If you wondering whether Kencko smoothies are worth trying, you have come to the right place, because we have tested them, and we are going to spill the beans!
Kencko Smoothies are quite popular, however, it is important to know exactly what is in smoothies like these. When we make smoothies ourselves at home, we know what is going into them.
Overview
Kencko is one of the best choices for freeze-dried smoothie deliveries. They have a very wide range of organic smoothies, which only use vegetables and fruits.
These do not include any sweeteners or additives.
Pros
- A wide variety of flavors, with 20 flavors at the moment, and all new flavors are in constant rotation.
- Kencko offers free nutrition coaching sessions.
- A massive time-saving option in comparison to DIY making your smoothies.
- They are very environmentally friendly in terms of delivery services for food.
- Free nutrition coach sessions.
- Only use organic vegetables & fruits.
Cons
- Some flavors are a bit too potent.
- It is not a form of meal replacement!
- Consistencies are not as thick as a traditional smoothie.
What You Need To Know
If you are interested in Kencko, here is a bit more information for you before we get deep into our review.
Smoothie category:
- Smoothies.
- Vegetarian.
- Vegan.
- Gluten-Free.
Lowest Price:
- $2.50 per meal.
Where to find them: Kencko.com
For any more information, read on!
What Is Kencko? How Does Kencko Work?
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Kencko is not your traditional smoothie delivery service. Most would hesitate to try them as they are most often believed to be a supplement company.
However, as you look more into their service, you will realize that they are legitimately the creator of delivered smoothies. It is just not how we are used to smoothies. You see, they use a freeze-drying process with organic vegetables and fruits.
This gets crushed into a powder and mixed together to create your smoothie. You then later pour the smoothie powder into a shaker bottle, shake it up, and BAM, you have a smoothie. That’s simple!
What is most interesting about this is that only fruit or vegetables are used in the powders, which means that there are no natural flavors, preservatives, or colorings. Even more so, their website states that every smoothie packet has the same nutritional benefits as around 2.5 cups of fresh produce.
Freeze-Dried Vs Real
Freeze-drying food is nothing new, as it stands rudimentary freeze-drying is actually traceable back to the 15th century.
Freeze-drying is when food is dehydrated until it has little or no water in it, this helps it from spoiling. In times when refrigeration is not possible, freeze-drying is a good way to preserve food. Some freeze-dried goods can even last 25 years or so, but freeze-dried fruit can usually only last for 2 years or so.
This is why we often see freeze-dried food as being a long-life emergency food type.
While freeze-drying does make the food last for longer, it also manages to ensure that the food retains its nutritional properties.
It has been shown in research that although freeze-dried vegetables and fruits contain lower amounts of certain vitamins, they are also rich in antioxidants and fibers. The amount of nutrition lost from this process is actually pretty insignificant.
Subscription Plans
There are 3 subscription levels for Kencko, and each of these is on a subscription plan on a monthly basis.
- 20 Smoothies plan.
- 30 Smoothie plan.
- 60 Smoothie plan.
With these plans there is also no long-term commitment, meaning that you can cancel your subscription at any point if you want to.
Variety Of Smoothies
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The variety of smoothies available is where Kencko really stands out, their options are interesting and eclectic. Many of their flavors also focus on a wide variety of functional benefits.
