Body Armor Gets DPSG Distribution in NJ, NorCal

Lance Collins’ last ride is now going to be on a Dr Pepper truck.

Body Armor, the brand started by Fuze founder Collins and backed by heavyweight investor and Vitaminwater sales chief Mike Repole, announced yesterday that the nutrient-enhanced “superdrink” will be distributed by the DPSG network in New Jersey and Northern California.

“They’re a great distributor, a great bottler,” Collins said. “It’s hard to pull a strong network together to service the chains, especially since the industry is consolidating. We’re lucky to have them on board.”

Body Armor is putting together a strong field marketing push behind the new distribution, which starts in New Jersey next week and in north of Santa Barbara on May 1, Collins said. Additionally, the company has begun to add cultural celebrities to join its team of athletic endorsers like Mike Trout and Rob Gronkowski.

“You have to create brand awareness,” Collins said of the celebrities. “But obviously, our field marketing efforts are three times what our athletic programs are.”

The new route to market for Body Armor is creating strange bedfellows:  the new arrangement will put competitors Neuro, Bai, and Body Armor, three well-known health-enhancing functional products, all with brightly colored liquids and proprietary packaging, and all with strong ties to the former Vitaminwater sales and marketing organization — on the same trucks.

“We can’t compare our brand to any other brand,” Collins said, calling the brand his last ride through the beverage business. “There’s no guarantees in the business, and you’ve got to make things happen.”

Here is a brief statement from Body Armor about its deal with DPSG:

BODYARMOR SuperDrink and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group have reached a deal to distribute BODYARMOR in select US markets. The distribution partnership will focus on Northern California and New Jersey, as Dr. Pepper Snapple Group will look expand BODYARMOR’s existing footprint in those areas.

“We are extremely excited about BODYARMOR’s distribution partnership with Dr. Pepper Snapple Group as this is another validation of this brand’s promising future,” said Lance Collins, Founder and CEO of BODYARMOR SuperDrink. “We’re continuously supported by our other amazing distribution partners, and certainly Dr. Pepper Snapple Group reinforces how BODYARMOR SuperDrink is backed by the industry’s elite companies. Our distribution and retail partners have played a huge role in our fast growth.”