ULIVjava Brings Marketing Muscle of Martha Stewart to RTD Coffee

ULIVjava mocha-iced-coffeeA better-for-you packaged coffee brand is leaning on its association with a well-known media mogul to bring a new line of health-focused, ready-to-drink beverages to the masses. First introduced in June and formally launched today, ULIVjava Martha Stewart now markets two iced coffee products, which like its bagged ground coffee, are blended with green tea, infused with herbs and botanical ingredients, and fortified with vitamins.

The development of the ULIVjava (pronounced “you live java”) brand was “inspired by Martha Stewart and her commitment to health, wellness and vitality,” according to company founders Mary Tedesco, who is Stewart’s longtime personal trainer and celebrity nutritionist Kathleen Schoen. The goal was to incorporate the nutritional value of green tea and other herbs into a premium coffee blend.

“I love everything ULIVjava stands for—health and wellness with your daily coffee,” Stewart said in a release.

Formulated with fair trade coffee extract, non-fat milk and cream, the new drinks come in two varieties, Mocha and Vanilla, each sweetened with fair trade dried cane syrup and erythritol. The drinks also include yerba mate and astragalus, a root said to have immunity-boosting effects. The beverages contain 90 calories per 9.5 oz. glass bottle, which is the same shape and package used for some of illy issimo’s RTD offerings. Unlike ULIVjava packaged coffee, its beverages are not organic.

Promoted as coffee that “only Martha (and nature) could brew,” the drinks have a suggested retail price of $3.49 per bottle, and while the premium positioning would suggest distribution in the natural and specialty channels, the products are currently sold in a diverse array of retailers in the New York market, including 7-Eleven, Whole Foods, Gristede’s and Walgreen’s. Though its footprint is New York-centric for the time being, the company is prepping for expanded distribution in 2015 as well as the release of an almond milk variety.