Revive Superfoods Review

Revive Superfoods is a Canada-based company offering home delivery of frozen, single-serving smoothie and meal cups made with nutritious, plant-based ingredients. The menu contains a variety of items including smoothies, oat cups, soups, plant-based legumes, and grain cups, as well as falafel pops. Expect to see superfood ingredients such as dragon fruit, seaberry, aloe vera, spirulina, and acai mixed with other fruits and vegetables in the smoothies. All of the cups are 100% plant-based.

To determine if Revive Superfoods is right for you, we've outlined how the service works, what it offers, and our experience after ordering, preparing, and tasting a selection of items.

Learn More: Read Our Full Methodology

How It Works: Select Your Options

To sign up for Revive Superfoods, customers first need to select a weekly or monthly subscription; the weekly subscription can include 9, 12, or 24 cups per week, whereas the monthly plan has 12 or 24 cups per month. Once a plan is selected, customers simply pick and choose any mix of items to fill up the box. Then pick a delivery day from two to four options and check out.

Choosing Meals: Fill Up Your Virtual Box

Menu categories for Revive Superfoods include Smoothies, Oats, Supermeals, Soups, Frozen Desserts, Bites, and Açai Bowls. Smoothies are primarily fruit-based but also contain interesting combinations such as blueberry & cacao with kale, avocado, maca, sunflower seeds, banana, date, pea protein, non-alcoholic vanilla, and Himalayan sea salt. Nearly every smoothie contains some type of “superfood” ingredient and organic ingredients are labeled as such. Oats can be eaten as overnight oats or heated on the stovetop. All smoothies, oats, and soups require the addition of a liquid of your choice, while supermeals are just heated as is, either in the microwave, on the stovetop, or in the oven.

Pricing and Plans

Revive's pricing will depend on what you order. You’ll start by selecting a box of either nine, 12, or 24 items, then simply fill it with your choice of menu selections. Per-item pricing is as follows:

• Oats: $6.99
• Smoothies: $6.99
• Açai Bowls: $6.99
• Bites: $6.99
• Soups: $6.99
• Frozen Desserts: $7.99
• Supermeals: $8.49

What We Made

We chose a small box of nine items as a weekly subscription and chose a mix of options from each meal category.

• Hazy Cocoa smoothie 
• Pink Dragon smoothie 
• Acai Twist smoothie 
• Chipotle and black bean supermeal 
• Lentil and sundried tomato supermeal 
• Avocado and quinoa supermeal 
• Chickpea and pomegranate supermeal 
• Guajillo tortilla soup 
• Artisan bean and tomato soup

Support Materials: Minimal

The only support materials in the shipping box were a sticker on the box that included a list of the items included, instructions printed on the box on how to dispose of dry ice, and a single large “Thank You” postcard with a complimentary reusable metal straw. Since the meals are simple to prepare and heat, we found any necessary storage or preparation instructions printed on the cups themselves. However, we could have used some recommendations on what to pair with some of the items that were incomplete on their own. We did find a company blog that has some additional tips and tricks for a selection of recipes, but you have to look through the blog archives to find what you want and there isn't a blog entry for every item.

Packaging: Could Be Improved

When we received our box, the dry ice had completely evaporated and the ingredients in the cups had considerably thawed. The box looked like it had not been carefully handled and one cup inside was also partially bent, making it hard for the cap to stay on (however, due to the tight film seal, the contents did not spill out). All of the cups were loosely packed in a large plastic bag that had to be cut open—this part was not very user-friendly or enjoyable to open. The cardboard box and dry ice liner are fully recyclable, but the cups themselves are made from 35% post-consumer recycled fiber and may only be curbside recyclable in some locations.

In total, there were 34 pieces of packaging in our Revive order. Of those 34 pieces, 24 were eligible for recycling either curbside or at a special facility. The remaining 10 pieces, however, had to be thrown in the trash.