Take a look at what they offer here:
| Name | Benefit | Ingredients |
| Blush | Get Glowing | Mango, strawberry, orange, carrot, papaya, beet, cayenne pepper, passionfruit, lucuma. |
| Corals | Performance | Apple, carrot, beetroot, ginger, mango, orange. |
| Crimsons | Brain Boosting | Banana, Acai, chia seeds, strawberry, cinnamon, mango. |
| Golden Plums | Healthy Skin | Thai lime leaf, apple, pineapple, carrot, coconut water, plum, coriander seed, papaya, rhubarb,. |
| Golds | Recovery | Flax seeds, strawberries, dates, bananas, cacao, pea protein, and baobab powder. |
| Greens | Energy | Kale leaves, ginger, apple, spinach leaves, kiwi, banana. |
| Mint Greens | Mental Focus | Spearmint, apple, banana, cucumber, parsnip, wheatgrass, ginger, mango, orange, and sweet potato. |
| Mochas | Mental Focus | Coffee, dates, shiitake mushroom, baobab powder, maqui, cacao beans, berries, strawberry, cinnamon, strawberry, chaga mushroom. |
| Peaches | Healthy Skin | Carrot, rhubarb, coconut water, flax seeds, peach, rhubarb, sweet potato, baobab powder, apple, and strawberry. |
| Purples | Anti-Inflammatory | Banana, blackberry, blueberry, dates, raspberry, cranberry, strawberry. |
| Reds | Healthy Skin | Apple, banana, chia seeds, dates, ginger, raspberry, and strawberry. |
| Yellows | Immune System Support | Apple, banana, carrot, cinnamon, pineapple. |
| Ambers | Repair | Apple, banana, baobab powder, chia seeds, dates, passion fruit, yellow beetroot, turmeric. |
| Beet Reds | Performance | Apple, beetroot, banana, carrot, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, lucuma. |
| Oranges | Powering Up | Apple, orange, papaya, pineapple, rhubarb, turmeric. |
| Aquamarines. | Endurance | Pineapple, zucchini, dates, blue spirulina, fennel seed, peach, parsnip, lime. |
| Jades | Mental Focus | Apple, banana, chia seeds, dates, kombucha, lime, matcha, spirulina, zucchini. |
| Pumpkins | Recovery | Cinnamon, dates, clove, vanilla, pumpkin, pea protein, mango, ginger, nutmeg. |
| Rubies | Inner Balance | Apple, dates, goji berries, maca, orange, pumpkin, red pepper, raspberries, sweet potato. |
| Scarlets | Invigoration | Apple, banana, chia seeds, dates, cayenne pepper, kombucha, tomato, spinach leaves. |
As you can clearly see here, their selection is very diverse, and you have plenty to choose from. We think they have done well at mixing up flavors between traditional smoothies and unique and bold smoothie flavors.
Their ‘Blushes’ flavor is pretty traditional, however, their ‘Rubies’ flavor is much more adventurous and diverse.
What we really do love is that when you sign up with Kencko, they will rotate flavors per month, ‘Pumpkins’, for example, is a fall flavor and limited education.
What Diets Does Kencko Accommodate?
It is always good to know that you can rely on a company like this to offer diversity and new flavors but also be diverse in the diets that they cater to. Luckily pretty much every smoothie that they offer is Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten Free!
Delivery
Once you have signed up for Kencko smoothies delivery, your box should show up within a week of purchase, shipped through DHL.
Once it is shipped, the company offsets the carbon produced. They do this by investing in certified climate protection and carbon management projects that help to neutralize the impact of your box’s journey to your front door.
The box is quite small, it only contains a shaker bottle, informational cards, stickers, and of course, the smoothie packets. In comparison to boxes sent by companies such as ‘Splendid Spoon’ it is very easy to carry it around, so if you live in an apartment complex, you needn’t worry about lugging it around.
The box has no insulation or secure packaging to stop things from moving, which is no real issue as the shaker bottle is strong and the packets are highly unlikely to get damaged in transit unless the box is literally destroyed.
The best aspect of Kencko’s packaging is how they use plastic which is compostable. Many food delivery services will say they use recycled plastics and recyclable plastics, but in truth only around 9% of plastic in the world is actually recycled.
However, Kencko uses plant-based packaging which is certified as good for composting so it will actually biodegrade in 90 days, so even if it were to end up at a landfill site, it won’t create toxic fumes or microplastics!
Not only are they vegan and gluten-free, but also eco-friendly!
Kencko ‘Shaker Bottle’
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Now, let’s consider the shaker bottle. It is not only a reusable bottle, but its design is pretty epic. It is BPA-free for a start, and also dishwasher safe.Also unscrews in 2 sections which makes cleaning much easier.
Between the two sections of this bottle is a filter that helps you to blend the smoothie powder with a liquid base, which is much easier than mixing it in a normal glass with a spoon, which would usually make the powder clump!
The bottle seals well as well, making it, unlike all those annoying bottles that leak into your bag. And to top it all off, there is a loop on it as well, allowing you to hold onto it, or even attach it to a bag!
Taste
Let’s consider the second most important factor next to nutrition… Taste.
