2020 kencko Review: Is it Worth It?

This one comes as a bit of a surprise hasn't it! Halfway into lockdown/quarantine, like many others, I started to notice how little fruits and veggies I was consuming. That, along with moving my body less, gave me the desire to look into nutrient intake. Sure, I could simply add more plants into meals. But here are my problems:

1. I don't eat much (lol what a problem to have) so it's hard to munch all day like a rabbit.

2. It can get costly to find *all* the right produce.

3. Preparation and cooking can be time-consuming.

Cue in kencko. The potentially easy and aesthetic way to consume nutritionally dense plants. What's not to love? But is it really worth it? Time to keep it real, as I do.

what is kencko?

kencko (no caps are intentional) is a subscription service for flash-frozen and dried plants that can easily mix into a liquid for nutritional consumption. They're essentially smoothie packets! kencko's goal is to help people with their daily recommended fruit and vegetable intake in a convenient, efficient way.

The brand relies heavily on nutritional research and facts - they even have dieticians on call for you to consult with! There are multiple pages on their website dedicated to research. I am a huge fan of this, especially the dietitian part!

details.

There's a lot to cover here. Let's start with the product itself.

The smoothie packets are curated based on benefits and color. Hence, easy and aesthetic. The benefits range from skin health, recovery, balance, etc. The colors are aesthetic like corals, scarlets, and golds.

Each packet has a story. By that, I mean the packets have a breakdown of the nutritional value per ingredient and how that correlates to its overall benefit. There are instructions plus variations you can experiment with... ON THE PACKET. There's no booklet. It's all on the packet itself. Talk about convenience.

Oh, and on the note of convenience - each order comes with a free bottle to mix your smoothies in. A very cute bottle, I must say. The powder dissolves quite easily in the liquid without the need for an emulsifier.

Oh, and on the note of the packets - they're compostable. No need to feel guilty about the single servings.

OH, and on the note of carbon footprint - all of kencko's production, packaging, and shipping are energy efficient and low-waste.

There are no added ingredients. 100% plants. Therefore, they are low calorie and not meant to replace a meal. Think of them as a beverage to go with your meal/snack.

Lastly, the packets have a shelf life of around 6 months.

subscription options.

You have to enter your zip code to see if kencko is available to you. If it is, great! The monthly options you have are:

7 smoothies ($5.99 per smoothie)

20 smoothies ($2.99 per smoothie)

60 smoothies ($2.49 per smoothie)

You can customize the exact "colors" you want (they detail the ingredients before you decide) OR you can let them choose the popular ones for you.

All options come with one free bottle, a dietician consultation, and free shipping.

There is no a la carte option, but you can delay or cancel your subscription at any time (and it's easy to do so).

buy 2 months get 20% off - this link can discount the smoothies down to as little as $1.99 per smoothie (sponsored but never biased).

Disclaimer: kencko sent me 20 smoothies with their recommended selection of colors.

pros.

They're extremely convenient - The powder dissolves easily, the system is grab-and-go, and the packets have instructions and information ON IT!!! The fruit and veggie intake, the recommended liquid use, the benefits, the ingredients... all on the packet. I am impressed with such simple but fantastic packaging.

Nutrient galore - You're literally unlocking access to dozens of fruits and vegetables and minerals and vitamins with these packets. You can't get that from a protein powder, a single bottle of supplements, or the same strawberry banana smoothie you keep ordering.

Effort and care - Everything about kencko is... pretty lol. I personally appreciate that because aesthetics are part of my daily life (being a big ol' creator and all). Not only do they put efforts into something as little as that, but they put a huge effort into sustainability, health, and overall great things for the planet and body.

Versatile - kencko powders are meant to be a simple smoothie. But it can be added to yogurts, ice creams, and so much more! Especially because they dissolve easily. Their website even provides recipe suggestions.

A+ dieticians and newsletters - Providing a registered dietician is monumental. In a world where diet has been skewed left and right, this is a major step in the right direction for a health brand. And the newsletters are emails I actually read because there's useful information (unlike most brands that use their newsletters for ads).

cons.

They're expensive - Their most popular (and most practical) option is priced at $3 a smoothie. Sure, that's cheaper than a smoothie from a juice bar. But not cheaper than a homemade smoothie with frozen fruit/veggies.

Slight unpractical options - Because kencko doesn't offer a la carte or a larger variety of options, it can be hard to choose. A jump from 7 to 20 to 60 smoothies leaves little for the in-betweeners. And I think most people are in-betweeners? You'd have to get creative with the options provided to make it work. Doable but kind of annoying.

They don't taste remarkable - You're not going back to these packets for the taste, let's put it that way. These are purely for supplemental use. Your liquid/yogurt/base is what's going to add flavor.

It only comes with one bottle - If you plan to share the packets, there's gonna be a fight for who gets the bottle.

so, is it worth it?

This ultimately depends on your lifestyle and financial situation. Do you lack time for meal prep? Are homemade smoothies just not working? Is the price per smoothie reasonable in your budget? If you answer yes to all these questions, kencko is a fantastic option.

And let's not forget the most valuable (in my opinion) thing here: the easy access to dozens of fruits, veggies, vitamins, etc. Think of this as your jug of greens powder... x15... minus the price of buying 15 jugs and the stress of researching each jug. Plus a dietician consultant to help you along the way! Yeah, that's a big deal.

So, are you going to give kencko a try? Let me know in the comments! If you have any questions, feel free to send a message on my Instagram. And here's a link if you want to buy 2 months & get 20% off (sponsored!).