Beverage Spectrum March 2009

MARCH 30, 2009

How mayors, money, and eco-mania are creating a bottled water bottleneck.

ALSO THIS ISSUE: EXPO WEST REVIEW RECOVERY DRINKS

2009 ENERGY DRINK GUIDE 路 See page 31 for details 路

Hoegaarden grew 56% in 2007* Hoegaarden is one of the more profitable brands in the wheat and import beer categories.

Hoegaarden (who-gar-den) is an authentic Belgian white beer with a brewing heritage dating back to 1445.

Brewed with real Curacao orange peel and coriander, this refreshing, unfiltered wheat beer is rapidly becoming a favorite among wheat, craft and import brand consumers.

Always Enjoy Responsibly. © 2008 Import Brands Alliance, Importers of Hoegaarden Beer, St. Louis, MO * Source: IRI Supermarkets 52 weeks Ending December 31, 2007 ®

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MARCH 2009 vol.

7 :: no. 2

cover story 74 Under Pressure But Bottled Water Won’t Give In

special section 31 Energy Drink Guide

26

The 2009 Beverage Spectrum Energy Drink Guide, our 4th edition

features

TRENDS • MONEY BRANDS • STRATEGY DISTRIBUTION EXPERIENCE

MAY 14, 2009 New York City www.bevnetlive.com

24 Natural Products Expo West No deals, but still dealing

28 Brands in Transition No toeing the line at Redline

72 In Search of Recovery Detox drinks search for stimulus

columns

6 First Drop

SPECIAL SECTION

Crunchy and Strong

8 Publishers Toast

28

Beverage Moments

26 Gerry’s Insights Bombilla in Review

2009

departments

THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY’S GUIDE TO ENERGY DRINKS, ENERGY SHOTS, POWDERS, TABLETS, AND SUPPLIERS TO THE ENERGY DRINK CATEGORY.

10 Bevscape Innovation

ENERGY GUIDE

31

Smart Shiner Bock

12 Bevscape Business Inside the Rockstar Switch

SPONSORED BY:

14 Channel Check Smoothie Sailing

18 New Products

SPONSORED BY

Stevia-sprinkled Sprite

82 Promo Parade PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA, BY DSW4

guide.indd 31

3/20/09 11:52:47 PM

Have No Fear, MMA is here

74 Beverage Spectrum (Postal Number 024-552) is published monthly with combined issues in January/February, May/June, July/August and November/December by Beverage Spectrum Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BevNET.com, Inc. 44 Pleasant Street, Suite 110, Watertown, MA 02472. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Beverage Spectrum Magazine, Subscriber Services, 44 Pleasant Street, Suite 110, Watertown, MA 02472

72

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.5

THE FIRST DROP

By Jeffrey Klineman

GREEN IN BLOOM

Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability GREEN TEA every morning, yerba mate in the afternoon. Yoga every other day.

Weekly pickups from the vegetable co-op, and a monthly drop-off from my organic meat supplier.

Jeez, have I gone crunchy. I even spent the winter pondering a “cleanse” – and I didn’t feel weird about it at all.

It’s a big change from my Bud Light and Taco Bell days; to have known me then, you’d have never guessed where my diet and personal habits were headed. You probably wouldn’t have wanted to, either.

But habits change, both for me and for the rest of the country. And while I now happen to sit at the unique junction of a profession that constantly exposes me to new product marketing blitzes and a home in Cambridge, Mass., one of the home bases for the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) movement, it’s pretty obvious that even in the flyover states, America is fully on a natural products roll.

That’s the reason there weren’t too many people complaining about the turnout at the Natural Products Expo West show earlier this month. Despite an economic downturn, the brands looked strong, the mood was upbeat, the good vibes were everywhere, the Dudes were abiding. Of course they

6.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

were – with Duane Reade, the ubiquitous Manhattan drug store (and source for cheap Budweiser) now a hub for natural soda and coconut water, and every supermarket extending its produce section to make way for more juices and smoothies, the greens seem to be weathering the storm.

And this change in lifestyle and eating habits has created many paths to success.

One marketer I spoke with, Zico’s Marc Rampolla, suggested that by knitting together channels like yoga studios, athletic supply shops, college campuses and mom-andpops, one could create a mainstream, $100 million brand (nine figures is the entry point to mainstream, apparently) without having a large grocery presence. Another, Adina’s Greg Steltenpohl, was launching a product line grounded in new age principles – but with the intent that its biggest area for growth will be outside the natural products nursery.

All of this is taking place at a time when the feeding trough for the whole LOHAS movement, Whole Foods, is suffering due to the economic downturn, while

McDonald’s, of all places, is on the upswing. In a world where the greens are winning, how can that be happening?

Easy enough to figure out: McDonald’s has decided to surf the green wave. The salads and lighter offerings that the fast-food chain now offers isn’t the result of them suddenly deciding to set a trend and lead the pack. It’s the result of a smart company catching on to what has been happening for years.

As for Whole Foods, what’s happening there? With the green mainstream so well established, I wouldn’t bet against them in the long run. But in the short term, as Americans are heading for other channels as they try to pull off the neat trick of staying both healthy and solvent. And the products they seek to maintain their new lifestyles are going to be in those new channels, waiting for them. Just look at Sambazon.

The company’s acai-berry based products broke through in natural channels and helped launch search parties for hundreds of new superfruits. Now? “I’m in 1,000 Wal-Marts,” Sambazon’s Jeremy Black told me at Expo West.

Not bad, Dude. I’d go there to pick up a smoothie or two, myself, but Target’s selling yoga mats for nine bucks apiece.

PUBLISHER’S TOAST

By Barry J. Nathanson

BEVERAGE MOMENTS THIS MONTH BROUGHT US St. Patrick’s Day, and I was delighted to put on my green sweater and scarf, and head out to Fifth Avenue to watch the parade. St. Patrick’s Day is a day of rejoicing in New York and across the country.

Beverages, non-alcoholic and alcoholic, are involved. Even in tough times, people come together to celebrate all that is good. We are a resilient lot, and will overcome the recent financial meltdown just as we’ve surmounted every other obstacle that has been thrown our way over the decades.

Later in the month, March Madness began. Every year, my son and I attempt to pick the Final Four. Tracking the tournament is definitely a beverage occasion with friends.

Baseball season is just around the corner,

8.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

with the NBA and NHL playoffs to follow, beverage occasions all. Soon the holidays marking summer will be upon us, and we’ll have dozens of times to party and socialize at picnics, barbecues, concerts and sporting events. It’s vacation time, so bring your coolers along for the ride. Fall follows (are you ready for some football) and with it, more holidays for family and friends to gather together. All are beverage moments. These are times we live for.

Beverages are an integral part of the American fabric. Our industry holds a vital role in the health, happiness and well being of our country. Having that sacred trust is awesome. It is incumbent upon us to demonstrate our leadership by getting involved in our communities to support their efforts to keep businesses and the economy going.

Retailers, marketers, distributors and wholesalers, all of you, don’t stop promoting and sponsoring Little League teams, music and art festivals, and other civic activities. Stay involved in the communities that you service.

Contribute to food banks, fundraising and other causes that will benefit those in need.

Devote time and energy to the drives that benefit your towns and cities.

This is not a time to go into a shell.

Support the people who have supported you throughout the years. You owe your success to your customers. Show them that you’re there for them.

PUBLISHER Barry J. Nathanson bnathanson@bevnet.com EDITOR Jeffrey Klineman jklineman@bevnet.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER John McKenna jmckenna@bevnet.com ART DIRECTOR Matthew Kennedy mkennedy@bevnet.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Amadeu Tolentino atolentino@bevnet.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Matt Casey mcasey@bevnet.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Adam Stern astern@bevnet.com JR. DESIGNER Natalie Iknaian niknaian@bevnet.com SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES Adam Stern astern@bevnet.com 617-715-9679 ONLINE RENEWALS & CHANGES www.bevspectrum.com/subscribe ARTICLE REPRINTS (500 copies or more) FosteReprints 800-382-0808 x142 BEVERAGE SPECTRUM PUBLISHING INC. CHAIRMAN John F. (Jack) Craven jack@bevnet.com PRESIDENT AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR John Craven jcraven@bevnet.com EDITORIAL 44 Pleasant Street, Suite 110 Watertown, MA 02472 ph. 617-715-9670 fax 617-715-9671 ADVERTISING 1123 Broadway, Suite 210 New York, NY 10010 ph. 212-647-0501 fax 212-647-0565

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BEVSCAPEINNOVATION

THE LATEST IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING

SHOESTRING INNOVATION

BOTTLES AND BINS

Gotta love those crazy cowboys down at Shiner Beer.

For years, Shiner Bock has been one of the great regional stories of the domestic beer scene, selling almost exclusively to a Texan audience but achieving significant saturation levels.

But at last year’s Austin City Limits Festival – a massive, three-day concert extravapalooza featuring hundreds of bands and nearly 200,000 total attendees – Shiner found itself shut out of a beer sponsorship by Heineken, which had ponied up to be the exclusive beer sponsor, according to Advertising Age. So what did Shiner’s ad agency do? They passed out Shiner Bock lookalike keepem-cold beer sleeves to 10,000 attendees, many of whom slipped them right onto their Heineken cans.

The stars at night aren’t the only things that are bright in the heart of Texas, apparently.

Bottled water containers are now the single most recycled item in curbside recycling programs, according to data from a pair of new studies from the National Association for PET Container Resources.

NAPCOR found that the average number of water bottles per pound of recycle-ready plastic recovered from curbside programs rose from 12 in 2006 to 13.78 in 2008.

The Association also determined that consumers recycled 23.4 percent of disposable water bottles in 2007, a double-digit increase over the 20.1 percent recycled in 2006. Overall, PET water bottles now account for 50% of all the PET bottles and containers collected by curbside recycling, NAPCOR said.

GOOD ADVICE FOR A BAD ECONOMY By now, everyone’s sick of hearing about the plunging Dow and escalating unemployment rate. Well, brace for a little more down-economy talk – but at least it comes with advice.

IRI has determined that consumers have entered the third phase of the recession, where those making less than $100,000 will be keeping a tight grip on their wallets for a long time to come.

To pry a few Washingtons out of those

10.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

clenched fists, IRI had the following advice that may be helpful to beverage marketers and retailers.

Shift promotion strategies to the home via traditional marketing and online promotions. More consumers, IRI said, are planning their purchases before they enter the store. Therefore, they need to be aware of promotions before they start shopping.

With tight wallets come tight budgets, and IRI suggests that manufacturers work tightly (see a theme?) with retailers to assure the best possible value for their mutual customers.

Shoppers are sticking to familiar products, so if you have a new beverage idea, now might be a good time to stick it in your hat and wait for the recovery to start. Unless you already have an established brand, in which case, IRI suggests an enhanced brand-extension strategy. The firm also suggests that retailers expand shelf space for existing brands at the expense of new brands.

IRI said these could be good strategies for more than the short term, as shoppers are deeply worried about the future, and the changes they make now will last until that worry passes.

PHOTO BY LYZA DANGER GARDNER

GOOD ADVICE FOR A BAD ECONOMY

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Francisco Bra nd

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herbal elixir

Francisco B

BEVSCAPEBUSINESS

THE LATEST NEWS ON THE BRANDS YOU SELL

ROCKIN’ PEPSI Jumping from one multinational beverage company to its fiercest rival, Rockstar energy drink signed a distribution agreement with PepsiCo Inc. that will end its deal with The Coca-Cola Company.

PepsiCo spokesman Larry Jabbonsky said the deal will more than double PepsiCo’s share of the energy category, and he expects Rockstar to mesh well with other PepsiCo energy offerings: Amp, No Fear and coffee drinks co-marketed with Starbucks.

The agreement, slated to last for 10 years, will put the product in Pepsi’s core three distributors: Pepsi Bottling Group, PepsiAmericas and Pepsi Bottling Ventures. Their territories cover nearly 80 percent of the U.S. and Canada, and Jabbonsky said discussions with independent Pepsi bottlers are currently under way.

Rockstar’s deal with Pepsi follows the recent introduction of Monster into the Coca-Cola system. Rockstar had signed a distribution agreement with Coca-Cola Enterprises in 2005, and renegotiated the deal last year as Coke courted Monsterparent Hansen Natural. The renewed deal, which extended through the end of 2009, allowed Rockstar to cancel the agreement with 30 days’ notice.

Following that agreement, Rockstar found itself in the precarious position of possibly sharing trucks with a unique competitor. Both Rockstar and Monster claim to have come up with many of the energy drink category’s strongest innovations, including their now-ubiquitous 16 oz. cans, juice blends and coffee energy drinks.

As a result, the company was known to be actively seeking new deals, speaking with Dr Pepper Snapple Group and AnheuserBusch’s 9th Street Beverages before reaching a deal with Pepsi.

Both Rockstar and Pepsi expect the switch from CCE to the

Pepsi system to occur this spring or summer – possibly in April.

Rockstar spokesman Jason May said he expected Pepsi’s involvement to strengthen the brand’s position on the shelves.

Another Rockstar representative said the new deal taught his firm a lesson: beverage firms interested in getting their product into a major beverage company’s distribution systems should deal with that company, not its distributors. Rockstar joined CCE at a time when that distributor actively sought non-Coke brands to expand its portfolio, forcing the parent company’s hand at a time when it was developing its Full Throttle energy drink. The arrangement, according to the representative, left Rockstar working distributor by distributor within the Coke system, and as a result, he said, the brand suffered from spotty coverage. With PepsiCo handling its bottlers, he expects Rockstar’s coverage to be more consistent.

McDISCONTINUED PEPSI TEST

SWEET TRADEMARK BATTLE

PepsiCo’s foothold in the world’s largest restaurant chain disappeared last month, when McDonald’s announced that it would end sales tests of bottled Pepsi products.

The fast-food chain, a long-time Coca-Cola stronghold, had been testing sales of bottled PepsiCo staples, such as Mountain Dew and Gatorade, in cold boxes in select locations. McDonald’s spokeswoman Dayna Proud said those products will not make the jump to the chain’s national beverage strategy.

PepsiCo spokesman Larry Jabbonsky said the two companies mutually decided to end the test last summer after PepsiCo discovered that the opportunity in McDonald’s cold cases was smaller than expected.

The cold-case plan, still ongoing, coincides with McDonald’s attempts to bolster its softdrink sales and draw in consumers who would normally buy their beverages at convenience stores.

Proud said further tests, which have included Red Bull and vitaminwater, would continue.

Coca-Cola spokesman Ray Crockett said the company was pleased with McDonald’s decision.

It started as a trademark suit, and ended as a potential partnership. Clayton Christopher, founder and CEO of Sweet Leaf Tea, had unknowingly built his now-national iced tea brand on a name dangerously similar to that of a Wisdom Natural Brands stevia-derived sweetener.

The name of the sweetener? SweetLeaf.

Wisdom CEO Jim May, who started using the SweetLeaf name in 1994, sent a cease and desist letter to Sweet Leaf Tea last May. Christopher responded by suing Wisdom, but the case sounded like a formality from the start.

“Both parties are optimistic that we will be able to work everything out,” Christopher told the Austin Business Journal in June.

The companies announced last month in a joint press release that they had worked out their differences, and May said he expected to see his product in one of Christopher’s products sometime soon.

How about that? Sweet Leaf sweetened with SweetLeaf.

12.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Š2009 Skinny Nutritional Corp.

Channel Check

march 2009

SPOTLIGHT CATEGORY

SMOOTHIES 52 Weeks through 2/22/2009

Naked continued to expand its dominance of the briskly-growing smoothie set through strategic flanker lines. Naked’s core grew slightly slower than the category, while its extensions (Protein, Superfood, Probiotic and Energy) gobbled market share. All that growth has still left room for smaller players, though. Familiar names Jamba and Sunkist made a splash with their bottled smoothie entries, and superfruit-stalwart Sambazon nearly doubled its smoothie sales over the last year.

In the mean time, number-two player Odwalla has suffered some backsliding.

SMOOTHIES

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

CATEGORY TOTALS

$161,863,200

9.3%

Naked Juice

$54,942,160

8.6%

Odwalla

$31,952,940

-3.8%

Bolthouse Farms

$25,046,070

5.3%

Naked Superfood

$14,990,600

16.4%

Naked Energy

$11,981,430

13.7%

Bolthouse Farms C Boost

$7,421,785

-3.0%

Jamba Juice

$3,763,408

N/A

Naked Protein

$2,423,277

N/A

Sambazon

$2,352,988

89.6%

Private Label

$2,293,169

20.6%

Topicana Fruit Smoothie

$1,893,302

-45.5%

Sunkist Naturals

$931,831

556.9%

Naked Probiotic

$673,005

4,578.5%

Lightfull

$567,854

318.7%

Sunkist

$218,773

435.1%

Juice Evolution

$90,816

-30.2%

Evolution

$80,153

-19.4%

Natures Finest

$52,230

-66.6%

SunnyD Fruit

$48,442

-94.4%

Ardens Garden

$28,836

-13.7%

Columbia Gorge

$27,405

14.2%

VHT

$25,732

-2.9%

Senor Torres

$22,406

-28.1%

Sun Shower

$11,511

N/A

Ocean Spray Growers Reserve

$8,220

-96.6%

Heading Up: Naked Probiotics SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

BOTTLED WATER

ENERGY DRINKS

$3,965,020,000 -5.1%

$899,586,000 7.3%

TOPLINE CATEGORY

BEER

SPORTS DRINKS

52 Weeks through 2/22/2009

$7,976,494,000 4.3%

$1,614,530,000 -1.9%

BOTTLED JUICES

TEA/COFFEE

$3,819,238,000 0.6%

$1,393,355,000 -3.7%

VOLUME

SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

14.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Channel Check

SPORTS DRINKS

march 2009

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Gatorade

$578,568,500

-9.5%

Powerade

$249,876,700

-0.6%

Gatorade G2

$168,805,000

634.0%

Gatorade All Stars

$125,676,100

-7.0%

Gatorade Frost

$122,884,800

-13.3%

Gatorade Rain

$95,159,420

-39.9%

Gatorade Tiger

$65,803,410

4,076.9%

Gatorade Fierce

$62,055,380

-31.1%

Gatorade X Factor

$46,278,540

-42.3%

Gatorade A.M.

