Sucker Punch Original Octane

Product Type:Functional: Energy Drink: Regular; Container: 12 oz can
BevNET Review: Conceptually speaking, Sucker Punch Energy is a creative approach to coming up with something different in a category that’s full of me-too’s. In this case, they’ve gone with a retro muscle car themed 12 oz. can that is cleanly designed and attractive to the eye. The same can be said for the inside, which uses a mellow orange and cream flavor that’s been souped up with caffeine, green tea extract, ginseng, taurine, and guarana. While we don’t normally favor orange and cream flavors, this one is definitely an exception, providing a nice complement to the mild energy “bite” that the product has. All in all, we appreciate their effort to break the mold. From a marketability point of view, we have a couple of suggestions for this product. First, make the word “Energy” much bigger. In the current design, the word “Punch” gets the focus – which might make people believe that this is a CSD or malt-based beverage (since it looks similar to a retro style beer). Second, drop the URL from the front of the can (or at least get a shorter one) – it takes away from the look. Otherwise, it’s somewhat hard to guess what type of person the “Sucker Punch” brand might have appeal with – someone who thinks it’s funny? People with low self esteem? Overall, we like the overall concept and execution, but we’re not convinced that this is the most marketable approach that one could take. Reviewed on: 4/8/2009