The 10 Healthiest Juice Boxes For Kids Ranked Based On Sugar And Vitamin Content
Juice boxes have been a staple in children's lunch boxes since the first one was invented in Sweden in 1963. We all remember the excitement of tearing open a lunch box in elementary school to see what flavor had been packed alongside our PB&J and cheese sticks. So it makes sense that parents want to have a tasty juice box on hand that their child will enjoy, and that can be included with a school lunch they'll also actually eat. However, if you're concerned with making sure your child has a healthy diet, it's important to really research the juice boxes you purchase. Many contain a high amount of added sugar and not a lot of added nutritional value.
Generally, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends kids not begin drinking juice until at least 12 months of age. The Academy's recommended intake for children varies by age as follows; one to three years of age, a maximum intake of 4 ounces of juice a day, four to six years of age, a maximum intake of 6 ounces per day, and seven to 18 years of age, a maximum of 8 ounces a day. We've whipped up a list of products that meet these health requirements! We've ranked the following juice boxes in descending order, starting with what we deem as the healthiest based on low-sugar content and a hefty dose of vitamins. Although these juices are ranked, we consider all of them healthy in comparison to popular high-sugar options like CapriSun.
What to look for when choosing a juice box for your kid
We've rounded up ten of the healthiest juice boxes for kids currently on the market to help you next time you head to the grocery store. However, if you find one not on the list that appears to be a healthy option, perhaps one made by a smaller, local business that isn't listed below, you'll want the information necessary to ensure it's a healthy choice.
There are three main areas to pay attention to when selecting a juice box. First, one of the most important things to look at is how much sugar is in the drink. Fruit has a decent amount of natural sugar, so it's unlikely you'll find many sugar-free options. However, it's best that you keep the number low. According to Harvard Public Health, children should only consume about 17 teaspoons of sugar a day, or about 68 grams. It isn't too difficult to keep this number low and all juice boxes below have less than 10 grams of sugar in a serving and no added sugars (which should be avoided if possible.) Additionally, while there is no replacement for the vitamins and fiber in whole fruit, if you do opt for juice, make sure it's as close to 100% real fruit juice as possible. If it's cut with anything, it should be water to avoid any additional additives. Finally, the more vitamins a box contains, the better as things like Vitamin C and zinc are good for boosting immune systems.
1. Uncle Matt's Organic Lemonade Juice Box
Uncle Matt's Organic juice became popular nationwide through the company's healthy orange juice option. Building on that success, the juice brand has introduced a variety of products to shelves in grocery stores around the U.S., including juice boxes for kids. One of their healthiest options and number one on this list, is the Organic Lemonadade Juice Box, a fantastic alternative to the majority of lemonades on the market.
Uncle Matt's Organic Lemonade Juice Box contains no sugar (instead it is sweetened with stevia) and is USDA-Certified Organic thanks to the lack of synthetic pesticides, artificial flavors, and preservatives. Each serving has 150% of the recommended vitamin C intake and 25% of the recommended intake for vitamin D and zinc. Compared to the popular Calypso Lemonade, which has a whopping 53 grams of sugar per serving, Uncle Matt's is the sure winner.
Uncle Matt's Organic Lemonade Juice Box Ingredients: Filtered water; not from concentrate organic lemon juice; organic acerola; organic stevia; zinc gluconate; organic Vegd3.
2. Honest Kids Appley Ever After
Honest Kids has been a big name in the "healthy kids juice" game for a while. The company first launched back in 2007 as Honest Tea, a healthier and more natural alternative to the various iced tea beverages available. A few years later, they created a juice line for youth with the same goal of being a simpler drink available, with a much shorter ingredient list than some of the most popular brands.
The Honest Kids Appley Ever After is one of the best options available from the company for parents hoping to provide the best option possible in their children's lunch box. A pared-town twist on classic apple juice, the first ingredient listed is water, in line with the AAP's preference for the nothing-added drink to be what kids primarily consume throughout the day. Additionally, the apple juice from Honest Kids has just 8 grams of sugar per serving and no added sugar. Each juice box contains 70% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C (great for your child's immune system) and 2% of the recommended amount of potassium, good for muscles and nerves.
Honest Kids Appley Ever After Ingredients: Filtered water; organic apple juice from concentrate; natural flavor; vitamin C (ascorbic acid); organic natural flavor; citric acid.