$44,409,570

-38.6%

Heading Up: Gatorade G2

52 Weeks through 2/22/09 SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

ENERGY DRINKS

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Red Bull

$360,695,000

2.4%

Monster

$145,501,200

9.7%

Rockstar

$98,890,740

0.9%

Amp

$35,563,840

21.0%

Java Monster

$23,372,480

217.6%

Full Throttle

$22,447,790

-33.2%

Monster XXL

$18,888,550

30.1%

Doubleshot

$17,989,410

N/A

Amp Overdrive

$13,888,560

31.6%

Nos

$13,610,250

97.7%

Heading Up: Nos

52 Weeks through 2/22/09 SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

IMPORT BEER

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Corona

$440,796,700

-1.8%

Heineken

$294,914,000

-1.2%

Corona Light

$125,173,900

-1.1%

Tecate

$100,420,900

14.2%

Heineken Premium Light

$72,413,950

3.9%

Modelo Especial

$66,928,730

19.4%

Stella Artois

$53,317,960

43.7%

Newcastle

$49,743,160

-1.2%

Guinness Draught

$47,634,760

-1.3%

Becks

$44,675,830

10.2%

Heading Up: Stella Artois

52 Weeks through 2/22/09 SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

16.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Mountain Valley 0309.pdf

CONVENIENCE/PET STILL WATER

Dollar Sales

3/11/2009

2:41:49 PM

Change vs. year earlier

Private Label

$706,890,800

5.7%

Aquafina

$416,492,600

-17.9%

Dasani

$413,544,200

-8.1%

Glaceau Vitaminwater

$406,390,500

-4.9%

Poland Spring

$257,438,300

2.7%

Arrowhead

$166,394,400

-9.6%

Propel

$162,696,300

-15.3%

Deer Park

$132,756,500

-5.7%

Nestle Pure Life

$118,450,500

-4.7%

Crystal Geyser

$105,449,800

-3.0%

Heading Up: Private Label

52 Weeks through 2/22/09 SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

RTD TEA

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

AriZona

$305,458,700

C 5.1%

Lipton

$235,810,000

M -4.2%

Snapple

$120,768,500

Y -9.8%

Lipton Brisk

$81,534,610

CM -7.1%

Diet Snapple

$74,226,100

MY -10.9%

Nestea

$61,082,700

CY -7.5%

Diet Lipton

$55,624,580

CMY 11.5%

Lipton Pureleaf

$35,858,030

K 32.7%

Private Label

$29,717,030

51.1%

Diet Nestea

$17,391,660

-2.1%

Heading Up: Private Label

52 Weeks through 2/22/09 SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

DOMESTIC BEER

Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

Bud Light

$1,399,053,000

5.7%

Miller Lite

$686,355,100

-0.5%

Coors Light

$673,898,900

9.5%

Budweiser

$664,826,900

-0.6%

Natural Light

$277,126,700

4.0%

Michelob Ultra Light

$206,700,800

3.8%

Busch Light

$203,119,400

4.8%

Miller High Life

$173,674,900

7.7%

Busch

$157,372,300

6.9%

Miller Genuine Draft

$137,199,200

-7.2%

Heading Up: Miller High Life

52 Weeks through 2/22/09 SOURCE: Information Resources Inc. Total food/drug/mass excluding Wal-Mart

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.17

NEWPRODUCTS • TEA • The Coca-Cola Company has launched Gold Peak Chilled Tea. Available in the popular Gold Peak sweetened and lemon flavors, the chilled multi-serve version is packaged in a 59 oz. carafe bottle. It began shipping to retailers in late January. Made with hand selected, high quality tea leaves and filtered water, Gold Peak Chilled Tea will serve as a complement to Gold Peak’s existing portfolio of single-serve 16.9 oz. bottles. The launch of the new chilled products will focus initially on the Northeastern and Central markets and will be supported with a comprehensive marketing program. For more information call Coca-Cola at (404) 676-1070.

ITO EN (North America), INC, has launched three new products. Green Tea Ginseng is the newest addition to company’s Natural Fruit Tea line. Freshly brewed with premium loose leaf green tea and natural ginseng extracted from the Panax Ginseng root, Green Tea Ginseng joins the allnatural, authentically brewed flavors of Tea Apple, Tea Mango, Green Tea Blueberry, Tea Grape, Tea Orange, White Tea Pear, and Tea Peach. Green Tea Ginseng and the extended flavors of ITO EN’s Natural Fruit Tea line retails for $1.99 for a 16.9 oz. PET bottle and can be found at mass merchandise stores, grocery stores and specialty natural food retailers nationwide. ITO EN’s TEAS’ TEA Naturally Sweet, is an all-new, naturally flavored tea line intended to appeal to consumers looking to switch from sweetened to unsweetened tea. With only 8 grams of natural cane sugar and 40 calories per serving, the line will feature three new flavors: TEAS’ TEA Blueberry Green, TEAS’ TEA Citrus Black and TEAS TEA Mango Oolong. This line will retail for $1.99 for a 16.9 oz. PET bottle and can be found at mass merchandise stores, grocery stores and specialty natural food retailers nationwide; including Whole Foods, Super Target, Bashas’ Supermarket, Wegman’s, and other local outlets.

The company has also launched three new varieties in its Traditional Japanese Tea line: Oi Ocha Dark, Jasmine Green and Golden Oolong. Following the success of Oi Ocha in the U.S. marketplace, the new line extension will feature Japanese packaged labels to reflect the traditional Japanese taste of unsweetened and calorie-free infusions.

The original Oi Ocha and extended line of ITO EN Traditional Japanese Tea products are available in 16.9 oz. PET bottles and retail at $1.99. They are available at

18.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

natural and mainstream markets nationwide.

For more information on the entire line of ITO EN products, please call ITO EN at (212) 251-1246.

Turkey Hill Dairy, producer of the nation’s number one refrigerated iced tea, has added the Cuban-inspired Mojito Green Tea and Diet Mojito Green Tea to its Nature’s Accents line and Pomegranate Lemonade to its line of fruit beverages. The new Green Tea Mojito is a non-alcoholic blend of citrus and mint inspired by the Cuban cocktail. New Pomegranate Lemonade is made with all natural flavors and combines Turkey Hill’s classic lemonade recipe with the trendy fruit recognized for its health benefits and unique flavor. The new flavors come in pints and half gallons — and will be available wherever Turkey Hill drinks are sold.

For more information call Turkey Hill at (717) 234-8886.

• ENERGY DRINKS • Hey, brake for this: Big Ol’ Trucker has launched Big Ol’ Trucker Energy Juice, a product that claims to keep drivers focused, alert and energized while not compromising health or safety by pumping the driver full of blood pressure raising stimulants such as caffeine and guarana. Big Ol’ Trucker Energy Juice will be available in truck stops and other retailers nationwide in early 2009. Earlier this year, the Healthy Trucking Initiative endorsed Big Ol’ Trucker Energy Juice, calling it, “a welcome addition to any trucker’s snack plans.” For more information call Big Ol’ Trucker at (888) 681-0009.

• JUICE • Coca-Cola Co.-owned Odwalla, Inc. is adding two new reduced-calorie juice drinks to its product portfolio: Odwalla Mojito Mambo and Odwalla Pomegranate Strawberry natural juice drink from concentrate.

Both products are sweetened with a combination of Truvia – a stevia-based sweetener –organic evaporated cane sugar, and fruit juices to have one-half the calories and sugar of other leading premium juice drinks. They are fortified to provide 50 percent of the daily value of antioxidant vitamins C and E. Both products have 50 calories per 8 oz. serving. Like all Odwalla products, Mojito Mambo and Pomegranate Strawberry do not contain any artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, or preservatives. Odwalla Mojito Mambo and Odwalla Pomegranate Strawberry will be available in 450 ml grab-n-go

recyclable plastic bottles at a suggested retail price of $3.29. Distribution will be nationwide in natural food stores, supermarkets, and specialty outlets. For more information call Odwalla at (404) 676-3288.

Santa Cruz Organic is extending its summer sipping line with Mango Lemonade.

This product will be available nationwide at Whole Foods starting in June and will carry an initial MSRP of $1.49 and then increase to its everyday price range of $2.89 - $3.39.

For more information, call Santa Cruz Organic at (303) 449 – 2108.

• CSDs • Coca-Cola North America has launched Sprite Green, the first sparkling, naturally sweetened, reduced-calorie CSD in the U.S. made with TRUVIA natural sweetener. Sprite Green has 50 calories and 5 percent lemon juice per 8.5 oz. serving. Sprite Green was created to appeal to active young adults and will be launched in markets that embrace that demographic in early 2009. For pricing and more detailed distribution information, call Coke at (404) 676-3288.

• BEER • The Jacob Leinenkugal Brewing Company is launching Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber, which offers a brilliant light copper, golden color and impressive foam retention allowing beer lovers full enjoyment of the complex flavors and aroma. Recognizing their German heritage, Leinenkugel’s brewed this new brew in Reinheitsgebot tradition where the only ingredients permitted are malts, water, hops and yeast. Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber contains 4.9 percent alcohol by volume and is available in 6 and 12 pack bottles and on draft where Leinenkugel’s is sold. Classic Amber retails for approximately $6.99 to $7.99 a 6-pack. For more information, call (952) 401-0125.

The Boston Beer Co. has launched the Samuel Adams Imperial Series. This new line is intended to offer beer lovers an intense version of some of their favorite traditional beer styles by boosting the ingredients and testing the limits of each traditional style.

With more robust flavors and nearly twice the alcohol by volume of your average beer, each style in the Imperial Series is intended to be savored and appreciated like a fine wine. This new series of beers will be offered year-round and include Samuel Adams Imperial White, Samuel Adams Imperial Stout and Samuel Adams Double Bock each

in their own four-pack. The Imperial Series will be available nationwide in February at a suggested retail price of $9.99 per four-pack.

For more information, please call (212) 891-0435.

Redhook Ale Brewery has launched Slim Chance, a light ale with the full-bodied flavor of a craft brew. Slim Chance is brewed in the blonde-style tradition, using a wide variety of golden-kilned malts, a touch of wheat and subtle aroma hops. At 125 calories per 12 ounces, Slim Chance combines attributes of an ale with the benefit of fewer calories.

Slim Chance Light Ale will be available in 12 oz. bottles and on draught nationwide in March. This year-round selection will be the only craft light ale available nationally, retailing for approximately $8.99 per pack.

For more information, call (503) 231-3086.

Grand Teton Brewing Company released its new Double Vision Doppelbock on February 15th. The Doppelbock, the first in their 2009 “Cellar Reserve” series of specialty beers, is dedicated to, and brewed in strict adherence to the Reinheitsgebot, the 1516 Bavarian beer purity law. Each beer this year will be brewed to commemorate one of the four true beer ingredients: malt, hops, yeast and water. At over 8 percent alcohol by volume, it is a deceptively drinkable springtime warmer. Grand Teton Brewing releases four or five different beers a year in the Cellar Reserve line. The production quantity is very limited. The Double Vision Doppelbock is available in kegs and unique brown one-liter, flip-top bottles with silver and gold labels. This product will be available at select locations in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, California, Oregon, Montana, Washington, New York, Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kansas. Call the brewery at 1-888-899-1656 for pricing and availability information.

Crown Imports is adding the Modelo Especial 12 oz. can 18-pack. The new package is shipping from Mexico now for retail placement in mid-March in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The Modelo Especial 18-pack is an extension of the existing 12 oz. can, and is being introduced to broaden exposure for Modelo Especial, the number two Mexican beer and number three imported beer in the U.S. The new Modelo Especial 18-pack can package rollout will be supported with an array of point-of-sale materials, including shelf strips, display cards, static stickers and banners. For more

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.19

information call Crown Imports at (312) 873-9279.

• SPIRITS • Absolut Vodka is launching its 10th flavor, Absolut Mango. ABSOLUT MANGO is aromatic and juicy with a pronounced and genuine character of ripened mango. This product will be available nationally this month and will retail for a suggested price of $19.99/750 ml. To support the launch, ABSOLUT will host on-premise tasting events (where legal) in key markets. ABSOLUT MANGO point of sale materials including table tents, banners, branded tasting cups and themed give-aways will be provided to enhance the ABSOLUT MANGO experience for consumers. For more information, contact Absolut at (203 254-8225.

From Voodoo Tiki Tequila Corp. comes the eponymous Voodoo Tiki Tequila. Aged in barrels carved from voodoo tikis,every bottle is hand-blown with an actual glass Voodoo Tiki inside. Voodoo Tiki Tequila offers a full range of high concept, high quality Ultra-Premium and Super-Premium handcrafted tequila made from the highest quality 100 percent Weber Blue agaves aged between 10 and 12 years. Voodoo Tiki Tequila Corp. tequila is distilled twice. Voodoo Tiki Tequila is currently available in 23 US states.

For more information call (310) 963-4808.

Gruppo Campari-owned Skyy Vodka has announced the latest addition to its SKYY Infusions All Natural line, Pineapple.

Launching this month, SKYY Infusions All Natural Pineapple is the first Pineapple infused vodka available nationwide. It joins the SKYY Infusions portfolio of Citrus, Cherry, Passion Fruit, Raspberry and Grape, an assortment of all natural infusions made from real fruit. This product is created through a proprietary process, where real fruit is infused into SKYY Vodka. SKYY Infusions Pineapple is available nationwide, available in 50ml ($1.99 MSRP), 750ml ($18.49 MSRP) and 1L ($26.49 MSRP) size bottles. For more information, call Skyy at (707) 254-1167.

Thatcher’s has launched a new collection of organic liqueurs. The range, at launch, includes eight expressions: Cucumber, Elderflower, Apple Spice Ginger, Pomegranate, Tres Chili, Dark Chocolate, Chipotle, and Blueberry. Packaged in light weight, clear 750 ml glass bottles featuring labels made from recycled materials, each expression will retail at less than $25. Contain-

20.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

ing no artificial flavors, preservatives or colors, everything in a bottle of Thatcher’s is sustainably farmed by a trusted grower.

Thatcher’s can be purchased by the trade in cases of 6 bottles. In addition, all point of sale support is created using recycled material. The phased-in nationwide launch will begin in select markets, including California, Arizona, and Illinois in April. MSRP for this product is $24.99. For more information, call Thatcher’s at (847) 560-3300.

• WINE • Martini & Rossi has announced the addition of a Sparkling Rosé, available later this month. Cultivated in the Piedmont and Veneto regions in Italy and made with Moscato Bianco, Malvasia and Brachetto grapes, this Sparkling Rosé is soft pink in color and fully sparkling, characterized by enticing aromas that blend hints of citrus, elderflower and soft peach with notes of wild rose. This product will be available in a 750 ml bottle and 187 ml 4-packs, and can be found at fine wine retailers this spring for a suggested price of $12.99.

For more information, call Martini & Rossi at (646) 654-3442.

Mercer Estates, a family-owned Washington State winery devoted to producing premium wines through a partnership of the Bud Mercer and Mike Hogue families, has launched its 2007 Chardonnay. Mercer Estates, located in Prosser, Washington, was founded in 2006. The suggested retail price of the 2007 Chardonnay is $17. For more information, call (718) 403-0097.

• COCONUT WATER • O.N.E. Natural Experience has launched O.N.E. with a Splash, a blend of 100 percent natural coconut water and a “splash” of tropical flavor. It includes four varieties: Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Mango and Pink Guava. O.N.E. with a Splash will be available in 8.5 oz., eco-friendly Tetra Paks to grocery stores nationwide in June 2009 (retail price $1.29-$1.49).

O.N.E. has also launched O.N.E. Water, a product that is dedicated to offering safe, clean drinking water to people who do not have access to it. O.N.E. is donating 100 percent of the profits derived from this spring water to non-profit organizations.

O.N.E. Water is sourced from Eastern Canada and packaged in Tetra Paks. Each year, O.N.E. will select 10-15 non-profits (ranging from disaster relief to cancer research to edu-

cation) to receive the funds from the sales of O.N.E. Water. O.N.E. Water will be made available in 16.9 oz. Tetra Paks to grocery stores in New York and Los Angeles in April 2009 (retail price $1.49-$1.79). For more information, call (323) 988-0796.

