Michael Fox, marketing executive for Talking Rain, has helped reposition the drink as a juice drink.
school lunch programs are coming to me now,” said Kerner. One company that doesn’t have to worry about its advertising budget is Nestle Waters North America, the $3 billion bottled water division of the Swiss food giant. For such a large company, it’s putting a lot of faith in a kid-sized package: this year, it plans to introduce the Aquapod, its new 11-oz. water bottle designed specifically for kids. Shaped like a rotund penguin with five little feet, the Aquapods are a decidedly younger, more fun water bottle, even without the fanciful shrink-wrap proclaiming Aquapods are “charged with fun.” They’re also charged with potential profit, as they sit at the intersection of kids’ buying power and the massive growth of bottled water usage overall. Nestle Waters hopes to raise bottled water consumption 40 percent through products like the Aquapod. Already, the company says its surveys indicate 73 percent of children between the ages of 12
12
and 17 say they have consumed bottled water in the last two weeks, compared with 67 percent in adults ages 35 to 45.
Ain’t She Sweet? Marketing specialist George Carey knows the value in appealing to mom, but he also cautions companies against losing touch with their primary consumer— children. According to Carey, of all the successful products that have been marketed to children as better for you, the majority has come from taking a nutritional anchor and making it more fun. The anchor can be something elaborate like a product, or something as simple as a recognizable brand, but it seems that jazzing things up works better than watering them down. So when companies try to make healthier knock-offs of favorite beverages, they almost always invite negative comparisons. “Kids’ invariable conclusion is it can’t taste as good. As much as they value nutrition, they care twice as much about taste,”
Special Section | March 06
Carey said. And that’s where artificial sweeteners come in. One company that is trying hard to come up with the right mix is Talking Rain, a new youth oriented flavored juice drink from the TalkingRain Beverage Co. It contains 3 percent fruit juice, sucralose (marketed as Splenda) and Xylitol, a new artificial sweetener that some studies have shown can weaken cavity-causing bacteria. The sweeteners have allowed Talking Rain to reposition its beverage line as low-calorie fruit drinks with only 15 calories for children. “We see a need, especially in schools, to develop a good-for-you beverage that children would enjoy and would also be good for you,” said Michael Fox, vice president of marketing for the Puget Sound beverage maker. While some producers seek to lure children simply through taste or sweetness, many are convinced that younger generations can be wooed by more complex messages, as well. After several years of directing marketing campaigns for juice maker Nantucket Nectars and beverage giant Cadbury-Schweppes, Wild Waters Inc. Chief Executive Chris Testa sought to create a healthy kids beverage that would appeal to and Rudy Beverage promote a more President Drew Carver believes active lifestyle. Wild the Rudy image is Waters, his new a positive one. product, features seven vitamins and nutrients like calcium and Vitamin C with less than 60 percent of the calories of the average 170-calorie fruit juice. But it also features labels inspired by activity, like Groovin’ Grape and Flippin’