Thrive Life review

Thrive Life offers a great balance of long-term food storage options and excellent flavor.

Thrive Life review
(Image: © Thrive Life)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

Thrive Life works best for those willing to cook with their food storage and rotate it regularly. If you want to purchase food storage all at once, you may want to use a different service.

Pros

  • +

    Designed to encourage variety

  • +

    High-quality and tasty food

Cons

  • -

    Shelving adds an additional expense

  • -

    Limited shelf-life when compared to other options

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Thrive Life doesn't advertise its products as emergency food supplies, and that's because they're so delicious you'll want to eat them regardless of if a disaster strikes. Thrive Life's tasty just-add-water offerings make it one of the best emergency food storage companies out there. Food is freeze-dried fresh and all-natural, and there's a load of variety to keep your diet interesting, although you'll need to do a fair bit of the cooking yourself with some of the ingredients listed. 

Thrive Life doesn't use preservatives, which is great if you're concerned about GMO's and artificial ingredients, but it does mean its food doesn't last for as long as some of the other sites we reviewed. Nonetheless, it's a brilliant option for camping trips or pantry preparation.

Thrive Life review: What's on offer?

Instead of bulk food storage containers and packets, Thrive Life stores every single food and entree in a can. You can order freeze-dried chicken, beef and ham, or go with soy-based vegetarian substitutes for bacon and beef. Depending on the level of investment you want to make, you can buy a few a la carte cans that provide great meals during a weekend of camping, or order a one-year supply of freeze-dried foods and dehydrated meals.

The company's survival food storage options are extensive. Beyond the common food pyramid essentials, the company sells canned seeds. These cans each include seeds for red beets, corn, lettuce, squash and many other vegetables. There are also meals for vegetarian and gluten-free diets, which is a forward-thinking move in an increasingly health-conscious market.

Thrive Life review

Thrive Life offers a host of tasty meal options.  (Image credit: Thrive Life)

This is one of the food storage companies that sell ingredients rather than lots of prepackaged meals. If you prefer a company that specializes in prepackaged meals and a la carte items Wise Company is a good option. Both ways of doing things have their advantages. The benefit of doing it the way Thrive Life does is that it is easier to rotate your food storage. You can incorporate the individual ingredients into daily life so that you are constantly using and renewing your storage. That means fresher food in an emergency. If you opt for more pre-packaged, just-add-water meals for food storage you are less likely to use and restock them on a regular basis, but then at least you do not have to prepare meals as you are trying to camp after an emergency.

Thrive Life foods have a slightly shorter shelf life than some competitors, but then the way this system works you will be rotating everything regularly. While it is not absolutely essential to buy specialized Thrive Life shelving, everything works better if you do. The shelving is front-loading and uses gravity to ensure the oldest can is always at the front so you use it first. The shelving represents an added cost, which may be a drawback initially.

Thrive Life review

Thrive Life offers natural, freeze-dried options.  (Image credit: Thrive Life)

Thrive Life review: Website

This company has decent customer service options, though we rarely caught anyone staffing the live chat. There are also phone numbers and email addresses available if you have questions, though, and the FAQs page gives helpful tips on how to properly store your food storage cans to make them last as long as possible.

Thrive life review

There's a huge range of meal types on offer at Thrive Life. (Image credit: Thrive Life)

Should you buy food storage from Thrive Life? 

With a slightly shorter shelf life than some services, Thrive Life goods are not the best choice if you want to buy food storage once and never think about it again. Thrive Life is great if you are interested in rotating your food storage on a regular basis. You may have to learn a few new recipes, but it will pay off in fresh food if there is a crisis.

Angie Parkinson

A contracted writer for TTR, Angie has been reviewing vacuum cleaners, countertop appliances and other home goods for more than eight years. Her spare time often goes to planning improvements for her quirky 103-year-old home or hiking in the gorgeous Utah mountains. In her past role, she was a newspaper journalist and she has a bachelor's degree in Technical Writing.