Edward and Sons is introducing Organic Young Coconut Water under its Nature Factor brand. Made from the clear liquid contained inside USDA-certified organic young coconuts, Organic Young Coconut Water is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and is low in calories. Coconut water contains natural electrolytes and high levels of potassium that help the body recover from rigorous activities. Available in handy, recyclable 10.5 oz. cans, Nature Factor’s Organic Young Coconut Water is now available for $1.49-1.89 nationwide at both natural and mainstream grocery stores. For more information, call (310) 274-1072.

• BOTTLED WATER • AriZona Beverage Co. has ventured into a new area of hydration with Vapor Water.

Through the replication of earth’s hydrologic cycle, AriZona has created a vapor-distilled water that is further improved upon by infusing a balanced blend of electrolytes.

During the distillation process, impurities and environmental pollutants are removed from the vapors, which then transform into clean water. The newly purified liquid is then combined with a precise balance of calcium, magnesium and potassium. This proprietary formula is designed to help increase a person’s rate of hydration and enhance performance during physical activity, without adding the calories and sodium of some other beverages. AriZona’s Vapor Water will begin distribution nationally this winter for a suggested retail of $1.59 per 33.8 oz. PET plastic bottle and $1.29 per 25.3 oz. PET plastic bottle. For more information on this and other AriZona beverages please visit www.drinkarizona.com.

Introduced in February, Next Generation Waters is a new line of functional beverages catering to an individual’s particular mood at a given time. Products include Kick Water, Chill Water, This Water and Hot Water, which includes aphrodisiacs, according to the product’s manufacturers. Next Generation Waters is bottled with a hot fill process and is a member of 1% For the Planet. For more information, call Next Generation at (917) 751-6658.

22.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Herbal Water, Inc., the manufacturer of Ayala’s Herbal Water, has unveiled a new flavor – Lemon Verbena Geranium. The new flavor is being released in conjunction with a nationwide launch of the company’s newly redesigned label, and both were officially unveiled at the Expo West Show in Anaheim, California on March 6. The Lemon Verbena Geranium flavor has herbs with aromatic leaves and a fruity lemon note. It also has a clean fresh finish combined with a romantic floral touch. This product will be carried nationwide by Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Central Market, Wegmans, Food Emporium, Giant, HEB, Raley’s, The Fresh Market and many natural food and specialty stores.

• SMOOTHIES •

Chiquita Brands, in partnership with Old Orchard Brands, is introducing a new line of frozen fruit smoothies made with Chiquita bananas. The blend-and-serve Chiquita Frozen Fruit Smoothie line includes four flavors. The product is available in recyclable 12 oz. plastic cans which provide three, 8 oz. servings. It begins shipping next month with a suggested retail price of $2.69 per can. A national consumer campaign to support the product begins in April. For more information, call Chiquita Brands at (616) 233-0500. mix1 beverage company, best known for its all-natural enhanced protein shake, is launching a new hi-antioxidant fiber drink.

Available in dark-berry and orange-carrot flavors, each satisfying serving of mix1 hi-antioxidant fiber drink contains just 115 calories and includes the equivalent of nine servings of fruit and vegetable antioxidants, nine grams of whey protein isolate and eight grams of soluble fiber. It joins mix1’s existing product line of all-natural enhanced protein shakes. After launch, these products will be distributed nationally at Kroger and Whole Foods Market; regionally at King Soopers, Albertsons, Fred Meyer, Costco, Jewel-Osco, Ralphs, HEB, City Market and QFC; as well as at independent grocery retailers across the United States. For more information, please call (303) 442-1009. •

CONVENTION SCRAPBOOK – EXPO WEST

NO FINANCING, BUT PLENTY OF FLEXING

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN

aking a strong posture against a weakening economy, natural beverage companies and their crunchy compatriots flexed with new products and a growing focus on healthy living during Natural Products Expo West earlier this month at the Anaheim, Calif.

Convention Center.

It was a surprisingly lively show -- attendees and exhibitors had been nervous about the possibility of weak attendance and downcast moods. But despite the absence of major announcements of capital infusion or company sales – a change from recent years -- beverage companies, perhaps just happy to be surviving the tough times, put on a positive face.

“The money we got last year gave us the ability to grow,” said Eric Schnell, co-founder of Steaz, which took in financing last year from investment group Inventages. “This year is all about perfecting what we’ve got, making sure we’re the healthy alternative for any mainstream beverage product.”

Without extra money flying around to pursue new ventures, it was unsurprising to hear many optimistically-themed gerunds like “polishing,” “burnishing,” and “honing” from brand owners Nevertheless, new products were in evidence – even Steaz was showing off a new energy shot, right down the aisle from Guayaki, which has also recently launched a Yerba Mate based energy shot of its own, while across the busy aisle from both partners-in-crime was fellow fast-growing

24.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

LOHAS brand Sambazon. The acai product marketer was trumpeting Jungle Love, a new, aphrodisiac-themed flanker SKU for its Amazon Energy drink.

CHASING THE RUNNERS While that wedge of Fair Trade friends focused on energy introductions, other companies focused on improving their financial health by focusing their brands on consumer health. Several new and reformulated products seemed to be targeting a group of consumers who are intense about their amateur athletic pursuits, trying to make a functional play against a category long dominated by Gatorade.

Amid strong appeals to pre-and-post-work gym rats from brands like Owater, Clif Bar – which is trying to cross into the cooler by debuting a new, four-SKU sports drink line— and private-label innovation house Tandem Rain, Mix1 fitness drink founder Greg Stroh discussed the burgeoning weekend warrior focus as a contrast to that of Gatorade, which has long relied on celebrity athletes to promote its brand.

“We’re chasing the white collar athlete,” Stroh said. “I’d rather be where we are with a unique position than just be a sheep.”

To that end, momentum built behind all three leading brands of coconut water: Vita Coco showed off a re-sealable 500 ml package and a new flavor, Acai and Pomegranate.

O.N.E. debuted four new flavors, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Mango and Pink Guava, while Zico prepared to move its headquarters from New York to California while citing strong growth numbers, including seven

new employees.

“We’re focusing on that intense amateur,” said Zico founder Mark Rampolla, who has found a growth channel in yoga studios and among triathlon enthusiasts. “We might tap professional athletes, our approach is validated by the professionals, but our growth comes when it’s practiced by the amateurs.”

Along those lines, a significant number of new products showed lower calorie profiles than in years past. Keeping things under 100 calories per bottle seemed to be the guideline for product manufacturers.

“There are a lot of people keeping things down to about 50 calories per serving or less,” said Adina CEO Greg Steltenpohl.

“That seems to be the sweet spot.”

HERBAL MAGIC Also seeking amateur practitioners were companies introducing drinks that relied on a balance of herbs and fruits for flavor and effect. Adina was one of the companies drawing a crowd, as it showed off its new four-sku Holistics line, based loosely on the principals of Ayurvedic principals of balanced health (see sidebar).

Another herbal line came, surprisingly, from prune marketer Sunsweet, which debuted Herbal Waters, a 33 percent juice product laced with potentially beneficial ingredients like ashgawanda, lemongrass, and hibiscus. Sunsweet is using the 16 oz. glass-bottled drinks, filled in a companyowned bottling plant in Yuba City, Calif., to try to pursue distributors who are now without vitaminwater, according to category manager Stephanie Harralson. To that end,

AMI brands’ Carpe Diem also took on a sponsorship role at the show.

Herbs were not the only miracle products for health seekers, of course, as the show saw the introduction of a number of new superfruit products. Long one of the leaders of the Acai movement, Bossa Nova introduced new slim, plastic bottles for all of its products, including its Superfruit line, while new 3-SKU Borojo Energy introduced attendees to borojo, a Central American superfruit that, according to founder Gregg Hollander, can offer the drinker an euphoric feeling, in addition to energy.

At Expo West, with so few exhibitors feeling the flush that can come from investors with open wallets, perhaps a little borojoderived euphoria, as well as the chance to maintain the business, was all that one could ask for. •

ALSO ON DISPLAY: • New Tetra-Pak packages from Hint • Veriteas, a 10 oz. low-calorie noncarbonated Oolong tea energy drink • Ilanllyr Source’s new canned waters from Wales • Loose tea maker Ineeka’s foray into bottled beverages, Himalayan Green Tea Beer • A pair of fiber-infused smoothies from Mix1, including Dark Berry and Orange Carrot • Made’s line-up of 16 oz. PET shelfstable juice/milk hybrids, in four flavors: Strawberry Mojito, Strawberry Lemonade, Pomegranate Pineapple and Pineapple Mai Tai. • Three new flavors (Hibiscus and Blackberry, Hibiscus and Pineapple, and Hibiscus and Vanilla) and new shelf-friendly packaging from Ooba

• Oogave’s expanded line-up, which now include six flavors and a reformulated root beer • In addition to Jungle Love, Sambazon introduced a diet version of Amazon Energy with 40 calories per 8 oz. serving.

• Sunsteen mangosteen supplement, formerly in a larger container, is now in 8.3 oz. bottles.

• Orgain, an 11 oz. TetraPak meal replacement drink in two flavors, Creamy Chocolate Fudge and Sweet Vanilla Bean • New stevia-sweetened flavors from Odwalla • A pair of new yerba mate flavors from Honest Tea, Agave and Tropical Mate • New 16 oz. proprietary glass bottles from Sweet Leaf Tea, soon to be followed by PET.

››ADINA: SEEKING HOLISTIC SOLUTION FOR HOLE IN DSD OFFERINGS Sure, they were neat-looking, and kind of tasty, but what do you call them?

That was the question posed more than once to the purveyors at the Expo West booth run by Adina for Life, which introduced Holistics, a splashy new line of herbal healing drinks based on ancient Ayurvedic principles, at the recently-concluded show.

With a set of proprietary glass bottles labeled with a cute monkey (he’s called “Spanky” until someone comes up with a better name) and lightly-sweetened, organic-certified flavors like Peach Amalaki, Honey Eucalyptus, and Honey Lemon Aloe, among others, Holistics seeks to use herbs – or herbal infusions -- to fill what vitamins – or vitaminwater -- once did for retailers: provide a tasty, unique drink with a healthy “aura” to active consumers.

The Holistics line was the most intriguing and strategically grounded rollout of several brands (including Sunsweet and Carpe Diem) pushing herbal tonics at the Expo West show.

It could also serve as a rapid barometer for this kind of product, especially given the heavy hitters in Adina’s executive lineup – John Bello, Greg Steltenpohl, Bruce Burke, Bruce Schroeder – and

the way the product seems to echo SoBe, CEO Bello’s own breakthrough brand. New Age-y but still fun, with compositions and labels evocative of holistic medicine but making absolutely no concrete functional claims, lightly flavored but sweet, Adina rushed the product to market in a remarkable four months to try to fill what remains a series of gaps in distributors’ product offerings after they lost banner brands like vitaminwater, Muscle Milk, Fuze and Honest Tea. “You’ve got a void in the marketplace where we’ve got something that meets the taste profile, something new and exciting and different, and that gives us an opportunity to grow and succeed,” said Burke, the company’s CMO. And Burke is banking on fast growth – everywhere. In fact, despite the brand’s seemingly Whole Foods-friendly orientation, the aim for Holistics is to take it straight into mainstream channels. The company has lined up a set of independent distributors into what it calls the “Green Network” in California and is also selling into a group of DSD houses in the Northeast who frequently work together.

The brand expects an intense three-to-four month takeoff, with

a core of 12 to 15 employees doing a lot of hand-selling in its initial regions. According to Steltenpohl, who founded Odwalla before Adina, “I’m booked on the trucks every day for the next 12 weeks.”

Adina, of course, isn’t the only company seeking to fill the Vitaminwater/Honest Tea void for independent distributors. But with the formidable team behind the product and the deep pockets of Bello’s Sherbrooke Capital helping to fund the operation, Holistics, according to Bello, “has the resources to stay the course.”

Nevertheless, at a time when functional products are getting knocked a bit for not doing what they are supposed to – indeed, a story on ABC News 20/20 aired during Expo West, delivering a body blow to enhanced waters, particularly Function Drinks over its Braniac product – some Expo attendees expressed skepticism about consumers being willing to tap into Eastern wellness practices for refreshment.

But the Adina team is undeterred, arguing that Holistics, rather than

making any statements regarding the products’ immediate effects, nevertheless have the potential to improve consumers’ lives by giving them a sense of balance.

“We aren’t making any functional claims,” Steltenpohl said.

“Herbalism, however, is something that’s a whole new idea, a whole new taste.”

Still, it’s a new idea and a new taste that still needs a category.

“Nice colors,” said Sunny Delight’s Jennifer Cottle as she approached the booth. “What do you call these?”

“It’s an elixir,” replied Bruce Schroeder, Adina’s president and COO. If the company is right, it’ll be more than just an elixir for consumers. It could be one for distributors, as well.

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.25

GERRY’S INSIGHTS

By Gerry Khermouch

NO GLOATING OVER THIS ONE A FEW WEEKS AGO, in my newsletter, I carried a report that a small startup marketer of non-alcoholic beverages in New Jersey called Bombilla & Gourd had that week shut its doors. On the grand scale of things, it wasn’t a very big story, certainly not at a time that my readers have been looking to me more for information on the intricate maneuverings in the emerging-brands space of major companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch. But the closing wasn’t without interest either, because the company had made something of a splash despite having been started just a couple of years ago by three friends in their early 20s who not only couldn’t boast any beverage experience, but who had had little in the way of business experience or even of life experience, for that matter.

The response to the story surprised me.

The young bucks – Ariel Nelson, Noah Krinick and Tom Wollman – hadn’t exactly endeared themselves to more seasoned beverage players with their youthful brashness.

In-your-face trade ads, confrontational show floor encounters, the sometimes abrupt dismissal of advice from seasoned beverage people seemed to put off some people.

Yet in calls and emails spanning the next several weeks I didn’t pick up the least trace of schadenfreude, no gloating, no “it served them right.” Instead, even rivals expressed surprise at the closing, and often disappointment. The consensus seemed to be that the trio had been doing interesting things and it was a shame they wouldn’t be able to stick with it. A couple of callers confided that, given a bad decision or two more, or a cold-footed investor or two more, they might have ended up in the same straits.

The threesome launched their company with a line of ready-to-drink yerba mate drinks (the brand name refers to the metal straw and gourd with which hot mate is consumed in South America). Though Guayaki 26.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

D E U IN

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already had staked out that terrain, Bombilla & Gourd offered a less-mate-intense version in a larger-size bottle – you might call it Guayaki on training wheels. At least in the early stages, the two brands could have coexisted happily, together raising awareness and building the category, with more ardent acolytes able to advance from Bombilla & Gourd to the richer, more authentic – and more expensive – Guayaki experience. What struck me about the Bombilla line was its beautifully stylized label – done by a youthful freelancer after the three founders had rejected the generic proposal of an established design firm – and branding that played off the mystique of a product that in its hot form has developed a following on college campuses and in other cutting-edge environments. In giving it the intentionally redundant descriptor “mate tea” they worked hard to demystify the ingredient. Though it was hard to say why, it just didn’t seem as though Coke or Pepsi could have come up with as fresh an idea as that.

So where did things go wrong? My hunch is the three were in just too much of a rush to really get the brand proposition right.

They embarked on a hectic land grab of DSD distribution, draining resources (most of which seemed to come from friends and family, particularly the father of one of the founders). It probably didn’t help that a similarly packaged mate brand came out about the same time under the brand Herbal Mist. But their biggest missteps seemed to come from trying to get into too much, too soon: as the mate line struggled to find its footing, they were already veering off into other lines. First came a superfruit juice line vying in an already cluttered market, next an Asian tea line challenging Ito En’s Teas’ Tea in a market that had yet to prove it could support more than a single purveyor of unsweetened teas. In their core New York market, a seeming distribution upgrade from

upstart Exclusive to big-kahuna Big Geyser may have been premature. The use of “tea” in the name made it contractually harder for distributors of Snapple or Honest Tea to pick it up. It was a complicated puzzle that in time might have been sorted out. But the boys seemed to be in a rush to garner visibility, go national and cash out.

In that respect, they may have met the definition of “playaz” as I expressed it in last issue’s column. Recall, I made the case that many of these newcomers to the business, in fostering a bubble mentality and burning through capital, may have hurt the business’ credibility with retailers, distributors and investors. Their likely departure from the scene would be a silver lining to the current period of stress and hardship that we’re all suffering, as I wrote then.

I still believe that. But you know something? It’s hard to be too severe on these three smart, conquer-the-world kids who were so full of ambitious ideas. In offering an easily approachable yerba mate they were anticipating a trend that would subsequently lure brands like Honest Tea. In betting that Americans are ready for unsweetened teas, maybe they weren’t as far ahead of the curve as some of us assume now that we’re seeing unsweetened entries in other categories like Dasani Essence Water. Rather than offer tepid variations on Vitaminwater, Red Bull and other proven winners, the trio was willing to venture further toward the frontiers of established categories. The guys made things interesting. I think, in the end, that’s why even the crowd whose feathers they ruffled thinks it’s a shame to see them go.

Longtime beverage-watcher Gerry Khermouch is executive editor of Beverage Business Insights, a twiceweekly e-newsletter covering the nonalcoholic beverage sector.