The Cooking Process: Easy but Not Foolproof

The instructions on each cup are very simple and straightforward. Smoothies simply require the user to fill up the smoothie cup three-quarters of the way or all the way with a liquid of choice and then transfer the contents to a blender. Supermeals can be transferred to a microwave-safe bowl or non-stick pan for the stovetop and heated for 2-4 minutes. Soups require the addition of a cup of liquid and then can be heated in the microwave or on a stovetop. Oats can be soaked overnight or heated before eating. Bites can be either microwaved or baked until warm, and Frozen Desserts and Açai Bowls are ready to eat after a few minutes of thawing.

However, because our cups were thawed and then refrozen, the items had clumped together and the smoothie cups were very hard to blend without allowing them to partially thaw and break up first. Additionally, the Supermeals and soups required additional cooking time to properly heat through. It's likely that if the items had arrived frozen and were broken up more within the container, there would have been more surface area when heating and it would have been ready in the time suggested. Similarly, the smoothie cups would have been easier to blend.

We also found some inconsistencies with smoothie textures and oats; one smoothie was too thin and one was too thick with the amount of liquid suggested, so we needed to adjust accordingly. The overnight oats were much too liquidy to consume the next day, but once heated they came together.

Flavor, Freshness, and Quality: Inconsistent

The flavor of the items we tasted overall was mixed. Some had a good balance of flavor, but we also found some to be too sweet and others to be muddled. The supermeals, for example, were lacking in both flavor and texture, and they weren't quite substantial enough to eat on their own. We thought they needed to be combined with another side dish or protein to meet the description of a “supermeal.”

Nutritional Value: Plant-Based and Low Calorie

All of the items on Revive Superfoods are 100% plant-based, so they're great for those following vegan and vegetarian diets or anyone who is lactose intolerant. Many items are also gluten-free, but the facility processes other products with gluten and there would be the potential for cross-contamination. Many items are also paleo-friendly, depending on the ingredients.

Calories range from 120 to 260 per serving for smoothies, 250 to 420 per serving for the oat bowls, 80 to 270 per serving for the supermeals, 130 to 190 per serving for soups, and 90 calories for each falafel pop bite. Sodium levels are moderate and low relative to most meal delivery services. The carrot ginger soup contains 700mg of sodium but most items are well below this and all are high in potassium from the fruits and vegetables.

Revive Superfoods Is Good For

Revive Superfoods is great for smoothie lovers due to the variety of smoothies they offer as well as individuals who want a few extra freezer meals on hand for quick plant-based meals to supplement food prepared at home.

Revive Superfoods Is Not Good For

Revive Superfoods is not ideal for large households or families that want to use a meal delivery service for a week’s worth of complete meals. It is also not a recommended service for those who do not enjoy plant-based meals.

Add-ons: All A-La-Carte

Some meal delivery services will offer add-on items such as extra protein or a loaf of bread or even certain kitchen items related to the produce. As Revive Superfood’s entire menu is a la carte, there is no add-on section for this service. The only item that would fall into this category is a virtual gift card that can be purchased to send to a recipient over email.

Customer Service: Excellent

Customer service can be reached via phone or email. We sent an email at 11 p.m. about the thawed cups we received in our shipment and got a response 12 hours later. When we did not immediately respond, the customer care representative followed up again to assist and offered to send out an entire new box of items along with a $10 discount on a future order. We felt this was a great response and it was very easy to resolve the issue.

Making Changes and Canceling: Easily Done Online

All changes to existing orders or future deliveries can be made online. It is very easy to change cups in your order or skip future orders through the online portal. Customers are just asked to modify or cancel an upcoming order prior to the scheduled billing date, which is listed in account preferences. The deadline to make changes to a delivery date is prior to the next scheduled payment shown on the account page. Once you sign on as a subscriber, you can access a calendar through the website and select any dates to skip.

Methodology

Our testers ordered from, cooked, and rated 40 different meal delivery services. We carefully scored each one based on meal selection, nutritional information, sustainability, and customer service, as well as the flavor, freshness, and quality of each meal and ingredient. Our Spruce Eats tester panel includes dietitians, chefs, and longtime food writers. The one thing they all have in common is their love and knowledge of food.