Energy Drinks, Vitamin Waters, Infused Waters, all New Age Drinks, are the focus of attention of consumers, entrepreneurs and even investors.
I see many new companies and products every day; and those are the ones that call me. Imagine all of them in the whole world.
Vitamin Water sold for a few billion dollars, 4.1 to be precise. Now everyone is jumping into the industry. 1 billion dollars, individuals, investors and companies want to enter the “New Age Drinks”.
So what exactly are New Age drinks? Well, this is a new category within the Beverage Industry that covers the new style of beverages. This new “category” is growing and changing. Some time ago you only found Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar and maybe Vitaminwater as part of New Age Beverage. Now it’s gone global and crazy.
Now the category has evolved and can include enhanced water, tea, diet drinks, iced coffee, and really any new beverage. Every beverage company wants to be associated with the “New Age” category not only because it’s sexier, but because the category is growing faster and is being closely watched by investors.
You should realize that Vitamin Water is not the first company to make a lot of money for its brand name. There are beverage companies being financed every day, and more are being bought and sold to large companies. Many companies that you now believe to be market leaders started not too long ago as startups.
Some of the companies you see in the news are Fuze, which sold to Coca Cola, Sobe, which sold to Pepsi Cola, or Fiji Water, which also sold.
Other companies such as Reeds Beverage, Who’s Your Daddy, Jones Soda and Hensen with Monster Energy Drink access financing through the public markets. These and many others are public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ or the OTC (Over the Counter).
My company gets hundreds of calls from entrepreneurs and investment firms looking to start or invest in these beverages. Right now I have at least 100 people contacting me every month wanting to know about the industry, energy drinks, how to get distribution, how to export, how to bottle drinks or go over business plans or other information. The industry is growing and the category is growing even faster.
Why are these beverages growing at 50% per year or more? Why do we see so many waters, energy drinks, moisturizing products, etc. on the market today? The answer is easy. Consumers are demanding more and more beverages. They want drinks for every occasion or part of the day. They want organic drinks, sugary drinks, healthy drinks, and all kinds of drinks that suit their personality and style.
Entrepreneurs and investors are turning to New Age drinks because the demand is there and the profits are very, very high. This is one of the characteristics they share: they all have high profit margins. How high are the margins? Well, you can get up to $24 gross profit per box. Yes, this is for one case. Imagine selling just one beverage truck or around 1600 cases with this profit. Now imagine selling a truck a week!
++ Some tips before starting your business: ++
-Don’t just focus on the drink, focus on the whole package (I get a lot of phone calls and emails telling me they have a better tasting drink than Rockstar, Red Bull and Monster Energy Drink).
-No promotion before distribution. Don’t fall into the trap of promoting energy drinks. Remember, you have to focus on your Distributor and Retailer Packs. Sell first, then take the product off the shelves.
-Learn your finances. Calculate how much it takes to start and sell your new drink before you go and produce 5,000 cases.