BRANDS IN TRANSITION

REDLINE “WORKING OUT” IN NEW CHANNELS

BY MATT CASEY Redline doesn’t mess around. And it never has. When energy brands scrambled over each other, playing “can you top this” with ever-higher caffeine contents, Redline already held 250 mg in each 8 oz. – the equivalent of three Red Bulls. Plus, Redline is sugar-free and includes a fistful of additives intended to make the user sweat and shiver fat away – key benefits for its original health-club demographic. That gym origin insulated Redline from early mini-mart skirmishes, but now it’s getting into the fray, fighting for cooler space and picking bare-knuckle brawls along the way. In the age of protein bars and Muscle Milk at gas stations, Redline is beating a path from nutrition shops to convenience stores, and its parent company, Vital Pharmaceuticals (better known as VPX), hopes to drag a raft of its other exercise products along with it.

VPX founder and CEO Jack Owoc sees 7-Elevens and other convenience stores as “health food store[s] of the future,” and he intends for that future to include VPX. Redline has already secured space at Wal-Marts, 7-Elevens and other locations with four of its more mainstream oriented product lines: Redline, Redline Xtreme, Redline Princess and shot-sized Redline Power Rush. The company plans a 16 oz. extension called Redline Vexor for 2009 and, unlike many 8 oz. to 16 oz. transitions, Owoc said the larger product will have its own formula and its own tag line: “More Brains and Less Buzz.” He didn’t reveal other details about the forthcoming product, but he said he has more plans for convenience channels; he wants to leverage his Redline beachhead to mount a full-blown VPX invasion.

Owoc founded Vital Pharmaceuticals in 1993 with a mission to deliver high-grade sports nutrition supplements to people 28.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

serious about their workouts. He started with a creatine supplement, and has since developed an array of fat-burners, protein supplements and energy drinks – Not afraid of a brawl – Jack Owoc, VPX founder and CEO. including the 2005 introduction of Redline RTD – that he now plans to wedge a test of mental acuity,” Owoc wrote. “For into mainstream channels. this, Redline remains supreme.”

Bombastic and a bit reclusive, Owoc Some of Redline’s consumers may have refuses to be interviewed in any way but by already made that mental shift. Colorado electromic mail. Given the grenades he lobs waitress and mother-of-one Heather Coan at other companies, keeping one’s distance said she drinks Redline several times per might not be a bad idea. week to power through her sometimes-16“Consumers are fed-up with the B.S. hour workdays. products that currently dominate C-store “I would drink Redline daily if it was in shelves,” Owoc wrote. “Consumers want the budget and more available,” Coan said. more, and VPX is delivering in a big way.

She also credits Redline with helping her Profiteers that promote sugar water and pollose 50 pounds. lute our bod[ies] won’t be able to navigate Owoc cites instances like this when he against VPX – we are raising the bar to a expresses unmitigated faith in his product. level so high that their only choice will be to While other beverage promoters believe in walk underneath it.” their brands, few are as vocal or aggressive That transition, though, requires a change as Owoc, who has a talent for viciously of thinking. VPX ties itself tightly to the attacking his competition. In the six pages body-building world, and early press releases of typed response Owoc submitted for this left no vagueness about the purpose of article he slammed Red Bull, Monster and its banner product. Redline, releases said, 5-Hour Energy. He also and called the entire was strictly a pre-workout supplement. Its energy drink segment “carbonated sugar marketing materials still promise that the drinks.” And VPX’s assaults don’t end with product will help the user “tear apart the sharp words. The company has a history of weights and wear out the treadmill,” but serough-and-tumble litigation. rious workouts and 7-Elevens have traditionVPX has been involved in cases with each ally gone together about as well as ice cream of the above named companies, and publicly and cabbage. While that’s changing – with played hardball with Red Bull, a particularly protein bars increasingly displacing Hershey litigious company in its own right, when the bars – Owoc has modified his definition of banner energy brand sued VPX. Red Bull workout. said Redline was too similar to Red Bull be“Every day of our lives is a workout and cause it includes “Red” in its name and uses

a blue and red color scheme. In response, Owoc and his legal team sought and received the right to sue Red Bull for false advertising, and even filed a motion to order Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz to make an appearance in the courtroom. The motion was denied, but Redline won the right to keep its packaging unchanged.

“Some people just need a good ass-kicking because of their extreme arrogance and unwillingness to change with the times,” Owoc said. “and I can tell you with one hundred percent confidence Muscle Milk/Cytosport is next in line.”

VPX, it’s worth noting, recently introduced a protein RTD. Of course, it’s also worth noting that VPX has suffered broadsides about as often as it’s dealt them out, as the company has a rich history of headline-catching controversies.

Commentators and journalists often point to Redline as an example of the dangers of caffeine in high doses. The Sacramento Bee ran a story in 2007 in which a nearby poison control hotline reported 10 cases of Redlinerelated caffeine intoxication over a two year period. The brand caught unwanted headlines again in 2008 when four Florida eightgraders headed to the hospital with Redlineinduced caffeine overdoses. Owoc responded to the latter by donating $25,000 to the

school district to institute a system-wide energy drink ban, but the company’s standard response to this kind of incident has always been that consumers should heed Redline’s ample warning labels.

Each Redline RTD includes a notice on the cap warning that the bottle contains two servings, and that consumers should read the entire warning label before consuming the product. Redline 4-packs carry extra warnings, including one that says the product isn’t intended for consumers under the age of 18.

Those warning labels could become a lot more prevalent if Owoc’s plans pan out. Redline, he said, continues to be a top performer in gyms, GNCs and Vitamin Shoppe while sales at Wal-Marts climbed by 22 percent in 2008. In the meantime, his DSD coverage remained spotty – about 2.4 percent of available channels, he said – but he seems to have plans to fix that. In the meantime, he said VPX recently opened two new facilities to keep up with demand.

C on c

So what’s the company’s big challenge?

“Our main challenge is educating DSD’s and large retail chains on an entirely new approach of doing business that involves far greater profit, high rings at the cash register and much more sophisticated and scientific products,” Owoc said.

“Not to offend anybody, but the only thing we are up against in the beverage industry are sugary carbonated beverages and sugar laden sports drinks that were developed in 1987 and 1965. Pathetically, other beverage companies just knocked off these 22 and 43-year-old ineffective and healthrobbing drinks.”

Not to offend anybody. •

eptualization to Realization

SF

SOVEREIGN FLAVORS At Sovereign Flavors, “Energizing” the new age beverage category is crucial for our beverage partners. From ‘Conceptualization to Realization’, Sovereign Flavors is with you every step of the way.

With over 40 years of beverage application experience to extract upon, our beverage staff is poised to develop your ‘Energy’ drink that meets your specific requirements. Sovereign Flavors understands that finding great flavor solutions and speed of response is critical-and we pledge to be there from start to finish. It’s our promise.

Our Sovereign Promise.

phone. 714-437-1996

www.sovereignflavors.net

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.29

SPECIAL SECTION

2009

ENERGY GUIDE THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY’S GUIDE TO ENERGY DRINKS, ENERGY SHOTS, POWDERS, TABLETS, AND SUPPLIERS TO THE ENERGY DRINK CATEGORY.

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LITHO IN USA ©2009 Abbott Laboratories

INTRODUCTION 2009 ENERGY DRINK GUIDE YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE FOURTH annual Beverage Spectrum Energy Drink Guide, an exciting record of the beverage category that just won’t quit.

With premium pricing still in place and demand continuing to grow, energy drinks remain the backbone of many retail beverage sets, particularly for convenience stores. While other categories lost sales volume in 2008, energy drinks continued to increase, despite economic factors that cut down on store trips and a gas crisis that kept a lot of customers at the pumps – when they could afford a fill-up.

This year’s guide does demonstrate that the ongoing recession has hurt the growth of smaller energy drink brands – for example, from the 228 brands listed in last year’s guide, only about half remain. But we found 40

more new ones to join the survivors, and the larger players in the category remain strong. They are so strong, in fact, that the two largest soft drink companies in the U.S. are happy to distribute Monster and Rockstar even though they remain independent players. Meanwhile, the category growth means that the smaller survivors are consolidating share.

So don’t look to any drop in brand variety as a sign of a weakening category. Think of it as a sign of a maturing one.

Also maturing is the notion of energy as a broader concept. With the addition of energy shots, approximately $500 million worth of new brand sales are included in this guide – and that’s before Red Bull releases its own shot line, one that’s bound to bring new consumers to that sub-cat-

egory. With hybrids like juice, coffee, and sports products still going strong, there’s a lot of growing left to do.

Even as funding for new enterprises dries up, there are still a lot of great brands to plant on your shelves.

Beverage Spectrum and BevNET. com have covered the energy drink explosion from the start. It’s been incredible to see what had been an underground movement of Red Bull and a few experimental brands grow into such an important part of the beverage industry. Retailers now recognize what a breakthrough success this category of beverage has become – and despite the occasional negative press report, it’s staying there.

– John McKenna, Associate Publisher

KEY ORGANIC

fresh thinking,

steeped in tradition.

We travel the world to connect people with the finest tea and coffee products. While our customers represent a multitude of industries, they have one thing in common: an appreciation for the quality and service that only A. Holliday & Company Inc. can deliver.

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OUR CLIENTS: Food & beverage, baking and dairy manufacturers, private-label packers/co-packers, flavour/ingredient, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetics manufacturers.

MOST POPULAR: White, oolong, green, black and instant teas, decaffeinated coffee & tea, instant, liquid coffee and tea, rooibos, chicory and more.

OUR SERVICES: Full-service sourcing, prompt, worry-free delivery, testing and tasting facility.

34.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

ALL NATURAL

180

Amazon Energy Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

Sambazon

Dan Courtney One Busch Place St. Louis, MO 63118 314-577-3794 www.180.com

1160 Calle Cordillera San Clemente, CA 92673 877-726-2296 www.sambazon.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Orange Citrus Blast, Blue with Acai, Red with Goji, Blue Low Cal with Acai, Sugarfree Orange Citrus Blast PACKAGING: 8.2 oz., 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Diet, Jungle Love PACKAGING: 12 oz. can

1in3Trinity Energy Drink

AMP Energy Pepsico, Inc.

Paula Masters President 1102 East Dallas Road, Ste 215 Grapevine Texas 76051 1-800-920-1in3 (1463) www.1in3TrinityEnergyDrink

700 Anderson Hill Road Purchase, NY 10577 914-253-2000 www.ampenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Overdrive, Relaunch, Elevate, Traction, Sugar Free, Lightning, Green Tea, Black Tea PACKAGING: 2 oz.,16 oz., 24 oz. (Original)

220 V

BAWLS The Tesalia Springs Co.

Hobarama, LLC/BAWLS Guarana

Jorge Luis Varela Intl. Business 9.5 Via a Daule Guayaquil NA NA +5939-1300698 www.tesaliasprings.com

Sabrina Gonzales 400 NW 26 Street Miami, FL 33127 305-531-9708 www.bawls.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular/Original Flavor, Light/Original Flavor PACKAGING: 12.3 oz. PET Bottle, 16 oz. Can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original BAWLS, Guarana EXXTRA, Cherry, G33K B33R PACKAGING: 10 oz. glass, 16 oz. can

24:7

Biotta Energy Drink PriLabs, Inc.

Biotta, Inc.

Ray Montes V.P Operations 34 15th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 718 832 2900 www.prilabs.com

George Pappas CEO 484 E. Carmel Drive #137 Carmel, IN 46032 888-524-6882 www.biotta.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Sugar Free, Cherry Berry, Lemon Lime, Green Apple, Orange, Latte, Espresso PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Grape juice, Acai, Araza, Aronia, Camu camu, and lime juice.

PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. (250 ml) bottle

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.35

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

1in3Trinity

Canadian Beaver Buzz Double D Beverage

CRUNK!!! LLC

Andrew Drayson Co-Director of Business Development # 201 - 19138 - 26th Ave. Surrey, BC V3S 3V7 604-536-4070 www.beaverbuzz.com

1250 Northmeadow Parkway Suite 116 Roswell, GA 30076 678-578-5320 www.crunkenergydrink.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Citrus, Saskatoon Berry, Blackcurrant, Core, Chronic, Green Machine, Green Tea (noncarbonated), Iced Tea (non-carbonated), and Beaver Buzz Energy Shot (Core).

PACKAGING: 12 oz. Sleek can, 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original Pomegranate, Sugar-Free Pomegranate, Citrus, Grape-Acai PACKAGING: 8 oz. and 16 oz. can

Cintron Beverage Group

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

CRUNK!!!

Dark Dog

Cintron Beverage Group

Sand Dollar Distributors, LLC

Joseph Roberts President/COO 7400 Brewster Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19153 267-298-2100 www.cintron21.com

Norm Lubus 2828 Center Port Circle Pompano Beach, FL 33064 954-972-2855 www.darkdogus-energydrink.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Cranberry Splash, Tropical Azul, Original Citrus, Pineapple Passion, Citrus Mango, Sugar Free Citrus Mango PACKAGING: 16 oz. can, 8.4 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original Energy PACKAGING: 8.4 oz., 16 oz. can

CL-ONE

Dose Energy CL-ONE CORPORATION

Lotus Management Group

Dolly Smarty Pants 29582 Spotted Bull Lane San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 949-364-2895 www.cl-one.com

Ben Daniels 7904 E. Chaparral Rd #A110-221 Scottsdale, AZ 85250 801-518-9353 www.doseenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.3 oz. can Regular and Sugar Free, 16 oz. Regular

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free, Pomegranate green Tea, PACKAGING: 16 oz. can, 2 oz. PET, Bag in a Box, Stick Paks

Cocaine Energy Supplement

Emu Energizer

Redux Beverages, LLC

Emu Energy, LTD

Raymond Herrera Maketing VP 41146 Elm Street, Suite H Murrieta, CA 92562 951-304-1144 www.drinkredux.com

Henrik Fosland CEO 310/25 mu 2 prachar utit road 76 T.Barnklongsurn A.Phrasamut chedee Bangkok Samut Prakarn 10290 66 28739637 www.emu-energy.info

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Cocaine Energy Supplement, Regular (Red Can)Cocaine Energy Supplement, Mild (Blue Can)Cocaine Energy Supplement, Free (White Can) PACKAGING: 8 oz. Can 36.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. cans

2001: $62,500 invested

2008: Red Bull lawsuit settled

2008: 15,000,000 can equivalents sold

2009: Your new weapon against Red Bull

Take the Lions Challenge at: www.roaringlionenergydrink.com ™

* Red Bull is the registered trademark for an energy drink owned by Red Bull GmbH. Roaring Lion, the Lion’s head symbol and Lion’s Challenge are respectively a registered and common law trademarks owned by RLED, LLC used in connection with energy drinks.

essn energy organic Skylarhaley

Fuze Co.

Mila Benigno Marketing Manager 34 Alamo Square ST #101 Alamo, CA 94507 866-759-5274 www.skylarhaley.com

Greg Fleishman 140 Sylvan Ave 3rd Floor Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 201-461-6640 www.fullthrottleenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Pomegranate Limeflower, Kenyan Green Tea, Brazillian Yerba Mate and Guarana PACKAGING: 12 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Full Throttle Original,Full Throttle Zero, Full Throttle Blue Demon,Full Throttle Fury, Full Throttle Coffee: Mocha, Vanilla or Caramel PACKAGING: 16 oz. cans (15 oz. cans for Full Throttle Coffee)

EVO Energy

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

Full Throttle Energy Drink

GIVE Energy EVO Beverage & Dist.

PurBlu Beverages, Inc.

John Wilson V.P. of Operations 1111 E. Draper Parkway Ste. 300 Draper, UT 84020 801-942-0557 www.drinkevo.com

Mark Slepak VP Sales 301 Grant Street, Suite 820 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-281-9808 www.drinkgive.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Sugar Free Pomegranate Acai, Citrus Bliss PACKAGING: 12 oz. sleek

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Pomegranate Blueberry Acai, Mojito Grapefruit, Pear Apple Cherry PACKAGING: 16 oz. cans

Ex Pure Energy

GURU

Ex Drinks, LLC

GURU Beverage Co.

1879 Whitney Mesa Dr Henderson, NV 89014 702-949-6555 www.exdrinks.com

Raymond Jolicoeur Founder 37 Wall St. #21M New York, NY 10005 212-480-4878 www.guruenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Pure Energy PACKAGING: 8.4 oz., 250 ml

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Lite, Juicy - Tangerine, Juicy Superfruit, Iced Tea - Green Tea Honey Lemon, Full On- Lemonade PACKAGING: 8 oz. and 12 oz. can

Ex Slim Energy

Her Energy

Ex Drinks, LLC

Her Energy

1879 Whitney Mesa Dr Henderson, NV 89014 702-949-6555 www.exdrinks.com

Brett Jacobson CEO 6533 Hollywood Blvd.,Suite 200 & 201 Hollywood, CA 90028 (310)717-2292 www.herenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Sugar Free Energy PACKAGING: 8.4 fl., 250 ml

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Pink Lemonade Regular, Pink Lemonade No Carbs/No Sugar PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

38.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

HOT Pure Energy Jump Innovations, LLC

Jump Innovations, LLC

Matt Burditt CEO 10855 Dover St., Suite #600 Westminster, CO 80021 877-517-4397 www.jumpbeverages.com

Matt Burditt CEO 10855 Dover St., Suite #600 Westminster, CO 80021 877-517-4397 www.jumpbeverages.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: JUMP Coffee Energy Cola,SENTINEL Vigilant Energy Drink,RECON Coffee Energy Cola PACKAGING: 10.5 oz. and 12 oz. cans

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: HOT Pure Energy,RECON Coffee Energy Cola,SENTINEL Vigilant Energy Drink PACKAGING: 10.5 oz. and 12 oz. cans

Huracan Energy Drink

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

JUMP Coffee Energy Cola

Liquid Energizer/LE

Iron Horse Beverage

Smart Beverage, Inc.

