Los Angeles, CA – Genius Juice has discontinued its organic coconut smoothie line and its place has released a new line of ‘Superfood Smoothies.’ Each bottle contains essential superfoods such as maca and quinoa, along with plant-based protein, with an organic almond milk base.
“What drove this decision was not the quality and performance of our previous coconut smoothie line, but challenges and issues with scalability and production” Alex Bayer, founder of Genius Juice said. “We only had 1 SKU for almost 2 years, because production limitations made it very hard to release additional flavors. In addition, our price point was too high. $5.99-$7.99 made it harder for everyone to afford our organic smoothies. Ultimately, we want to bring this nutrition to the main stream.”
The transition, although a big move away from their core branding of being a coconut company, still strongly re-enforces the essence and mission behind the Genius brand.
“Overall, we want to make an organic, clean smoothie and offer it to the world, something thicker and more filling with meal replacement value,” Bayer said. “Even though it’s no longer a coconut smoothie, it’s still a great tasting product with clean ingredients, and full of functional, beneficial ingredients.”
Genius offers this new line as a ‘meal replacement’ type beverage. The company is targeting “the on-the-go consumer who may not have time to make breakfast.”
The new superfood smoothie line launched in mid January, 2017 in 3 regions of Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, and several regional chains. They retail for $4.99 nationally with UNFI and Kehe, and also is being distributed by Hi-Touch in Southern CA, a specialty DSD distribution house. There are now 3 flavors: Original, Coffee, and Vanilla Superfood Smoothies. Each bottle is infused with organic almond milk, organic superfoods, and organic plant-based protein.
“Superfoods have been a highly marketed category for a long time so everyone knows what they are, however, the combination of superfoods, protein, and a thicker, more filling consistency is still unique and a differentiator in the market,” Bayer said. “When I go to my local Whole Foods or any other store, all I see are juices, tonics, and kombuchas.”