What kid doesn’t love chocolate milk? When I got the assignment from Associated Content to write reviews of two companies, comparing them, I immediately wanted to Nesquik verses Ovaltine. They compete against each other in the media so why not in my own household.
Sugar Content: This is important to me. I have a little one who goes bonkers when she consumes too much sugar. Nesquik just reduced their sugar content by 25%. According to the packaging, Nesquik now stands at 13 grams of sugar per serving. I really did think Ovaltine would win this one, but it comes in at 18 grams of sugar per serving. So Nesquik has 5 grams of sugar less then Ovaltine per serving.
Calcium: All parents know how important calcium is to a growing child’s diet. When it comes to any kind of milk product it is important to look at the calcium content. Nesquik claim to have 33% of your child’s needed calcium. I wanted to see how this compared to Ovaltine. Nesquik, it turns out has 40% calcium when added to 1 cup of fat free vitamin A + D milk. Ovaltine only has 20% when added to 1 cup of vitamin D skim milk. Nesquik wins again.
Other Vitamins and Minerals: Ovaltine’s saying is “Great taste and great for you.” I wanted to see how their nutritional information compared with Nesquiks to determine if it really was better for my kids. We already learned Ovaltine has more sugar and less calcium. After carefully studying both labels, I have to say Ovaltine wins. They do have more vitamins and minerals then Nesquik. For example, Nesquik only has 2% iron while Ovaltine comes in at 20%. That is a big difference. If children don’t get enough iron they can become anemic or tired. There is also 10% more copper and zinc in Ovaltine than in Nesquik. Minerals are just as important to our bodies as Vitamins. We shouldn’t neglect to look at these.
Caffeine: Nesquik is 99.9% Caffeine free. I cannot find this information anywhere on the Ovaltine package, however, Shoprite online has them listed as Caffeine free. So you can see there really isn’t much of a difference in this area.
Variety and Flavor: There are many different size packages for Nesquik powder. Too many for me to list. Each comes in two basic flavors, chocolate and strawberry. They also offer a no sugar added package in 2 sizes. Ovaltine comes in 3 flavors: rich chocolate, chocolate malt, and malt. There are two basic size packages you can buy, a 12-oz or an 18-oz.
Price: Ovaltine’s 12-oz container costs $3.99 and their 18-oz container costs $5.49. The Nesquik 10 oz. costs $2.99 while their 21 oz. costs $4.39. Clearly Nesquik is cheaper. I am not sure about sale prices or whether you can get some coupons to bring down the price. I just looked at what Shoprite charges for each one on a regular basis.
The Kid Taste Test: Between my sister and I, we have 6 kids. We thought it would be a great idea to have the kids participate in a taste test. We didn’t reveal which drink was Nesquik or which drink was Ovaltine. We put an A on the Nesquik cup and a B on the Ovaltine cup. Each of the kids chose Nesquik (cup A) every time. They all said, “It’s more chocolaty”. Their ages range from 4-10.
In the end I have to say my family is going with Nesquik. Taste and price play a big role in the decision. Since my kids faithfully take their vitamins everyday, I am not worried that Nesquik has less vitamins and minerals. It is enough for us that their calcium level is high and they have done their part to cut down on the sugar.