Clifton Morello CEO/President 68 South Service Rd., Suite 100 Melville, NY 11747 631-465-2102 www.ironhorsebeverage.com

2891 Jamacha Rd.#C El Cajon, CA 92019 619-596-8445 800-546-1358 www.smartbevcorp.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Orange (Naranja) and Lemon Lime (LimaLimon) PACKAGING: 12 oz. can, 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Green, Orange, Pomegranate, Mango, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 16 oz. (500ml)

IXSO Natural Energy

Liquid Ice Energy Drink

Intelligentfood North America

Liquid Management Partners

Bay Village, OH 888-369-IXSO www.intelligentfoodusa.com

Michael Lam President 320 Northern Blvd., Suite 17 Great Neck, NY 11021 516-773-0065 www.liquidiceenergydrink.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: IXSO Natural Energy PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.3 oz. can, 12 oz. can

Jolt Energy

Loaded Energy Drink Wet Planet Beverages

Loaded Energy, LLC

Courtney Rapp PR Manager 130 Linden Oaks, Suite C Rochester, NY 14625 585-381-3560 www.joltenergy.com

www.loadedenergydrink.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Power Cola, Blue Raspberry, Cherry Bomb, Ultra: Sugar Free, Wild Grape, Orange Blast, Passion Fruit PACKAGING: 23.5 oz. resealable cap can, 16 oz. resealable cap can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Loaded, UnLoaded (sugar free) PACKAGING: 16 oz. can, 24 pack case, Pallet

40.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Lost Energy Drink

Monster Energy Monster Beverage Company

Laura Chin VP of National Accounts 550 Monica Circle, Ste. 201 Corona, CA 92880 951-280-3289 www.lostenergydrink.com

Laura Chin VP of National Accounts 550 Monica Circle, Ste. 201 Corona CA 92880 951-280-3289 www.monsterenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Perfect 10, Five-O, Cadillac PACKAGING: Original - 16 oz. can, Perfect 10 - 16 oz. can, Five-O - 16 oz. can, Cadillac - 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Lo-Carb, Assault, Khaos, M-80, MIXXD, BFC, Heavy Metal PACKAGING: Regular - 8.3 oz. can, 16 oz. can, 24 oz. Cap Can, 32 oz. can (BFC).

MONSOON

No Fear PriLabs, Inc

Pepsico

Ray Montes V.P Operations 34 15th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 718 832 2900 prilabs.com

700 Anderson Hill Rd. Purchase, NY 10577 914-253-2000 www.energy.nofear.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Sugar Free, Bloodshot, Motherload PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.41

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

Hansen Beverage Company

ENERGY SHOT *AC NIELSEN DATA - JUNE 2008

NEW SUPER POTENT 2-OUNCE SIZE

NOS

Red Bull Energy Drink Fuze Beverage, LLC.

Red Bull North America, Inc.

140 Sylvan Ave., 3rd Floor Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 201-461-6640 www.drinknos.com

1740 Stewart Street Santa Monica, CA 90404 310-393-4647 www.redbullusa.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original - Mango Passionfruit, Fruit Punch, Grape, Sugar-Free PACKAGING: 16 oz. can, 22 oz. resealable PET

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Sugarfree PACKAGING: 8 oz. can, 12 oz. can, 16 oz. can

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

OSO

RED Light OSO, LLC

RED Light Industries

Ray Montes V.P Operations 34 15th Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 718-832-5026 oso-energy.com

Paul Ebrahimian CEO 400 Continental Blvd., 6th Floor El Segundo, CA 90245 310-426-2720 www.drinkredlight.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original Seduction, Sugar Free Original Seduction PACKAGING: 12 oz. glass

Power Trip

Rhino's Energy Drink Power Trip Beverages, Inc.

Rhino's USA

Doug Stuart President 12401 Orange Drive, Suite 205 Davie, FL 33330 954-862-1445 www.powertripbev.com

Joe Zymblosky Director of Marketing www.rhinos-energy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Power Trip "0" no sugar, no carbs, Power Trip Mango, Power Trip Extreme, Power Trip Original Blue, Power rip Vitamin Powered Energy Shot PACKAGING: 16 oz. cans, 8.4 oz. cans, 2 oz. bottle for shots

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.3 oz. can, 16.9 oz. can, 1.5L bottle, 2.6 gallon bag-in-box

RECON Coffee Energy Cola

Roaring Lion energy drink

Jump Innovations, LLC

RLED, LLC

Matt Burditt CEO 10855 Dover St., Suite #600 Westminster, CO 80021 877-517-4397 www.jumpbeverages.com

Sean Hackney Operating Member 8000 Wheatland Ave., Unit #J Sun Valley Ca 91352 818-243-8200 www.roaringlionenergydrink.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: SENTINEL Vigilant Energy Drink,JUMP Coffee Energy Cola,HOT Pure Energy PACKAGING: 10.5 oz. and 12 oz. cans

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 355 mL can, 500 mL PET bottle, 3 gallon bag-in-box

44.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

There is Money in VOLT®!

Why is VOLT® growing while other carbonated soft drinks are declining?

Volt has what consumers demand today: 30% more caffeine. And it’s the only CSD with caffeine, guarana, taurine, ginseng and electrolytes.

Volt will satisfy your demand by making you more money!

Contact Bill Sipper, President, High Voltage Beverages LLC at 704-552-3632, or bsipper@highvoltagebeverages.com

www.drinkvolt.com | www.myspace.com/volthighenergybeverage | www.facebook.com/pages/Volt-Soft-Drinks/35752467110?ref=ts

Rockstar Inc.

Slap Energy

Rockstar, Inc.

Brain Twist, Inc.

Rockstar Energy Drinks 101 Convention Center Drive, Suite 777 Las Vegas NV 89109 702-939-5535 www.rockstar69.com

Larry Trachtenbroit CEO 485 7th Ave., Suite 409 New York City, NY 10018 212-594-7990 www.slapdrinks.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Sugar Free, Zero Carb, Punched (multiple flavors), Juiced (multiple flavors), Roasted (multiple flavors), Wild Berry and Punched Energy Shot PACKAGING: 8.4 oz., 15 oz. 16 oz., 32 oz. cans; 24 oz. resealable cans; 1L PET resealable bottles; and 2.5 oz. PET bottles.

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

SENTINEL Vigilant Energy Drink

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Green Tea Apple, Red Tea Citrus, White Tea Lemon, Frost, Low Calorie Frost PACKAGING: 16 oz. can and 2 oz. energy shot

Steaz Energy

Jump Innovations, LLC

Steaz

Matt Burditt CEO 10855 Dover St., Suite #600 Westminster, CO 80021 877-517-4397 www.jumpbeverages.com

Eric Schnell Co-Founder 18 S. State Street Newtown, PA 18940 215-321-8330 www.steaz.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: RECON Coffee Energy Cola, HOT Pure Energy, JUMP Coffee Energy Cola PACKAGING: 10.5 oz. and 12oz. cans

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Berry, Orange, Lime, Diet Berry PACKAGING: 12 oz. recyclable cans

Sex Drive Energy Drink

Stunt Juice

Sex Drive Energy Drink

Stunt Juice Industries, LLC

Jim Spreitzer President PO Box 6008 Key West, FL 33041 305-240-0438 www.SexDriveEnergyDrink.com

Shawn Morris Owner 2757 Pine Acres Rd Saint Augustine, FL 32086 904-814-2392 www.stuntjuice.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original Flavor, Sugar Free, Cranberry PACKAGING: 250mL slim cans (8.4oz)

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

Shark Energy Drink

TALON ENERGY

Osotspa USA, Inc.

Fluid Motion Beverage, Inc.

Chuty Business Manager 1815 w. 205th Street Torrance, CA 90501 310-782-8440 www.sharkusa.com

Paul Tecker President 5761 E. La Palma Ave., #400 Anaheim, CA 92807 800-951-9123 www.TalonEnergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Original Sugar-Free, Blood Punch, Blood Punch Sugar-Free PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

46.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Tiger Energy Drink

Vá Energy Amplexo

Peter Gasienica Sales Manager 45 E Washington Ave Elmwood Park, NJ 07407 201-954-8047 www.tigerenergy.eu

Richard Allred 601 West 6825 South 11880 Athena Dr. Midvale, UT 84047 801-867-3647 www.drinkva.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.45 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Vá Energy, Vá lite Energy PACKAGING: 16 oz. cans, 24 pk

TNT Liquid Dynamite

Venom Energy

Smart Beverage, Inc.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group

2891 Jamacha Rd. #C El Cajon, CA 92019 619-596-8445 800-546-1358 www.smartbevcorp.com

Holand Lujan Assoc Brand Manager, Venom Energy 5301 Legacy Drive Plano, TX 75024 972-673-8558 www.venomenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular PACKAGING: 12 oz.

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Low Carb, Mango, Fruit Punch PACKAGING: 16.9 oz. bottle, 16 oz. can 4-Pk

DYNAMIC

ALTERNATIVE

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FRESH

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Sand Dollar Distributors LLC. 2828 Center Port Circle Pompano Beach, FL 33064

www.darkdogus-energydrink.com MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.47

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

United Food Source

VIP ALL ACCESS ENERGY VIP ALL ACCESS Beverages

XL Energy Drink Corp.

Mike Brambilla EVP of sales 22335 Alessandro Blvd.

Moreno Valley, CA 92553 951-653-1100 www.vipenergydrinks.com

Maja Sponring Director 521 Fifth Ave, 28th Floor New York, NY 10175 212-594-3080 www.xl-energy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Extreme Acai,(Extreme Acai Sugar Free/lowCarb Coming soon) PACKAGING: 16 oz. cans

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can, 16.9 oz. can

Wave Energy Drink, LLC

ENERGY DRINKS – CARBONATED

XL Energy Drink

XS Energy Drink (caffeine-free varieties)

Wave Energy Drink, LLC

XS Energy

Jason Wolter VP of Marketing 736 Brawley Schoo Road, Suite D Mooresville, NC 28117 800-636-2626 www.tastethewave.com

Joel Vanderveen Production Manager 301 Forest Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949-436-0116 www.xsblast.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular, Sugar Free PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Tropica, Cranberry-Grape, Rootbeer (caffeinefree versions) PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can, shot, concentrate/post-mix

Wild Stallion

XS Energy Drinks Imbibe

XS Energy

Arnold Thorstad Director of Marketing 8001 N Lincoln Ave., Suite 201 Skokie, IL 60077 1-800-327-7964 www.imbibeinc.com

Joel Vanderveen Production Manager 301 Forest Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949-436-0116 www.xsblast.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Gold Trotter, Electric Green, Tropical Storm, Orange Mango, Sugarfree PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Cranberry-Grape, Citrus, Tropical, Electric Lemon, Cherry, Rootbeer, Cola, Black Cherry Cola PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can, shot, concentrate/post-mix

Xenergy

XS Gold: Energy Plus XYIENCE

XS Energy

Reuben Rios Vice President of Sales 1335 E. Sunset Rd., Suite J - H Las Vegas NV 89119 1-800-XYIENCE (994-3623) ww.xyience.com

Joel Vanderveen Production Manager 301 Forest Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949-436-0116 www.xsblast.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Cherry Lime, CranRazz, Mango Guava and Blu Pom PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: XS Gold PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

48.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

XS WildBerry XS Energy

BSN

Joel Vanderveen Production Manager 301 Forest Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949-436-0116 www.xsblast.com

Jason Burke National Beverage Account Executive 5901 Broken Sound Parkway, Suite 600 Boca Raton, FL 33487 561-994-8335 www.BSNonline.net

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: WildBerry PACKAGING: 8.4 oz., shot, concentrate/post-mix

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Fruit Punch Fix, Grape Fix, Tropical Fusion Fix, Blue Raspberry Fix, PACKAGING: 16 oz. bottle

Core Fast

Engage Go Fast Sports and Beverage Company Jody Shepherd President PO Box 40342 Denver, CO 80204 303-893-1222 www.gofastsports.com

ENERGY DRINKS – NON-CARBONATED

Endorush

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Go Fast - Core Fast PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can

e2 - Energy x Espresso

NutriVation Inc Joey Aplington President 800 NE Tenney Rd., Suite 110 #448 Vancouver WA 98685 866-9-Xtreme

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Origional, Peach Mango, Blue Raspberry PACKAGING: 10 oz. bottle

FRS Healthy Energy

Imbibe

FRS Healthy Energy

Arnold Thorstad Director of Marketing 8001 N Lincoln Ave., Ste 201 Skokie, IL 60077 847-324-4411 www.imbibeinc.com

Rich Libonate G.M. Sales 101 Lincoln Centre Dr., #500 Foster City, CA 94123 813-926-3535 www.frs.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Coffee, Mocha, Vanilla PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Low Cal Citrus Pomegranate, Low Cal Peach Mango, Low Cal Wild Berry, Low Cal Orange, Orange, Lemon Lime PACKAGING: 11.5 oz. can

E2 Voltage Energy & Endurance Drink BodyWell Nutrition 1671 NW 144th Terrace Ste 111 Sunrise FL 33323 954-496-9600 www.bodywellnutrition.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Sugar-Free in Fruit Punch, Orange, and Lemonade PACKAGING: 8 oz. bottle

50.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Go Fast Energy Drinks Go Fast Sports and Beverage Company Jody Shepherd President PO Box 40342 Denver, CO 80204 303-893-1222 www.gofastsports.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Go Fast Original, Go Fast Light, Go Fast Z17, Go Fast Z17 Light, GFTea PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can, 11.9 oz. can, 16 oz. can

H 10 O Vitamin Infused Energy

Java Monster Monster Beverage Company

John Lawrence President 500 North Rainbow Blvd., #300 Las Vegas, NV 89107 702-371-3498 www.h10o.com

Laura Chin VP of National Accounts 550 Monica Circle, Ste. 201 Corona, CA 92880 951-280-3289 www.monsterenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Mens Orange Energy, Womens Tropical Energy PACKAGING: 16.9 oz. PET bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Loca Moca, Mean Bean, Originale, Nut Up, Lo-Ball, Chai Hai, Irish Blend, Russian PACKAGING: 15 oz. can

Inko's White Tea Energy

Krank'd 7-In-1 Body Fuel

Inko's LLC

NRS-Nutrition Resource Services

Alex Reist Vice President 435 E. 70th St, #20J New York, NY 10021 917-273-7594 www.healthywhitetea.com

Roxy Williams Account Specialist 3864 Courtney St., Suite 140 Bethlehem PA 18017 484-894-0665 www.krankd.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Inko's White Tea Energy PACKAGING: 16 oz. can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Fruit Punch, Grape, Orange, Peach Tea PACKAGING: 16.9 oz. PET

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.51 Krankd ad.indd 1

2/27/09 1:02:32 PM

ENERGY DRINKS – NON-CARBONATED

H-10-O Beverage Co., LLC

M-150 Energy Drink Osotspa USA, Inc.

VPX Sports/REDLINE Energy

1815 w. 205th St. Torrance, CA 90501 (310)782-8440 www.m150usa.com

Greg Wilson Marketing/Beverage Facilitator 15751 SW 41st St., Suite # 300 Davie, Fl 33458 954-641-0570 www.vpxsports.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Regular PACKAGING: 6.2 oz. glass bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Exotic Fruit, Grape, Watermelon, Green Apple PACKAGING: 8 oz. bottle

Meltdown

ENERGY DRINKS – NON-CARBONATED

Redline Princess

Redline Vexor VPX Sports/REDLINE Energy

VPX Sports/REDLINE Energy

Greg Wilson Marketing/Beverage Facilitator 15751 SW 41st St., Suite # 300 Davie, Fl 33458 954-641-0570 www.vpxsports.com

Greg Wilson Marketing/Beverage Facilitator 15751 SW 41st St., Suite # 300 Davie, Fl 33458 954-641-0570 www.vpxsports.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Watermelon, Peach Mango, Exotic Fruit PACKAGING: 8 oz. bottle, 2.5 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Exotic Fruit, Peach Mango, Watermelon PACKAGING: 16 oz. bottle

Powerball Energized Juice Johnny Fountain Beverage Innovators Steve Torres 49 W. 27th St., 8th Floor New York, NY 10001 800-251-0265 www.drinkpowerball.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Powerball Energized Acai Berry Juice, Powerball Energized Orange Juice, Powerball Energized Cranberry Juice.

PACKAGING: 8 oz. can

Redline Energy

Rumba Energy Juice Hansen Beverage Company Laura Chin VP of National Accounts 550 Monica Circle, Ste. 201 Corona, CA 92880 951-280-3289 www.rumbaenergyjuice.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Rumba, Samba, Tango PACKAGING: Rumba - 16 oz. can Samba, 16 oz. can Tango

Venga "Energize" Functional Infusion

VPX Sports/Redline Energy

Beverage Innovations, Inc.

