Since its founding in 2020, better-for-you energy drink startup G.O.A.T. Fuel has known it wanted to establish a base in the pro sports world. Now, as its footprint has surpassed 10,000 retail accounts nationwide, the brand is ready to go all in by trademarking the phrase “Sports Energy.”
Co-founded by NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, his daughter and CEO Jaqui Rice Gold, and her husband and chief brand officer Trevion “T.J.” Gold, the brand is now officially “G.O.A.T. Fuel Sports Energy.” The company produces a line of zero sugar energy drinks made with cordyceps mushrooms, electrolytes, BCAAs and 200 mg of natural caffeine per 12 oz. can.
G.O.A.T. Fuel’s cans have now received a small makeover, placing the new trademark front and center in lieu of the more generic phrase “Energy Drink.” As well, the brand received Informed Sport certification in Q1 this year and that icon has now been added to the backs of the cans.
“We always knew that we could play in the sports world authentically, providing a cleaner alternative to athletes,” Jaqui Rice Gold told BevNET in a call. “Now, three years into the business, we’ve been really able to fine tune and hone in to exactly who we are, and our positioning in the space.”
According to T.J. Gold, the company has also secured the web domain for sportsenergy.com, adding that the brand is hoping to establish the ‘Sports Energy’ as a unique style of natural, performance beverage.
Although G.O.A.T. Fuel is technically following in the performance energy trend that exploded after the rise of Bang – which similarly made use of BCAAs to appeal to fitness-minded consumers – the founders are aiming to get a foothold in the pro sports realm by providing a cleaner label and additional functional benefits like cordyceps mushrooms.
While energy drink brands have, for years, worked to craft partnerships with sports teams and leagues, Jacqui Rice Gold noted that between high sugar content and liberal use of artificial ingredients, the category has long been “controversial” among athletes.
But that hasn’t stopped brands like Monster from forging long term partnerships with groups like UFC, ONE Championship or the New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden. Next generation energy brands have also jumped into the game, like C4 working with Major League Soccer teams, NERD Focus partnering with the San Antonio Spur and, just this month, Celsius partnering with the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars.
Meanwhile, Gatorade partnered last year with the NFL to support the launch of its athletic energy line, Fast Twitch.
But G.O.A.T. Fuel isn’t sitting on the bench. The brand became the first official energy drink of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021, a partnership that T.J. Gold said they now intend to “double down” on in the coming months, including media campaigns that tap into the company’s most famous co-founder, Jerry Rice, who will promote the brand alongside rising star athletes.
While no names were released just yet, T.J. Gold said the brand has been building a long list of brand ambassadors and pro athlete partners it is preparing to activate in the near future.
“We could have went with the traditional aspect that you would think of when you hear ‘G.O.A.T.’ and ‘Fuel’ and just lean it more towards the G.O.A.T.s who have already established their greatness, but what we want to do is fuel the next generation,” he said.
G.O.A.T. Fuel has also previously brought in investors from the pro sports world such as former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and Minnesota Timberwolves owner Marc Lore.
Looking ahead, Jaqui Rice Gold said the company is now preparing for a larger push into the convenience channel this summer, with several thousand new doors in major chains expected to come online soon.