So what is your opinion of this? Myself as a drinker I like it and wish Pepsi would drop AMP and just go with No fear and Rockstar which are both much better drinks.

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My energy drink website
http://www.edjunkie.com/

Ofthe Pepsi brands, Amp is much stronger market share wise than No Fear. So, much more likely Pepsi eventually phases out No Fear and goes to market with AMP and Rockstar. I beleive these two brands compliment each other nicely given slight differences in their demo. I would say Amp trends more towards blue collar (nascar) drinker, Rockstar demo slightly younger/nightlife crowd.

I think they are putting the final nail in the proverbial coffin.
I do not know what the contract says but I have a feeling that Rockstar needed/needs Pepsi way more than Pepsi needs Rockstar, therefore, this contract is very Pepsi friendly.
I see it as way for pepsi to kill off one more competitor by bringing it in the fold and then letting distribution numbers fall to the basement and then once the contracts up and Rockstar is a non entity in the category they let them go.
If Pepsi was serious about killing No Fear and propping up AMP by putting it next to Rockstar they would have bought Rockstar. Similarly the way they did Sobe and Gatorade(QO).

With that being said, My argument does not hold true for Coke and Muscle Milk. MM had decent distribution and they are a segment leader so I think that contract was very even and distribution numbers must be maintained or Cytosport could pull out easily.

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Whether you think can or think you can\'t, you\'re probably right!

It's going to get interesting really quick, that's for sure!

Pepsi should do the smart thing and DQ No Fear & Adrenaline within the next 90 days. In that case their trucks have credibility as AMP & Rockstar brands bring a lot of value to the retailer/consumer.

On the flip side, that green Claw just became a whole lot more valuable to the Red Trucks across the street. I think you see the 2 horse race between Red Bull & Monster get a couple side brands creeping up in AMP & Rockstar now that Pepsi has something to play with.

Between Coke & Pepsi this will be a true battle seeing Monster is about equal to AMP & Rockstar combined.... they either both fight strong & smart and build the category or let RB run away with it and just kill it all together. I hope for the former.

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Bill Brasky built the cabin he was born in.

Greg, you have no idea what you are talking about and your comments could not be further from the truth. you have no idea what the terms of the agreement are and your clear bias is spewing out all over the thread.

1. Pepsi Paid Rockstar A SIGNIFICANT amount of $ for the distro rights and signed a 10 year agreement. It would not have done so to "kill Rockstar" off as you say.
2. Rockstar is keeping its legacy dists in Nor Cal and Northwest (where Rockstar's share is highest). Surely Pepsi would have demanded this territory be part of the agreement if the agreement was so "one sided" as you say.


I could go on further but will stop here. The fact of the matter is that Rockstar has now negotiated National distribution agreements with the two most powerful distributors in the world within a 4 year span. There is no other brand that I am aware of that can say the same. (Certainly not any company you have worked for Greg).

You know, I get the same newsletter( BTW, You should give credit where credit is do when you quote them) you get and I was going to come on here and say I was mistaken, because, if what the newsletter states is true I am wayy Off base. I can say I was WRONG. However, My company has been featured in that same newsletter and erroneous or flat out wrong information was given. They took two(2)of our products that were completely seperate and for different uses and wrote about them as one single product and got the science completely wrong also.
But I digress,
You fail to even recognize the fact that I said in my opening " I do not know what the contract says". So before you get on your High Horse and rip me a new one because you do not like my style or my opinion slow down a bit and soak in what I write..because the message was right there in front of you the whole time. Regardless of at this writing I am wrong or right is irrelevant, I have seen "my opinion" many time before happen in this industry, more so than you could imagine, I have seen it happen in other industries as well, look at Microsoft..they do it all the time. Nike does it to apparel companies, etc.

And as far as what major distributors I have sat down with in the last few years and walked away from I know would surprise you. My CEO understands the business and the way to survive. Just because we didn't sign off on a lopsided contract doesn't make us any less intelligent than Rockstar.

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Whether you think can or think you can\'t, you\'re probably right!

Wow people like to argue.. so here's my 2 cents which is now worth an eight of a cent in america....

pepsi will like every other company, create a lineup... 1st we put this in a cooler, 2nd we put this in a cooler, 3rd we put this in a cooler...

they will put what first... their own product they make the most money off of course... and so on and so forth... they have the ability to grow their own brands and have done well doing this profit wise for the company...

rockstar just plugs a nice addition to the lineup they have when they want to be able to control a percentage of the energy drink market... why wouldn't you crunch the numbers, cost versus profits and where you can get it into the market in what forms... and come up with a grand total profit and say... hey this looks like a good deal for us... lets make some money...

So I don't know why people think companies should or would discontinue other items just to bring a replacement in without owning it outright... look how many repeating flavors drpepper/snapple own... sunkist punch, nehi punch, welchs punch, crush punch, hawaiiian punch, tahitian punch (I'm forgetting some also)... when did they decided to replace them all with just one? (sure in some areas other distributors sell them against eachother but in some markets they have the ability to sell them all...

the more the merrier!

From: King, Robert
Today, PBG is once again charging ahead in our ongoing effort to build scale in dynamic growth categories. As announced to the media this morning, we have joined with PepsiCo and our Pepsi bottling partners in a master distributor agreement that will offer ROCKSTAR products exclusively through Pepsi's bottling system in all trade channels in the United States and Canada. As many of you know, ROCKSTAR is one of the world's leading energy drinks. This win for the Pepsi family significantly expands PBG's portfolio in the growing energy beverage segment, which already includes AMP. ROCKSTAR now joins an exciting list of recent additions to PBG's offerings, including Crush in the flavored carbonated soft drinks segment and Muscle Milk in the emerging value-added protein drinks category. Please join me in celebrating this impressive brand addition for our Company. The news release can be found below and at Welcome to The Pepsi Bottling Group.
It will be big and we have no interest in running RockStar down. Just the opposite. As PBG we can expand our shelf space and sell more then the red guys have been able to do in the past. We will sell Sobe, Amp and RockStar all the same with the same results. SALES!!

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"It's not my job to say what doesn't sell. My job is distribution!"

Los Angeles Market Unit (LAMU)

I'm honestly gonna say that Rockstar will not be missed at all. Off my C and P presale route I maybe.... sold 10 total cases a week. It's a dead brand around here(and I know they still have their strong areas) and I would take Monster any day of the week over it(selling wise). I have some accounts that might go through 10 cases of green 16 oz in one week alone. By the end of the year, Monster will have a higher share here than Red Bull, and personally I cant see what Pepsi is trying to accomplish here.

Yes, I don't think anyone is claiming that Alabama is ROCKSTAR country (I think thats where your from).
Greg-good to see you can admit when you are wrong. I HONESTLY did not see the article you saw but I am pretty sure I know which service you are talking about. I will check it out. I still take issue with the fact that you said "I do not know what the terms of the agreement are"..but then went on hypothosize anyway with a clear negative slant. That's fine to have an opinion, but I for one respect informed opnions a lot more.