Greg Wilson Marketing/Beverage Facilitator 15751 SW 41st St., Suite # 300 Davie, FL 33458 954-641-0570 www.vpxsports.com

Jamie Day 955 W 18th St., Building I and J Delray Brach, FL 33445 561-665-8200 www.drinkvenga.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Triple Berry, Green Apple, Mandarin Orange, Grape. All Sugar Free PACKAGING: 8 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Red Apple, Dragonfruit, Sea Buckthorn, Yerba Mate Tea PACKAGING: 18 oz. plastic bottle

54.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Delicious new DrenCh beverages supply the intense hydration and antioxidant protection healthy skin needs with an optimal combination of vitamins, electrolytes and natural berry extracts to restore natural balance. And with only 12 calories and 2 grams or less of sugar, it’s the healthier water alternative your customers will reach for every day!

Create Some refreShing SaleS & ProfitS.

drench

® antioxiDant enhanCeD water

Condition Your Skin from Within™

Call 1-866-540-9579 to start quenching your thirst for profits today.

Fo r m o r e i n Fo r m at i o n , co n tac t D r en ch • 1111 e a s t D r a per pk w y su i t e 30 0 , D r a per , u t 8 4 020 • 8 6 6 -5 4 0 - 9579

The EVOlution of Energy Introducing EVO™, the energy drink that means healthier sales and profits for you! With a unique energy blend containing Taurine, 7 essential vitamins, antioxidantpacked green tea and the health benefits of Bromelain, Evo’s trend-setting healthy product positioning and high-energy packaging mean positive profits for you! ™

Energize. Vitalize. Optimize.

For more information, contact EVO Beverage and Distribution 1111 east Draper pkwy. suite 300, Draper, ut 84020 • 866-540-9579

XS Energy Drink XS Energy

Blast Cap Technologies LLC, Inc.

Joel Vanderveen Production Manager 301 Forest Ave. Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949-436-0116 www.xsblast.com

Mikel Founder/CEO 310-467-6482 www.BlastMax.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Tea-Berry, Peach Tea PACKAGING: 8.4 oz. can, shot

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Lemon-Lime, Orange, Berry-Blast, Green Tea PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. shooter and 16.9 oz. drink

Zafi Beverages, Inc.

ENERGY DRINKS – ENERGY SHOTS

Button Blast Energy

Category 6 Huracan

Zafi Beverages, Inc.

Iron Horse Beverage

Will Shane V.P. Sales & Marketing 1043 S. York Rd. Bensenville, IL 60106 312-259-6985 www.zafibeverages.com

Clifton Morello CEO/President 68 South Service Rd., Suite 100 Melville, NY 11747 631-465-2102 www.ironhorsebeverage.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: ULTRALIGHT - Low Carb, Low Sugar PUMPED - Higher Carb, Higher sugar PACKAGING: 11 oz. PET bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Orange , Lemonlime PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

5-hour Energy

Charge! Super Shot

Living Essentials

Labrada Nutrition

Brandon Bohland 46570 Humboldt Drive Novi, MI 48377 248-960-1700 www.fivehour.com

Keith Lessmann Sr. VP of Sales 14850 Woodham Dr., Ste. B-135 Houston, TX 77073 281-774-1349 www.labrada.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Berry, Lemon-Lime, Orange, Decaf, Extra Strength PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Super Shot PACKAGING: 2 oz. shot

AriZona RX Energy Fast Shot

Energize Energy Shot

AriZona Beverages

Empire Beverage Group

Doreen Higney 5 Dakota Drive, Suite 205 Lake Success, NY 11042 516-812-0365 www.drinkarizona.com

Frank Giasi COO 57 North Mall Plainview, NY 11803 516-249-0606 www.energizeshots.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Green tea based energy fast shot PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Lemon Lime,Orange PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic bottle

56.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Category Dominator

73% Market Share*

Energy shots that sell... a lot.

Zero Sugar • Only 4 Calories

Numbers don’t lie.

With 5-Hour Energy® you get the brand consumers know and trust – and the brand that supports your sales with a wide variety of POS systems and $60 million per year in advertising. 5-Hour Energy® was the original 2-oz energy shot and has been the category leader ever since (Nielsen). So when it comes to your stores, why settle for less than 5-Hour Energy®?

Sales dollars of 5-Hour Energy® versus combined sales of the 48 other 2-oz energy shots in US convenience stores.

(AC Nielsen C-Store) 52 weeks ending 11/29/08* $18,000,000 $16,000,000

5-Hour Energy beats the #2 energy shot brand by nearly

10 to 1

$14,000,000 $12,000,000

5-

$10,000,000

©2009 Innovation Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved.

R

E

GY

®

$8,000,000

$6,000,000 $4,000,000

Contact your distributor or Brandon Bohland 248-960-1700 • brandon@fivehour.com Living Essentials • 46570 Humboldt Dr. • Novi, MI 48377 • fivehour.com

U HO

R NE

$2,000,000

48

OTH

ER

COM DS N A BR

BIN

ED

DEC 07 JAN 08 FEB 08 MAR 08 APR 08 MAY 08 JUN 08 JUL 08 AUG 08 SEP 08 OCT 08 NOV 08

EVO Energy

Jolt Endurance Shot EVO Beverage & Dist.

Wet Planet Beverages

John Wilson V.P. of Operations 1111 E. Draper Parkway Ste. 300 Draper, UT 84020 801-942-0557 www.drinkevo.com

Courtney Rapp PR Manager 130 Linden Oaks, Suite C Rochester, NY 14625 585-381-3560 www.joltenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Sugar Free Grape, Sugar Free Lemon Lime PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Wild Grape, Berry Blast PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

ENERGY DRINKS – ENERGY SHOTS

FUEL cell

Kickstart Energy Bayshpre Specialties Ltd.

Imbibe

Greg Schmalz President 2907 Portland Dr Oakville ON, Canada L6H5S4 905-829-0888 www.fortifiedfuelcell.com

Arnold Thorstad Director of Marketing 8001 N Lincoln Ave., Suite 201 Skokie, IL 60077 1-800-327-7964 www.imbibeinc.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Wilberry, Tropical Fruit PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. shot, 24 oz. PET bottle, 8 oz. PET test tube, 7 gram foil tube, 2 oz. candy

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Energy, Joint, Rebound, Slim, Virility PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

Fusion Premium Energy

Liquid Life Nutritional Shot

Fusion Premium Energy

TRC Nutritional Labs, Inc.

John Wilson President 1011 Q St., Suite 106A Omaha, NE 68137 402-991-0424 www.fusionenergyboost.com

Vera Walker Marketing Specialist 12320 East Skelly Drive Tulsa, OK 74128 918-437-7310 www.liquidlife.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Berry Flavor, Limon Flavor PACKAGING: 2 oz. shot

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Fruit Flavor PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle, 12-pack counter display

Hardcore Energize Bullet

Mana Energy Potion

iSatori Technologies

Harcos Inc.

Brandon Frickey Brand Manager 15000 W 6th Ave.,Suite 202 Golden, CO 80401 303-215-9174 www.isatoritech.com

Eli Szasz VP Business Development 429 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 325 Santa Monica, CA 90401 310-401-3418 www.manapotions.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Blue Rage-Blue Raspberry, Black Rush-Black Cherry PACKAGING: 2.9 oz. vial

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Mana Energy Potion, Health Energy Potion PACKAGING: 1.69 oz.

58.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Mini Thin Rush

NOS PowerShot Fuze Beverage, LLC.

Laura King Vice President P.O. Box 78610 Indianapolis, IN 46278 800-428-1717 www.MiniThinRush.com

140 Sylvan Ave., 3rd Floor Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 201-461-6640 www.drinknos.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Orange, Lemon-Lime, Mocha, and Berry PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original - Mango Passionfruit X (Antioxidant Boost) - Grape Acai PACKAGING: 2 oz. PET

Monster Hitman Energy Shooters

ENERGY DRINKS – ENERGY SHOTS

BDI Marketing

NRG Energy Shot

Monster Beverage Company

EPIC Nutrition

Laura Chin VP of National Accounts 550 Monica Circle, Ste. 201 Corona, CA 92880 951-280-3289 www.monsterenergy.com

Scott Movic President 4187 Main Street Jupiter, FL 33458 561-775-0511 www.nrgshot.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Hitman, Sniper, LoBo PACKAGING: 3 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Pink Lemonade, Mandarin Orange, Red Berry PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic bottle

Ask for COMPLETE DETAILS and INCENTIVES! www.MiniThinRush.com MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.59 BevNET_XtremeAndRackAd_v1.indd 1

3/2/09 1:43:32 PM

On Go Energy On Go Energy

Modena Nutrition, LLC.

Derrick George CEO 330 East Maple Rd. #286 Birmingham, MI 48009 877-LIV-ONGO www.ongoenergy.com www.livelifeongo.com

James "Sulli" Sullivan PO Box 293184 Lewisville, TX 75029 800-455-7156 www.ProteinBullet.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Lemon Lime, Berry Blast, Mandarin Orange PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Wild Berry, Orange Cream PACKAGING: 2.8 oz. plastic wide mouth

Oxy-Gen

ENERGY DRINKS – ENERGY SHOTS

Protein Bullet

Red Bull Energy Shot TRC Nutritional Labs, Inc.

Red Bull North America, Inc.

Vera Walker Marketing Specialist 12320 East Skelly Dr. Tulsa, OK 74128 918-437-7310 www.liquidlife.com

1740 Stewart Street Santa Monica, CA 90404 310-393-4647 www.redbullusa.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Cherry Berry PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle, 12-pack counter display

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Red Bull Energy Shot, Red Bull Sugarfree Shot PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

Performaxx Brands/Energize

Redline Power Rush

Empire Beverage Group Inc

VPX Sports/Redline Energy

Frank Franco Sales Manager 242 Newtown Rd. Plainview, NY 11803 516-249-0606 x 211 www.empirebeverage.com

Greg Wilson Marketing/Beverage Facilitator 15751 SW 41st St., Suite # 300 Davie, FL 33458 954-641-0570 www.vpxsports.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Orange and Lemon-lime PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Exotic Fruit, Mandarin Orangem Wild Grape, Peach Mango PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. shot

Potion Herbal Remedy

Sportastic

PurBlu Beverages, Inc.

TRC Nutritional Labs, Inc.

Mark Slepak VP Sales 301 Grant Street, Suite 820 Pittsburgh PA 15219 412-281-9808 www.drinkpotion.com

Vera Walker Marketing Specialist 12320 East Skelly Dr. Tulsa, OK 74128 918-437-7310 www.sportastic.net

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Power, Calm, Focus, Burn, Immunity, Detox PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. shot

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Blue Chill, Fruit Punch, Lemon-Lime, Cool Orange PACKAGING: 12 oz. bottle, 12 pack tray

60.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Stacker 2 – 6 Hour Power Energy Shot NVE Pharmaceuticals

Imbibe

Walter Orcutt Executive Vice President 15 Whitehall Road Andover, NJ 07821 973-786-7868 www.nveusa.com

Arnold Thorstad Director of Marketing 8001 N Lincoln Ave., Ste 201 Skokie, IL 60077 847-324-4411 www.imbibeinc.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Grape, Very Berry, Orange, Lemon Lime, Punch, Watermelonall Sugar Free PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Citrus, Berry PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

Steaz Energy Shot

ENERGY DRINKS – ENERGY SHOTS

Wild Stallion

XO Premium

Steaz

XO Energy Beverage Corp.

Eric Schnell Co-Founder 18 S State Street Newtown, PA 18940 215-321-8330 www.steaz.com

Jo Amar President / Ceo 37 West 39th St., Room 1104 New York NY 10018 212-575-7992 www.xoenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Berry PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. recyclable bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: XO3 Citrus PACKAGING: 6 oz. Energy Shot

UpShot

XShot Xtreme Energy Shot Drinks That Work, Inc.

XYIENCE

Denise T. Cabrera Executive Group Assistant 2370 Santiago Court Oxnard, CA 93030 888-929-9929 www.upshotenergy.com

Reuben Rios Vice President of Sales 1335 E. Sunset Rd., Suite J - H Las Vegas, NV 89119 1-800-XYIENCE (994-3623) ww.xyience.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Fruit, Camo, Mocha, Pomegranate PACKAGING: 2.5 oz. shooter

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: CranRazz PACKAGING: 3 oz. bottle

Wellesse ALL DAY Energy

Xtreme Energy Rush

Botanical Laboratories

BDI Marketing

Marc Kubota Vice President of Sales 1441 West Smith Rd. Ferndale, WA 98248 360-384-5656 www.wellesseallday.com

Laura King Vice President PO Box 78610 Indianapolis, IN 46278 800-428-1717 www.MiniThinRush.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Organically Sweetened Natural Citrus Flavor, Sugar Free Natural Citrus Flavor PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic bottle

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Mango PACKAGING: 2 oz. bottle

62.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Zen Shot

Double Link Shot Me Up, LLC

FIT, Inc.

Alex Hernandez Founder PO Box 110 233 Carrolton, TX 75011 214-808-6862 www.shotmeup.com

Chunyee Mai Manager 13451 Maple Ridge Ct. St. Louis, MO 63141 314-503-2074

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Original, Orange, Berry, Lemon, Peppermint PACKAGING: 2 oz. plastic

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Double Link PACKAGING: 10 capsules/blister pack 20 tablets/blister pack

ENERGY DRINKS – RELAXATION DRINKS

Ex Chill

JINGLIBAO Ex Drinks, LLC.

FIT, Inc.

1879 Whitney Mesa Dr. Henderson, NV 89014 702-949-6555 www.exdrinks.com

Chunyee Hu Manager 13451 Maple Ridge Ct. St. Louis, MO 63141 314-503-2074

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Ex Chill, natural fruit drink PACKAGING: 8.4 oz.

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Jinglibao PACKAGING: 10 capsules/blister pack 20 tablets/blister pack

MALAVA NOVOCanE

Kickstart Energy Drink Mix

Malava Beverages

Imbibe

Brian Taus National Sales Manager 30230 Rancho Viejo, Ste 106 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 949-493-4900 www. malavabeverages.com

Arnold Thorstad Director of Marketing 8001 N Lincoln Ave., Suite 201 Skokie, IL 60077 800-327-7964 www.imbibeinc.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Tropical Berry PACKAGING: 8.4oz can

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Energy, Rebound, Joint, Slim PACKAGING: 8 gram powdered stick packs

MALAVA RELAX "The Anti Energy Drink"

Krank'd 7-In-1 Body Fuel Powder

Malava Beverages

NRS-Nutrition Resource Services

Brian Taus National Sales Manager 30230 Rancho Viejo, Ste 106 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 949-493-4900 www.malavabeverages.com

Devin Dietterich Manufacturing & Sales 3864 Courtney St., Suite 140 Bethlehem, PA 18017 484-894-0402 www.jbn.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Ice Tea with Lemon, Orange Mango, Pink Lemonade, Pomagranite Blueberry, Sugar free Sangria, Sugar free Cranberry Grapefruit PACKAGING: 16.9 oz. PET

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Fruit Punch, Orange, Lemonade, Lemon-Lime PACKAGING: 1.5 lb - 30 Serving PET Contianer

64.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Nativa Yerba Mate Inc Nativa Yerba Mate, Inc. Paula Farell Founder P.O. Box 16467 St Paul, MN 55116 651-698-0200 www.nativaherbs.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: 2 lb traditional yerba mate, 1 lb suave(Mild) yerba mate, 25-ct tea bag boxes, 25 lbs bulk yerba mate PACKAGING: 2 lb bag,1 lb bag, 25-ct tea bag box, 25 lbs bulk sack

NRG Energy Mix EPIC Nutrition Scott Movic President 4187 Main St. Jupiter, FL 33458 561-775-0511 www.nrgshot.com

ENERGY DRINKS – TABLETS/POWDERS/OTHER

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Grape, Mandarin Orange, Red Berry PACKAGING: 6 gram foil packet, packed in 10 and 30 count display boxes

PepPod PepPod Zach Zeldner Co-founder 845 Walnut St. Boulder, CO 80302 877-643-8737 www.peppod.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: PepPod Effervescent Energy Drink PACKAGING: 3.4 gram quick dissolving energy tablet, also available in pack of 10 packets

Spot On Energy Patch Spot On Energy Robert Cooper President 3706 Arapaho Rd. Addison, TX 75001 866-380-0542 www.SpotOnEnergy.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: No flavor PACKAGING: 4 patch pack, 12 pack (of 4-patch packs), 24 pack (of 4-patch packs)

RETAILER BENEFITS:

• Extension of highly profitable NRG Shot • Great profit per square inch • Incremental sale to bottled water purchases

CONSUMER BENEFITS • 300mg of vitamins • Hours of energy • Convenient packaging • Fits in your pocket, purse, gym bag or briefcase.

Scott Movic

(866) 688-3742 ext 705 | sales@nrgshot.com

www.nrgshot.com MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.65

Wild Stallion Energy Drink Mix

Big World Beverages

Imbibe

Big World Beverages

Arnold Thorstad Director of Marketing 8001 N Lincoln Ave., Suite 201 Skokie, IL 60077 1-800-327-7964 www.imbibeinc.com

Ned Becker President PO Box 7864 Missoula, MT 59807 406-546-2858 www.bigworldbevs.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Gold Trotter, Electric Green, Tropical Storm, Orange Mango PACKAGING: 16 gram powdered stick pack

ENERGY DRINKS – SUPPLIERS AND SERVICES

ZizZazz Explosive Energy Mix

Bioenergy RIBOSE

ZizZazz

Bioenergy Life Science, Inc.