3. Uncle Matt's Organic Superfruit Punch Juice Boxes
Another favorite from Uncle Matt's Organic Juice, the Superfruit Punch Juice Box is a great option for kids. Fruit punch is a common flavor for children's juice boxes, but it isn't always a fantastic choice because the variety of flavors that create "fruit punch" often results in high sugar content and the addition of unnecessary additives. For example, Capri Sun's fruit punch flavored pouch contains 20 grams of sugar and the first ingredients listed are a variety of fruit juices from concentrate. However, this homemade Capri-Sun recipe is a much healthier alternative if you or your kid are craving similar flavors.
In comparison, Uncle Matt's Organic Superfruit Punch Juice Box has just 6 grams of sugar (none added), as well as 150% of the recommended vitamin C intake and 25% of the recommended intake for vitamin D and zinc. Additionally, the first listed ingredient is water followed by various organic fruit juice and puree.
Uncle Matt's Organic Superfruit Punch Juice Box Ingredients: Filtered water; organic lemon juice; organic dark sweet cherry juice concentrate; organic acerola juice puree; organic blueberry juice concentrate; organic pineapple juice concentrate; organic elderberry juice concentrate; organic stevia leaf extract; zinc gluconate; organic Vegd3.
4. Apple & Eve Organic Quenchers Razzberry Apple Splash
Back in 1975, Gordon Crane and his family founded Apple & Eve in order to provide Americans with a tasty organic juice brand. Nearly five decades later, the company is still going strong and has since branched out into healthy juice boxes for kids. The Organic Quenchers Razzberry Apple Splash comes in third on our ranking thanks to the decently low sugar content, just 9 grams in a box, with no added sugar. Additionally, the juice has 70% of the daily recommended dose of vitamin C and is cut with water (the first ingredient listed), ensuring it's a hydrating drink option for kids. However, some juice boxes had lower sugar content and a higher amount of vitamins, which is why it doesn't rank a bit higher on our list.
Apple & Eve Organic Quenchers Razzberry Apple Splash Ingredients: filtered water; organic apple juice concentrate; natural flavors; organic strawberry juice concentrate; organic raspberry juice concentrate; ascorbic acid (vitamin C); and malic acid.
5. Honest Kids Organic Super Fruit Punch
Another top choice from Honest Kids, the Organic Super Fruit Punch is a great option for health-conscious parents. Like Uncle Matt's fruit punch box, this one from Honest Kids is a refreshing take on a classic flavor, without all the added sugar and other not-so-great ingredients that just aren't necessary to create a tasty juice.
The Honest Kids Organic Super Fruit Punch contains just 8 grams of natural fruit sugar and no added sugar. Like other juice boxes from the brand, the fruit bunch flavor has 70% of the recommended vitamin C daily dosage and 2% of potassium's recommended intake. And like every Honest Tea and Juice, it is organic and GMO-free. It ranks in the middle of this list due to other juice boxes having lower sugar content — plus, this super fruit punch from Honest Kids has more juice from concentrate, which tends to have lower nutritional value.
Honest Kids Organic Super Fruit Punch Ingredients: Filtered water; organic apple juice from concentrate; organic white grape juice from concentrate; organic strawberry juice from concentrate; organic cranberry juice from concentrate; organic natural flavors; vitamin C; natural flavors; citric acid.
6. R.W. Knudsen Sensible Sippers Organic Fruit Punch
Sensible Sippers from R.W. Knudsen was the company's answer to all the organic and healthy options on the market for kids, many of which we've featured in this article. With a low sugar content of just 7 grams of sugar and no added sugar, it's one of the best juices on this list in that particular category. However, it lacks significant vitamin content, an important part of any child's diet for healthy growth and development. Thus, it ranks on the lower side of healthy juice boxes.
But, if you have a younger child, the just over 4-ounce servings (part of the reason for the lower sugar content) are within the AAP's guidelines. Thus, R.W. Knudsen Sensible Sippers Organic Fruit Punch is perfect for the six-and-under crowd.
R.W. Knudsen Sensible Sippers Organic Fruit Punch Ingredients: Filtered water; organic apple, organic pineapple, organic orange and organic lemon juice concentrates; organic banana puree; organic grape and organic pear juice concentrates; organic natural flavor.