As smoothie experts, we decided to try out half of the flavors of Kencko and let you know, what’s what!
| Flavor | Our Verdict |
| Pumpkins | This flavor was the epitome of pumpkins in fall. The primary flavors were cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and of course, pumpkin. There is a faint grittiness to it, which we think was from the pea protein! |
| Yellows | In comparison to other flavors, this is one of the most fruity and tropical. The mango and pineapple are very prominent, which gives it a sweet and summery profile. |
| Greens | This flavor was good but has a lot of flavors packed into it. There is a bitterness of pineapple and apple, then the ginger takes over and surprises you. |
| Corals | This was one of our least favorites, it was just heavy on ginger and beetroot, it also makes you feel like your lips are turning redder. However, just because it’s not for us, does not mean you won’t like it! |
| Crimsons | This was a ‘brain booster’, and it did not give us that supposed boost, however, it’s flavor profile was nice and sweet. |
| Golds | This flavor is meant for performance, and while we are not all about added protein, it was still delicious. With the banana, cacao, and strawberries it has the traditional flavor profile of your everyday homemade smoothie. |
| Mochas | This was one of the most exciting smoothies to try, it is a combination of things we usually have throughout the day, mushrooms, coffee, and smoothies. This smoothie does give a bit of an energy boost, as your morning coffee would, however, it was not the tastiest of all. Its flavor is rich, and it has a sweeter aftertaste. A good morning smoothie. |
| Peaches | This was a fruity and sweet flavor, in spite of the sweet potato, the strawberry, apple, and peach were very potent. |
| Jades | This is one of the more interesting flavors out of these 10 flavors, it was unique, and the matcha, lime, and kombucha overpowered the flavor. |
| Rubies | This was the most unique of flavors we tried. It has a sweet taste at first, but then it becomes slightly spicy thanks to the red pepper. |
We used water as a base, and this did make them quite thin, like infused water, plant-based milks may help to make them thicker.
Nutritional Coaches
One cool thing about Kencko is that when you buy a membership you get a 1-1 health coach, you can speak to them before you join to get a better perspective on what your goals should be nutritional.
Then 2 times per month you can have a check-in call with them to see where you’re at. You can get recipe ideas and fact sheets from them too!
Kencko Versus Alternatives
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Kencko is unique, you can’t even compare them to SmoothieBox, or Splendid Spoon, however, there are some competitors which also provide freeze-dried smoothie services.
Kencko Vs Competitors
Vejo: Vejo is the most unique of all, the smoothies are mixed with a specific blender bottle that is a lot like a Jeurig. It is like Kencko, since they only use freeze-dried veg and fruit.
TUSOL: Tusol and Kencko are similar, both with powdered smoothie subscriptions, flavors that are alike, and even have similar branding. Kencko is better though, as TUSOL only has 4 flavors. TUSOL also uses xanthan gum, and stevia as ingredients, so Kencko is more vegan and eco-friendly.
Everipe: Everipe is the most similar, both offer freeze-dried smoothie packs, however, Everipe only has 5 flavors, but they do let you purchase without a subscription, making them better for newbies.
Kencko Vs DIY
Kencko is not like making your own smoothies, they’re not even in the same ballpark. Remember, Kencko does not make you stop making your own, but they are easy and simple when in a rush.
Kencko is not as fresh, but they are convenient. It’s simpler which makes it easy for busy people to get a smoothie in.
Prices:
| How Many Smoothies | Monthly Subscription Cost | Approx Price Per Smoothie |
| 20 | $59.80 | $2.99 |
| 30 | $80.70 | $2.69 |
| 40 | $149.40 | $2.49 |
The Good, The Bad, The Smoothies
So, what do we love and hate about Kencko? Nothing is all good news! So, let’s take a look at the pros and cons!
The Pros
- Variety.
- High-quality ingredients.
- Nutrition coach included.
- Shaker bottle.
- Convenient.
- Eco-Friendly.
The Cons
- Some wild and wacky flavors.
- Consistency, unlike a ‘traditional’ smoothie.
- Does not work as a meal replacement.
THE SMOOTHIES!
Kencko is worth it if you are a busy person who does not have time to make a smoothie every day. That’s where smoothie brands such as Kencko or Bolthouse can come in handy. They work well for long car rides, when traveling, or to take to work with you for a mid-afternoon treat.
However, if you are looking for meal replacement, and freshness, it is best to stick to making your smoothies yourself.
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