Bob Brown National Sales Director 5955 West Wigwam Ave., Bldg 2A Las Vegas, NV 89139 702-360-0717 www.zizzazz.com

Kathy Lund VP Sales & Marketing 13840 Johnson St. NE Minneapolis, MN 55304 763-757-0032 www.bioenergy.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Pom Mango, Lemon Raspberry, Tangerine, Cherry Lime PACKAGING: 0.25 oz. powdered stick, 16ct box, 36ct box, 72ct box

A. Holliday & Company Inc. A. Holliday & Company Inc. Christine Renken Account Executive 4141 Yonge St., Suite 301 Toronto ON M2P 2A8 416-225-2217 www.teacoff.com

Allen Flavors, Inc.

Cold Spring Brewing Company Cold Spring Brewing Company Maurice Bryan SVP of Operations / GM 219 N Red River Avenue PO Box 476 Cold Spring, MN 56320 320-685-8686 www.coldspringbrewingco.com

Contract Packing

Allen Flavors, Inc.

Varni Brothers Corp.

Joe Moran VP Sales & Marketing 220 St. NIcholas AVenue S. Plainfield, NJ 07080 908-561-5995 www.allenflavors.com

Tony Varni President www.noahs7up.com

66.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

Directly Compressible Ingredients

Go - Options

Pharmachem

Go Options

Gregory Drew Director, Food & Beverage Group 265 Harrison Ave. Kearny, NJ 07032 201-719-7405 www.pharmachemlabs.com

Michael Schroeder CEO 6180 Castlebridge Ct. West Chester, OH 45069 513-759-6895 www.insideinsights.com

AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Custom flavors, dry flavor, natural flavors, real fruit juice powders, flavor masking PACKAGING: Directly compressible single & multi-ingredient systems, bulk ingredients, custom pack sizes

ENERGY DRINKS – SUPPLIERS AND SERVICES

DSM Nutritional Products, Inc.

Innovative Labeling Solutions

DSM Nutritional Products, Inc.

Innovative Labeling Solutions

Todd Sitkowski Sr. Marketing Manager 45 Waterview Blvd.

Parsippany, NJ 07054-1298 973-257-8185 www.pourontheprofits.com

Sean Gallagher Technical Sales Representative 4000 Hamilton-Middletown Rd. Hamilton, OH 45011 888-860-2457 www.ilslabels.com

Energy Drink of the Month

LANXESS Corporation

Energy Drink of the Month

LANXESS Corporation

Gwen Davidson CEO 29017 Hotel Way, # 201C Golden, CO 80401 303-997-7520 www.EnergyDrinkoftheMonth.com

Riaz Musaheb Regional Manager 111 RIDC Park West Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15275 412-809-3784 www.mpp.us.lanxess.com

Fortune Resources, LLC / Crystal Cooler Fortune Resources,LLC. / Crystal Cooler 120 Woodbine Street Bergenfield New Jersey 07621 201-387-2211 www.crystalcooler.com

68.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

McLean Design, Inc. McLean Design, Inc. Mike Prone 1401 North Broadway, Suite 220 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 925-944-9500 www.mclean-design.com

Monarch Custom Beverages Monarch Custom Beverages Larry Williams Vice President of Sales 2205 Riverstone Blvd., Suite 104 Canton, GA 30114 815-441-7253 www.monarchbeverages.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Energy Drinks, Carbonated Soft Drinks, Juices, Teas, Sparkling Juices, Beer,Sparkling Water PACKAGING: 5 oz., 8.4 oz., 12 oz., 16 oz., 24 oz, 32 oz. can; 12 oz. sleek can; 5 oz., 7 oz., 12 oz., 16 oz., 22 oz. glass bottle.

Pharmachem Pharmachem Gregory Drew Director, Food & Beverage Group 265 Harrison Ave. Kearny, NJ 07032 201-719-7405 www.pharmachemlabs.com

ENERGY DRINKS – SUPPLIERS AND SERVICES

Premium Ingredients International Premium Ingredients International Lisa Drawer Director of Marketing 285 E. Fullerton Ave. Carol Stream, IL 60188 630-868-0398 www.premiumingredients.com

PriLabs PriLabs Inc Ray Montes V.P Operations 34 15th St. Brooklyn, NY 11215 718-832-2900 prilabs.com

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.69

Prism Visual Software, Inc. Prism Visual Software

Venus Research and Development

Lynn Keating VP Marketing 1 Sagamore Hill Dr. Port Washington, NY 11050 516-944-5920 www.prismvs.com

Grace Venus consultant 802 Estates Dr., #103 Aptos, CA 95003 831-688-4712 www.venusfood.com

SleeveCo, Inc.

ENERGY DRINKS – SUPPLIERS AND SERVICES

Venus Research and Development

Whitfield Foods, Inc.

SleeveCo, Inc.

Whitfield Foods, Inc.

Martin Wilson President 103 Lumpkin Campground Rd. N. Dawsonville, GA 30534 706-216-3110 www.sleeveco.com

Joe Friday Plant Manager 1101 North Court St. P.O. Box 791 Montgomery AL 36104 334-263-2541 www.whitfieldfoods.com AVAILABLE PRODUCTS: Energy shots, Isotonic drinks, 100% Fruit juices, Fruit drinks, Teas, and Enhanced waters PACKAGING: 2 oz., 10 oz., 16 oz., 20 oz., 64 oz., 96 oz., and 128 oz. PET

Sovereign Flavors, Inc.

WILD Flavors, Inc.

Sovereign Flavors, Inc.

WILD Flavors, Inc.

David Ames President 4020 W. Chandler Ave Santa Ana, CA 92704 714-437-1996 www.sovereignflavors.com

Donna Hansee Senior Director of Marketing 1261 Pacific Ave. Erlanger, KY 41018 888-WILD-FLAVORS www.wildflavors.com

Varni Brothers / 7up Bottling Company

XYIENCE

Varni Bros. / 7up Modesto

XYIENCE

Tony J. Varni President 400 Hosmer Ave. Modesto, CA 95351 209-521-1777 ext 107 www.noahs7up.com

Reuben Rios Vice President of Sales 1335 E. Sunset Rd., Suite J - H Las Vegas, NV 89119 1-800-XYIENCE (994-3623) ww.xyience.com

70.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

STATISTICS

ENERGY DRINK CATEGORY Dollar Sales

Change vs. year earlier

ENERGY DRINKS

$899,586,000

7.27

GO GIRL

$2,552,496

23.30

RED BULL

$360,695,000

2.42

RIP IT

$2,502,670

-47.68

MONSTER

$145,501,200

9.73

SOBE ESSENTIALS

$1,765,594

-71.27

ROCKSTAR

$98,890,740

0.92

FULL THROTTLE

$1,556,428

39.51

XYIENCE XENERGY

$1,438,129

45.55

GO GIRL FRIENDS

$1,253,197

28.24

ARIZONA

$1,088,304

-61.57

BAWLS

$1,082,060

-28.25

RED JAK

$970,327

-31.82

RUMBA

$889,172

-39.40

JOLT ULTRA

$785,391

12.83

VAULT RED BLITZ

$730,161

105,386.44

AMP

$35,563,840

21.02

JAVA MONSTER

$23,372,480

217.62

FULL THROTTLE

$22,447,790

-33.23

MONSTER ENERGY XXL

$18,888,550

30.15

DOUBLESHOT

$17,989,410

N/A

AMP OVERDRIVE

$13,888,560

31.60

NOS

$13,610,250

97.91

SOBE NO FEAR

$12,585,750

-47.78

ROCKSTAR JUICED

$10,756,890

-17.36

PRIVATE LABEL

$9,858,548

14.30

$9,416,488

-20.91

MONSTER KHAOS

$7,750,986

-1.95

ROCKSTAR ROASTED

$7,532,959

1,063.38

MONSTER

$6,990,691

80.09

SOBE ADRENALINE RUSH

$6,737,392

-53.07

AMP RELAUNCH

$6,640,064

N/A

AMP SUGAR FREE

$5,657,771

328.22

AMP ELEVATE

$5,063,241

237,948,981.04

$4,847,685

187.54

AMP TRACTION

$4,826,785

226,836,657.03

MONSTER M80

$4,664,901

184.40

SOBE LEAN

$4,423,721

28.61

VENOM

$4,045,400

N/A

JOLT

$3,566,556

45.32

FULL THROTTLE BLUE DEMON

GLACEAU VITAMIN ENERGY

Dollar Sales

UNLEADED

Change vs. year earlier

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.71

CATEGORY REPORT: DETOX/RECOVERY

BUT CAN THEY CURE THE ECONOMIC HANGOVER?

BY JEFFREY KLINEMAN Who doesn’t need a little recovery right now?

Congress, the President, the media, Wall Street, they’re all talking recovery plans, recovery acts, recovery, recovery, recovery.

In the beverage world, it’s no different. In fact, recovery drinks themselves, those products that can lift you from the depths of a hangover when you most need them, and seemed to be on the rise early last year, are now in need of, yeah, recovery.

What has happened to the category that spawned such creatively named products as Rehab, Resurrect, Alcohol Killer, and Hair of the Dog? Resurrect, if it isn’t dead, is in the ICU with a disabled web site as its parent company focuses on much bigger brand, Vida Tea. Rehab, the entry from Coca-Cola –owned Fuze Beverages, has been keeping a very low profile, although it is due for a re-launch in April.

Other companies, like Mister Re or Springbak, have apparently passed the point of viability.

What’s the problem here? According to marketers, recovery drinks haven’t hit their stride for a pair of reasons: the big issue, they say, is a lack of consumer education; the rest of the problem lies with the beverage market in general, where it’s hard to establish a category unless it builds toward critical mass.

There are people out there who are trying; Function’s Urban Detox continues to be that beverage company’s best-recognized SKU. And upstart brand Code Blue seems to be taking on the energetic newcomer mantle once worn by Rehab or Resurrect.

Still, it’s a long, hard slog, particularly for a brand that is trying to establish itself as much on-premise as it is off-premise. With the economy in need of (you get the point) consumers are going out less and even drinking less when they do hit the bars.

While that presents a headwind for Code Blue, co-founder Jeff Frumin is more concerned about getting consumers to understand what the product can do.

“For this whole category, education is the key,” said the energetic native of Dothan, Alabama. “If you look back at the energy drink category, Red Bull explained it really well, and it’s something that we need to learn to do ourselves.”

The company’s strategy has been to try to educate its retailers across many channels – bartenders on-premise, store managers and even trainers at the gym (Code Blue, with a healthy dose of electrolytes, also bills itself as an exercise recovery product).

“It’s up to us to tell them what Code Blue is, and how it’s different,” Frumin says. “What’s working for us the best right now is giving it to people and telling them to try it. Word of mouth is working pretty well in New York.”

Getting recovery out to the people is also something that’s being

72.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

attempted over at G-Tox, a nascent brand in Colorado that has been aggressively test marketing – with a twist. The company is requesting that consumers text them a response about the product, to help them better develop its image and feel.

“We’re tracking our surveys and looking at our responses,” said G-Tox CEO Loretta Zapp. “We’re really learning how we get the message across.”

The message needs to educate consumers, she says.

“It’s got to state clearly ‘you’ll feel better in the morning.’”

Part of their strategy involves bringing in bloggers and social networks like Facebook. With enough word of e-mouth about the product’s efficacy, she says, it’ll start to catch on.

Rehab seemed ready to catch on at this time last year, but it suffered from a lack of attention from its owners and the notion that it was too high in calories. However, the product will be back on the market soon enough, says Fuze spokeswoman Carli McKinney.

And, as the official drink of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Rehab will be uniquely poised to hit its intended audience. Not bad for a targeted stimulus plan. •

BRAND NEWS Code Blue

Halo Labs LLC., the creator of Code Blue Recovery Drink, has announced that Duane Reade will carry Code Blue throughout ts New York City locations. Code Blue is a complete recovery drink, designed by beverage scientists to revive your body. Code Blue will support the brand through instore promotions and a New York-focused marketing campaign that will utilize co-branded materials.

G-Tox G-Tox, a 4 oz. hangover shot that relies on Glucarate, a patented ingredient for Phase-II liver detoxification, is being test-marketed in San Diego, Boulder, and Austin. G-Tox is actively seeking new investors and partners.

Rehab Fuze Beverages, owned by the Coca-Cola Co., Inc., is re-launching Rehab on April 1 with the goal of marketing a less caloric hangover-easing beverage that still tastes good. The new product will have 25 calories

per 12 oz. can and will be the official drink of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Alcohol Killer Alcohol Killer is currently being distributed in Northeastern Ohio in restaurants, beverage stores, sports clubs, bars and retail chains(Heinens, Beuhlers and ACME Stores).

It is also distributed in Southern California, Western Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and Florida. In January 2009, Alcohol Killer was introduced into the Nevada marketplace with distribution at several casinos and retail locations. As of February 2009 Alcohol Killer is also available for retail sale on Amazon.com.

Function Drinks Function’s Urban Detox can now be found in Duane Reade stores in New York City. Urban Detox works to cleanse the lungs and sinuses of airborne particulate pollution and fight hangover physiology. Urban Detox is available in Citrus Prickly Pear and Goji Berry, and can be found in Whole Foods Markets and Target stores across the country. •

MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.73

BOTTLE NECK

BY MATT CASEY It wasn’t so long ago that the public hailed bottled water as a miraculous, healthy beverage option – a panacea for a fattening America addicted to sugar-laden sodas. The Center for Science in the Public interest named bottled water as a healthy alternative for school vending machines in 2003, and McDonalds – in an effort to brighten its image – even added bottled water to its “Go Active! Adult Happy Meal” in 2004.

But those halcyon days are over, and the turf war is on.

Under assault from environmental crusaders, politicians, federal regulators and price pressures, what was once a healthy alternative has become reviled enough to have a set of alternatives all its own.

Consumers have taken to buying refillable plastic or metal bottles, and water filters have seen an uptick in sales that coincides with dampened growth in bottled water revenue. By at least one measurement, the category’s sales have shrunk, and several of the category’s most prominent brands have watched their revenues flatten or

74.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

fall as groups flog the category to endear themselves with customers or constituents.

In June, for example, the U.S. Council of Mayors voted to end the practice of using municipal funds to buy bottled water, saying it would save taxpayer money and reduce plastic waste. In October, the Environmental Working Group, an organization that supports organic farming and aims to change government policy, made a ruckus about two out of ten tested bottled waters not adhering to California’s tap water standards. Other beverage-related products are bashing bottled water to score points with customers. Zenergize has been in talks to co-promote its drink tablets with Sigg’s metal bottles, and nuun, another drink tablet brand, recently circulated a press release saying it was “committed to breaking the bottled water habit.”

But all that noise could be, a la Bill Shakespeare, sound and fury signifying nothing – at least, according to the International Bottled Water Association. IBWA spokesman Tom Lauria said many of the statements and actions targeting bottled water have been less substantive than they appear. The mayors’ bottled water ban, for example, allows broad exceptions for municipal departments that would face logistical difficulties mandating tap water-only policies.

New York City’s sanitation department can still distribute up to two liters of bottled water to each worker on hot days. Lauria even noted that some police officers stationed outside the mayors’ meeting sipped bottled water while they kept guard over the Miami convention center. He classified recent attempts to ban bottled water on college campuses as mere bluster. The bans spawn from talks between corporate responsibility groups and professors, he said, not agitated students.

“It’s not a grass-roots protest,” Lauria said. “It’s very top down.”

In his opinion, the category’s real woes stem from the faltering economy and an increase in beverage options. Former bottled water fans, he said, may be switching to enhanced waters, teas and bargain “drinking waters” that don’t fall under the IBWA’s jurisdiction because they’re sourced, unprocessed, from public water systems.

That trend toward drinking water, Lauria said, coincides with a general belt tightening. It also coincides with price battles at the bottom of the category.

Amazon.com, for example, currently offers a 24-count case of .5L Nestle water for just under $7. That’s less than 30 cents per bottle.

Undercutting the competition doesn’t seem to be helping the bottled water giant – Nestle reported a 3.9 percent decline in its year-end statement – but bargain prices have tugged mainline brands downward. Profit margins dropped so low on Aquafina that the Pepsi Bottling Group said in July that it refused to cut prices any further.

As the year wore on, the distributor watched consumers switch away from Aquafina as the brand’s yearly sales dropped by 16.6 percent in supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchandise outlets (excluding Wal-Mart) during the 52 weeks ending on Dec. 28, according to Information Resources Inc. PepsiCo even left Aquafina out of its recent round of packaging revamps.

“There’s been so much change in the past year, and it’s grown as a category to the point where, really, we are starting to make very little money,” said David Berwick, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo North America Beverages.

But even if the IBWA believes that the real problem for their industry is the economy, the organization has aggressively confronted affronts to its patron product. Over the past year, the association issued press releases denouncing the study that claimed bottled water was less clean than tap water, a proposed bottled water tax in Ha-

PHOTO BY BRETT WEINSTEIN

CATEGORY REPORT: BOTTLED WATER

CATEGORY REPORT: BOTTLED WATER waii and the bottled water-bashing book Bottlemania.