7. Apple & Eve Fruitibles Plus Power Punch
Apple & Eve's Fruitables Plus boxes are great to give your kids because each one has one serving combined of fruit and vegetables. That's something no other juice box on this list can claim. Veggies like sweet potato, beets, tomatoes, squash, and more, are mixed with apple, orange, and grape for a delicious healthy drink.
Each Apple & Eve Fruitibles Plus Power Punch contains 13 grams of natural sugar, but no added sugar. There is 70% of the recommended daily dosage of vitamin C and 10% of the daily intake of vitamins A (important for growth and vision) and E (a good antioxidant) in each serving. The high sugar content puts it lower in this ranking, but the variety of vitamins and the inclusion of vegetables doesn't push it to the bottom. And of course, it's still better than the likes of Sunny D (which isn't even orange juice) or Gatorade for children.
Apple & Eve Fruitibles Power Punch Ingredients: Filtered water; apple juice concentrate, sweet potato juice concentrate; pear juice concentrate; purple carrot juice concentrate; natural flavors; beet juice concentrate; butternut squash juice concentrate; pineapple juice concentrate; cherry juice concentrate; citric acid; ascorbic acid; tomato juice concentrate; vegetable extract; vitamin A palmitate; vitamin E acetate.
8. Vita Coco Kids Paradise Punch
Vita Coco has been the go-to coconut water brand for Americans since its inception in 2003. In the decades since the brand has created a bunch of different lines for different target audiences. One such is their Vita Coco Kids drinks, a bit different from your typical juice box. The first listed ingredient is, of course, coconut water, followed by filtered water, ensuring your kid is sipping on maximum hydration. Coconut water is considered good for you, as it includes vital electrolytes and can even help with bone health.
If your kids enjoy juice pouches like CapriSun, the Vita Coco Kids Paradise Punch is a fun alternative. There are just 8 grams of sugar in each serving, along with 20% of the recommended daily dosage of vitamin C, and 2% of the recommended intake of calcium. However, due to the low vitamin content and heavy flavor presence on the ingredient list, this drink is lower on our list of healthy juices for kids.
Vita Coco Kids Paradise Punch Ingredients: Coconut water, filtered water, sugar, natural flavors, citric acid, vitamin C, natural pineapple flavor, natural orange flavor, natural cherry flavor; natural strawberry flavor.
9. Juicy Juice Splashers Organic Fruit Punch
Another long-time player in the juice game, Juicy Juice has been making beverages for kids and adults since 1977. Over the years, the company has continued to improve and expand its line of products, including its organic juice for children.
We've chosen the Juicy Juice Splashers Organic Fruit Punch as one of the healthiest juice boxes for kids due to the lack of added sugar and high vitamin content. Each box contains just 9 grams of natural sugar and has water as the first ingredient. Each serving also contains 100% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. This is a large improvement from the non-organic Juicy Juice boxes which contain 27 grams of sugar. However, due to the slightly higher sugar content when compared to other juices on this list, as well as more juice from concentrate, Juicy Juice Splashers Organic Fruit Punch falls towards the end of our ranking.
Juicy Juice Splashers Organic Fruit Punch Ingredients: Filtered water; organic apple juice from concentrate; organic pear juice from concentrate; ascorbic acid; organic cherry juice from concentrate; citric acid; natural flavors.
10. Vita Coco Kids Pink Lemonade
This drink combines Vita Coco coconut water and pink lemonade into one deliciously healthy option for kids. Vita Coco Kids Pink Lemonade has just 8 grams of sugar, as well as 2% of the recommended daily intake of calcium and 4% of the recommended daily amount of potassium. It's much better than other pink lemonades on the market such as Country Time Pink Lemonade which contains 24 grams of sugar per serving.
However, it has the lowest amount of vitamins out of all the juice boxes on this list and does list sugar as a main ingredient. This is why it falls at the end of our ranking for the 11 healthiest juice boxes for kids. But, due to its' overall healthy make-up, we still consider Vita Coco Kids Pink Lemonade a good choice for families.
Vita Coco Kids Pink Lemonade Ingredients: coconut water; filtered water; sugar; natural flavors; citric acid; natural lemon flavor.
That rounds out our list of the best juice boxes. If you'd like to learn about other healthy options for children, check out this Daily Meal article on the best and worst drinks for kids.