices are not made with all organic fruits/vegetables.
Margie: I hope this information helped, Kelly.
Margie: Is there anything else I may help you with?
Kelly: Okay. I have one more question. Some of your products have dairy in them. Are the cows that milk is extracted from horomone free?
Margie: Let me get that information for you.
Kelly: thanks!
Margie: There is currently no way to test for the presence of BGH. Any of our products with dairy may be sourced from cows treated with BGH.
Kelly: Okay. Thanks for the information. For the record, cows treated with BGH have increased cysts, mastitis, lameness, skin disorders, and increased antibiotic use. And, in fact, many countries around the world have made the use of BGH illegal. Consequently, America has the highest cancer rate in the world.
Margie: I appreciate your feedback, Kelly.
Margie: Thank you.
Margie: I'll also pass that along to our team.
Kelly: Have a good one! Stay healthy!
Kelly: ...and thanks for the info!
Margie: Thank you! You too and thanks for chatting with us today!"

So, I'm going to say that overall, in the spirit of transparency, Naked is, well, NAKED! (wink, wink) I would say that their products that do NOT contain dairy would be "KELLY APPROVED!" Why? Because they told me there's no way to know if their dairy products have come from cows treated with BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone).

Hope you enjoyed your little Naked lesson for the day! (Haha! I just wanted to enjoy one last pun)

**Naked is owned by Pepsi Co.