Premium bottled water brands have confronted head winds in a similarly steadfast manner. Fiji and Evian launched separate environmental initiatives that promise to minimize their products’ impact on the planet and increase patronage of environmental causes. Fiji pledged to invest in the Fijian rainforest, and Evian invested money toward helping locals manage their water resources in Argentina, Nepal and Thailand. Both brands have also tried to push the message that, no matter what environmental crusaders say, bottled water still has less of an environmental impact than any other beverage.

“It is important that consumers do their research to find out what individual brands are doing to protect the environment, and then make sure to do their part by recycling each and every bottle,” said Philippe Daradez, Evian’s vice president of regulatory and corporate affairs.

But, while those brands have kept their chins up, they may be withering from the neck down. Evian watched its sales in PET drop by 15.49 percent in 2008, according to IRI, and Fiji laid off 40 percent of its staff this summer, with little in the way of explanation. Fiji executives said that, despite the deep cut, the company is still in good shape. It may be: IRI reported that Fiji’s sales grew by 6.67 percent in 2008, not bad considering the current environment, though that pales compared to the 22 percent growth Polar Beverages reported for Fiji in the New England area in 2007. Despite sputtering growth, the brand maintains that good days will return.

“Bottled water has much less of an impact on the environment than other packaged beverages,” said Fiji brand manager Daniel Meyer. “And water is also much healthier for people than many of these other beverages. Once the bottled water industry can educate consumers about this, we believe bottled water sales will resume their growth.”

But Fiji and Evian – despite their green efforts – are still imports, another potential environmental pitfall. Cargo ships undeniably increase a product’s carbon footprint, and Fred Water founder and CEO Adam Gayner said he thinks drinking water sourced from distant hemispheres is going out of style.

Bottled water consumers, he said, can only reduce their environmental impact in a handful of ways. They can purchase brands that use recycled plastic bottles with reduced material content – which many bottled water companies, including Fiji and Evian, are working on – or they can reduce the distance the water traveled before it meets their lips.

“It’s the same question as asking what can be improved about orange juice,” Gayner said.

And domestic water may be winning out. Gayner’s sales figures, he said, tell him that his urban-centered, flask-packaged brand is growing at the expense of imports, but he understands that the forces on his brand aren’t the same as those on Fiji, Dasani and Nestle.

“We’re growing leaps and bounds, and we will because we’re new and young and grabbing share,” Gayner said. “If I was a billion dollar brand I’d probably have a different story, but I’m not. I’m coming up through the category.”

And the story for those bigger, banner companies could be different in the near future. Bad economies don’t last forever, and when the American consumer is ready to loosen her wallet again, top bottled water brands – if they continue as they are – will steal most of the venom from their environmental antagonists. Maybe the U.S. Council of Mayors will even allow bottled water in City Hall again. •

76.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

BRAND NEWS Jana North America, Inc. Jana announced the addition of 2 glass SKUS to its US portfolio: 330 ml bottles, 24 per case and 500 ml bottles, 12 per case. In the last year, Jana has also added more than a dozen distributors, including: Manhattan Beer (NYC Metro Area), Miller of Denton(Texas), and Tri State Juice (Ohio).

AMI Brands, Inc. Volvic is entering its second year of partnership with UNICEF to help provide safe drinking water to the western Ethiopian region of Benishangul-Gumuz. Over 62 million liters of clean drinking water were provided to the region in 2008 and more wells are currently under construction.

Mountain Valley Spring Company Mountain Valley Spring Water now utilizes 25 percent recycled PET in all of its plastic bottled water containers. Mountain Valley has recently redesigned its labels and packaging to communicate the serious commitment the company has made to act in an environmentally sustainable way.

Fiji Water FIJI Water and Corona Beer are joining together this summer to offer a co-branded promotion at retailers nationwide. Starting in May, special deals will be available to shoppers on FIJI Water, Corona Extra, Corona Light, and other leading brands.

Global Water Solutions After a six-month hiatus, Global Water Solutions’ AQUAVYBE, is flowing again.

In addition, AQUAVYBE is now bottled in a patented, oxo-biodegradable PET plastic bottle.

Penguin Bottling Company Penguin Ice has expanded its East Coast distribution network to include Montreal, Quebec City, and New York. Penguin Ice was selected to be the only water representing the green alternative at The Green Inaugural Ball.

Icelandic Spring From its logo to its Web site, Iceland Spring is executing a comprehensive rebranding, including a new tagline, “Live Longer.” The

09-HSL-0290A Bevnet 03/17/09 11:42 AM Page 1

rebranding also focuses Iceland Spring’s naturally high pH level (8.88).

Icelandic Water Holding Icelandic Glacial added a 330 ml bottle.

The new 330 ml bottle mirrors the same ice-sculpted design of other Icelandic Glacial products in a scaled-down size. Every 330 ml bottle showcases Icelandic Glacial’s new reversed logo as well as the official CarbonNeutral logo.

Drink America’s Paradise!

HAWAIIAN SPRINGS YOUNG NATURAL ARTESIAN WATER

AriZona Beverage Co. AriZona Beverage Co. ventured into a new area of hydration with Vapor Water. AriZona’s Vapor Water will begin distribution nationally this winter. For more information on this and other AriZona beverages please visit www.drinkarizona.com.

owater sport owater recently gained authorizations from Stop & Shop and Giant and Whole Foods in the Southern Pacific. The company has recently updated sport owater packaging as part of a new brand initiative that uses the stories of inspirational athletes from around the country.

Nestle Waters North America Nestle Waters North America signed a two year endorsement agreement with fitness guru Bob Greene, creator of “The Best Life Diet” program, author of diet and fitness books, and Oprah Winfrey’s personal trainer.

Greene will promote Pure Life and educate consumers on the benefits of drinking water as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Earth Water International Earth Water is now working with soccer star Luis Figo, captain of the Portuguese National Soccer team. Earth Water is also now available in all Whole Foods across the country as well as a growing number of independent coffee houses.

Isbre Holding Corporation Isbre Water has recently achieved placement in Whole Foods (NJ), Giant Food Stores (PA), Quickway Stores (NY) and The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company which operates 447 stores under six banners along the Eastern Seaboard. Isbre can now be found on shelves in more than 5,000 retail locations.

Come visit us at www.HawaiianSpring.com MARCH.09.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.77

Matsumoto & Clapperton Advertising Client: Hawaiian Springs Title: “Drink America’s Paradise”

Date: 3/9/09 Job #: 09-HSL-0290A

BRAND NEWS: BOTTLED WATER Equa Water Corporation Equa Water has reduced its bottles’ neck finish down to the industry standard 28 mm from its previous measurement of 38 mm.

Maddie’s Beverage Company, Inc Maddie’s Beverage Company, maker of Wateroos children’s water-filled drink boxes, continues to gain distribution adding JewelOsco, Copps, Rainbow, Pick ‘n Save and Buehler’s to its list of retailers. In addition, the line is now being carried in the new natural food and beverage set at 300+ Toys R Us stores.

Essential Aqua Essential Aqua debuted in December with a mission to help children in need. For every bottle of Essential Aqua Premium Drinking Water sold, a portion of the sales proceeds is being contributed to Children’s Miracle Network.

Mount Olympus Waters, Inc. Mount Olympus Waters of Salt Lake City is now expanding the distribution of its new 20 oz. Limited Reserve “MTO” pure spring water.

New York Spring Water, Inc. New York Spring Water, Inc. recently expanded its distributor base into the Midwest and South, and added a new package: the low environmental impact cup, called Cupa-Water. With substantially less plastic than conventional PET bottles, Cup-a-Water is available in three sizes (140 ml, 200 ml, and 300 ml).

Indefinite Possibilities LLC Good Vibes for You has redesigned its label.

The new labels are imprinted with GVFY’s logo for Conscious Planet, a GVFY’s new division of partnerships geared towards sustainable initiatives and educational development. To learn more, go to www. goodvibesforyou.com.

The Tesalia Springs Co. Guitig Mineral Spring Water has added a more expressive label that emphasizes the Cotopaxi Vulcano, where the brand’s water begins long before it arrives in a bottle.

Danone Naya Waters In 2008, Naya began using 25 percent recycled plastic in its bottles. Naya announced that, starting in April 2009, its bottles will contain 50 percent recycled plastic. Naya is

78.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

also donating 1 percent of revenues to the protection of the environment.

Refreshing Ideas, LLC New to the market, h2O is distributed by Tree of Life and comes in a mainly-paper package. Just toss these aseptic cartons in your recycle bin so they can be made into cereal boxes and paper towels. The brand also appeared at the Green Odyssey party at the Sundance Film Festival.

National Beverage LaCroix is debuting an eight-can fridgepack to compliment its 12-pack of sparkling water. For more information, contact vwalker@nationalbeverage.com.

H2Om Water As of March 1st 2009, H2Om’s line of seven waters with intention are available nationwide through Tree of Life and UNFI. H2Om most recently hosted the Hollywood Premiere of the documentary film WATER which is available on DVD on their website at www.H2Omwater.com.

Lifestyle Beverages Style Water has expanded its availability to spots throughout the Northeast including the Hamptons, New York City, and Jersey beach areas. The brand is focusing on the fashion modeling industry, including placement in the Garment Center and certain publishing and modeling offices and parties.

Fitness Water, Inc. H2Ultra bottled water will keep the USA National Weightlifting Team hydrated through training that will lead up to the next Olympics. Fitness Water has also inked an agreement for H2Ultra to sponsor a professional BMX Bike Team and promote H2Ultra at regional and national competitions throughout 2009.

Island Chill Bottled Water Company Island Chill Artesian Water Limited has signed with Quest Sales and Marketing to represent Island Chill as its sales team for the U.S.A. Island Chill also recently signed Stern Beverage as its master distributor for the U.S.

OGO USA OGO plans to introduce 1/2 L PET and 750 ml glass bottles this spring, and is in deep negotiations with elite hotels in Los Angeles.

The brand is also getting ready to launch the New York market.

BRAND NEWS: BOTTLED WATER Hawaiian Springs Hawaiian Springs debuted a new bottle design for 2009, when it will also seek national distribution for the first time.

Hawaiian Springs recently contributed to the true Aloha spirit in the nation’s capital when it was served at the Hawaii State Society Inaugural Ball.

Spero Group, Inc. Tumai Water is expanding its line to include new multi-pack options and is picking up new distribution in the Northeast and midAtlantic. In February 2009, Tumai Water was included in the book launch of Summer Rayne Oaks new book Style, Naturally at Stella McCartney’s boutique in New York city.

The Coca-Cola Co. DASANI Purified Water is the premier Sponsor of Expedition: Blue Planet, an effort by Alexandra Cousteau to engage people in discussions about water and how to take meaningful action. For more information, go to www.alexandracousteau.com.

PurBlu Beverages, Inc. To date, GIVE, a charitable bottled water that donates 10 cents of every bottle sold to a cause of the consumer’s choice, has raised over $50,000 for local charities where the product is sold. Currently distributed in the Northeast, Midwest, and parts of Canada, GIVE is expanding throughout the US in 2009. Find out more at drinkgive.com.

Project7 Project 7 Purified Water is available online at www.Project7.com, and is also soon to be distributed at Jewel-Osco grocery stores in the Chicago area. The bottled water is not only sourced domestically, but its packaging uses boxes made from 100 recyclable materials.

Soma Beverage Company Soma Beverage Company has introduced Metroelectro in a 1L. Metroelectro is available in stores nationwide, including Whole Foods Market and Safeway Naturals.

Evian North America Between 2000 and 2011 Evian will have shrunk its carbon footprint by half. The company simultaneously intends to develop voluntary initiatives making it possible to absorb the remainder of its carbon footprint.

From 2009, Evian will support specific pro-

80.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

grams to store carbon by restoring wetlands with Ramsar and the IUCN. This twin effort will enable Evian to become carbon neutral from 2011 onward.

Talking Rain Beverage Co., Inc. Talking Rain beverage company, which sells bottled water brands Air Water and Talking Rain Spring Water, was the water sponsor for The 26.2 With Donna: the national marathon to fight breast cancer.

Aquadeco LLC Aquadeco Water has been pushing its brand into hotels, restaurants and night clubs. The brand offers promotional programs to hotels such as “free fills” and price matching for current water.

Twinlab Corporation Twinlab Corporation offers TwinCal Natural Calcium Water as a new way to get more calcium into consumers’ diets. Drawn from a glacially-formed aquifer, TwinCal has 60 mg of calcium in each bottle and is available in 24 packs of 0.5 L bottles.

Bella Voda Inc. As of March 1, DPI MidWest is distributing Bella Voda Premium Artesian water to all of its customers throughout the Midwest.

RushNet, Inc. e-water has just received its trademark approval for Japan. In the U.S., e-water is distributed by Tree of Life.

AquaGenus AquaHydrate recently signed an endorsement deal with Olympic athlete Julie Swail, and is now distributed by United Natural Food. The brand has been approved in select Whole Foods in California; the Southwest Division, as well as select Publix Super Markets in Florida and Georgia.

Pacific Water International Ltd. redleaf is Canada’s new Ultra Premium bottled water. The brand’s unique process infuses the water with oxygen and retains naturally occurring minerals. Watch for distribution of redleaf in the U.S.A. coming soon.

Deep SeaWater International, Inc. Kona Deep has recently been introduced to the continental 48 states. Sourced from deep in the Pacific Ocean, Kona Deep does not deplete the world’s fresh water supply. •

Beverage Spectrum covers new beverage products, as well as the marketing, packaging, and ingredient innovation trends behind those products. From the largest beverage marketers to regional distributors to the smallest corner stores, the beverage business is at its core about selling drinks. Beverage Spectrum is the guide for those who both sell them and create them.

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3. What is your primary business type? (check only one) A Convenience Store B Supermarket/Grocery C Club/Warehouse D Mass Merchandiser/Dollar E Drug Store F Liquor Store G Wine Store H Wholesaler/Distributor/Broker I Beverage Only/Beverage Specialty Store J Beverage Company K Supplier Company L Services Company X Other (please describe) 4. What is your title? (check only one) A Owner/President/CEO/COO/VP/Director B Buyer C Bottled Water D Regional/District Manager E Store Manager/Supervisor X Other (please describe) 5. Do the locations that you are responsible for sell: (check all that apply) A Carbonated soft drinks B Non-carbonated soft drinks C Bottled water D Beer E Wine F Liquor

PROMO PARADE EARN SOME CRED. ROLL WITH URIJAH. MILWAUKEE’S BEST LIGHT LETS IT RIDE Milwaukee’s Best Light is betting that continuing its relationship with the popular World Series of Poker will turn into a winning hand. In 2009, Milwaukee’s Best Light will be the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker, which featured increases in spectators and participants in 2008, as well as a highly rated, primetime broadcast of the final table on ESPN. As the tournament’s official beer sponsor in 2009 and 2010, Milwaukee’s Best Light has the ability to use the WSOP logo on packaging and in all promotional activities, and the brand will have prominent signage during the nearly two-month-long tournament at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Terms of the two-year deal were not disclosed.

For more information on the WSOP, visit www.WorldSeriesOfPoker.com. And for more information on Milwaukee’s Best Light, visit www.MilBestLight.com.

No Fear Energy, the official energy drink of World Extreme Cagefighting, announced two national promotions in conjunction with WEC Featherweight Superstar Urijah Faber. “The California Kid” is lending his name and likeness to a national sweepstakes called “Roll with Urijah,” and an under the tab promotion called, “Earn Some Cred.”

“Earn Some Cred” is the brand’s first-ever “under the tab” codebased promotion. Consumers can crack open specially marked packages of No Fear, register online at NoFearEnergy.com and enter the code under the tab to “Earn Some Cred” toward prizes. Eight No Fear Energy drinkers will instantly win trips to special events including WEC events, motocross excursions and surfing lessons in Hawaii.

“Earn Some Cred” will be supported by life-size standees of Faber in retail outlets. The program ends Aug. 9.

On March 1, No Fear launched its national “Roll with Urijah” sweepstakes, which gives consumers the chance to win a trip to Las Vegas to join Faber and his entourage at a WEC event. No purchase is necessary- participants can register for free online at versus.com.

NESTLE’S BEST LIFE

Nestlé Waters North America signed a two-year agreement with Bob Greene, creator of the Best Life program, to promote Nestlé Pure Life bottled water.

Greene will serve as spokesperson for Nestlé Pure Life, appear in print and broadcast advertising and online on behalf of the brand to encourage families to take small steps in living healthier lifestyles.

As part of the partnership, Nestlé Pure Life will receive the Best Life Seal of Approval.

Designed by Greene, the Best Life seal is intended to help consumers make healthier food and lifestyle decisions.

82.BEVERAGESPECTRUM.MARCH.09

‘SPOKES’ – MAN HYDRIVE Energy announced that it has signed Sam Whittingham to be the “spokes” person for its enhanced water energy brand. Whittingham holds the world record in speed cycling and is known internationally as the “fastest selfpowered man in the world,” having traveling 82.3 miles per hour on a flat course at the World Human-Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain, Nevada in September 2008.

Whittingham will be featured in the HYDRIVE outdoor, print, POS, and web campaign slated to break in March.