16 oz energy drinks

[Goldmember]

Can some of you guys out west discuss the 16 oz energy drink market. I am on the east coast and have not seen too many of these hit the shelves yet. The only place I see these products is at the 7-11s in my market, but they are not dsd items (they seem to be coming from 7-11 headquarters).

Our company has an opportunity to distribute one of these 16 oz cans, but I am not sure if it will take off or not.

Which ones are selling? Who are the top performers? Is it Rockstar and/or Monster? How are they performing vs the RBs, amps, a-rushs, and sum poosies of the world?

I like the concept: twice the energy + same price as RB.

Bottom line: Are they worth the time and effort that typically goes into introducing a new brand?

[fusion]

Well, in my opinion, good concept or not, if the brand doesn't have recognition among it's target audience, 100% more product than the well-known competition is not going to guarantee you a lot of sales. People will still reach for the RB or the A-Rush or KMX, because they know the brand.

People who buy energy drinks are probably not the same people who are out looking to get the best "bang for their buck" ie, saving money or stretching their dollar further. Most kids don't pinch pennies.. They spend freely.

[ResQ Rob]

Rockstar really took off out here on the West Coast, simply because they are such a close copy to Red Bull, at half the price. I don't think the other 16oz have done as well, Monster is probably in second because they have so much brand and distribution behind them (Hansen's) and US is just garbage trying to jump on the 9/11 bandwagon rather than the Red Bull knock off bandwagon. I would love to offer a 16oz version of our drink (ResQ) no one has offered their drink in both a 8.2oz and a 16oz, probably because of pricing conflicts.

[Sealude]

Blue Ox has with thier OX XL 16oz line. Same flavors as the originals but now in 16 oz. I don't really understand this move though. It will kill any 8.3 oz sales they may have had.

[Ron Swedelson]

What, Blue Ox actualy had some 8.3 oz. sales?? WOW!!!
Yeah, Sobe A-Rush is comming out with a 16 oz. can, RockStar and Monster are leading the pack in the big cans though. Others like USA and Crazy Larys are around cause they opened up their checkbooks and got some authorisations. I think this new craze will start to diminish the entries at the 8.3 oz level, but will start new shelf programs for the 16 oz. cans. Well, at least my product will fit in the new shelf glides.

[<OnPremise>]

A gentleman out here in Atlanta was going to put quarter of a mil into resQ to bring distributorship to Atlanta. I actually tried your drink, it wasn't bad. What happened? Last I had heard was that they shelfed the project.

Originally posted by ResQ Rob:
Rockstar really took off out here on the West Coast, simply because they are such a close copy to Red Bull, at half the price. I don't think the other 16oz have done as well, Monster is probably in second because they have so much brand and distribution behind them (Hansen's) and US is just garbage trying to jump on the 9/11 bandwagon rather than the Red Bull knock off bandwagon. I would love to offer a 16oz version of our drink (ResQ) no one has offered their drink in both a 8.2oz and a 16oz, probably because of pricing conflicts.

[LiquidSales]

I just received a POS report from Vegas, and 3 of the top 5 are bigger cans (2 16oz., 1 12oz.) I can email it to you if you want to take a look at it.

[ResQ Rob]

OnPremise,
we have had several investors step up, then back out. The Atlanta guy ended up wasting 3+ months of our time, as we found out he was banashied by many big distributors like Sysco! Still working on landing some big deals.

We will be in Vegas booth #9169.

[Fixx]

Well, as you know, or may not know. In the US there is a national trend for 'we want more with a value'. So, to say that going bigger on an energy drink (except for Red Bull) is not the right move, is the wrong decision.
The 16oz can has its market because it is 16oz for $1.99. From what I have seen so far, on the west coast is, Rock Star sells and Monster sells.
However, availability, like any product is key. So, what I am saying to you is, if you take this product on, be sure to get it to 80% of your accounts in a very short time. If you can do this, then I believe, from my experience, that you have a 16oz can energy drink business.

Later

[sodasommelier]

Fixx is correct about that. That's what we do with our bottled versions of stuff. I'm not into the 16oz can so I'm going to forego that part of the market; also I suspect that it'll be the next big rat race in the energy market. So I'll just stick to my niche; I have many many loyal followers. But if you're going into the 16oz can you should follow Fixx's advice...