It’s not an easy task to crack the shell of the coconut water category when one brand comfortably controls nearly half of sales. But 100 Coconuts has a long-term plan: over the past two years, the New York City-based brand has been tapping into key partnerships in entertainment, sports and spirits to expand the category’s addressable market, a process that is starting to bear fruit.
“We want to showcase what coconut water can be,” said founder and CEO Gregory Lowe II.
Partnership Power Play
Seven years after launching, 100 Coconuts closed out the final quarter of 2024 by announcing a partnership with Disney. The deal included the release of limited edition cans that launched in collaboration with the animated feature Moana 2. Partnering on one movie would be a huge win for an emerging brand alone, but it is just one piece of a two-year deal that gives 100 Coconuts access to a variety of Disney IPs like Star Wars and Marvel. The partnership also places the brand on Disney’s cruises.
The deal is aimed at cultivating “a younger generation who want to drink something healthy and also hydrating,” Lowe said. “We’re going at the younger demographic and showcasing to parents that our messaging is about pure coconut water that allows for maximum hydration for their kids.”
In a similar approach, 100 Coconuts became the Official Coconut Water of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami in February 2024, bringing co-branded cans, product activations and marketing opportunities. The coconut water maker has used the Inter Miami deal as a building block to expand its distribution in the Southeast with retail partnerships in Publix and Harris Teeter.
The deal is part of the brand’s larger strategy to open up opportunities in places where there might be more coconut water-curious consumers.
While sports drinks might seem like a natural choice in stadiums or arenas, many of the options that have been positioned around the hydrating qualities of coconut water are not actually in the category, Lowe said. “We’re bringing a natural product that’s 100% coconut water, whereas all the sports drinks in the category are trying to be a piece of coconut water.”
Most importantly, brand affiliation goes a long way to building awareness whether it’s with a popular movie franchise or a beloved sports team.
“Our special edition cans have gotten us a lot of new doors opening because people want to see that can with Moana or the Miami logo on it,” he said. “It drives people to try a product that is connected to what they are fans of.”
The partnerships have been important in building retail promotional campaigns and marketing strategies; co-branded shippers for in-store displays have spurred an increase in order quantities. In general, 100 Coconuts has seen promos like buy-one-get-one-free to drive trial but has been focused on getting cans into refrigerated cases as its strategy to build more repeat purchases, Lowe added.
In studying its sales data, 100 Coconuts has pulled back slightly on its DSD model “because it needs a channel to focus on,” Lowe said. “It’s hard to just chase new stores [in convenience] because they’re so separated.”
Although the brand has no intention of abandoning its c-store strategy, it is relying more on its brokers like Critical Mass Group to open up new doors in the natural channel and use mainline distributors like UNFI and KeHE to service those accounts.
In October, the company expanded its footprint in Whole Foods Market and reported it grew distribution about 250% year-over-year in its annual review. In December, added 400 new doors compared to December 2023.
Coconut Canned Cocktails
Finding its sweet spot has been a matter of trial and error. 100 Coconuts previously launched a CBD-infused variety which it discontinued and also offered a tequila-based RTD cocktail. Lowe conceded that earlier in the brand’s evolution he thought the value-added SKUs could be sold in similar locations as the core coconut water flavors, but found that was not always true.
Now, Lowe is looking to spin off the canned cocktail line into a separate brand platform where it can work with recognizable spirits companies on co-branded products similar to what 100 Coconuts has done with Disney and Inter Miami.
“We have an established group of consumers who want to now try our coconut water again but with a little mix of spirits,” he said.The expansion into canned cocktails might seem like an easy jump for a coconut water brand. Vita Coco has used its scale and a partnership with Diageo to launch into the space with “Spiked.” Other brands like Sunboy and Coco Vodka Rum have platformed around tropical canned cocktail vibes.
Yet, diversifying too quickly and without proper capital to fuel an expansion into a whole new set is not an easy shift. Especially as other coconut water brands have been bringing in investment in hopes of pulling share from Vita Coco.
Zico Rising recently closed a $9.1 million Series B round after filing an SEC Form D in January 2023 for $14 million. Once Upon A Coconut also recently raised fresh funds to the tune of $5 million in December, according to a recent FABID report.
Cocktails aside, 100 Coconuts is “hyper-focused” on launching its fourth flavor, Watermelon, in the next month and continuing to broaden its reach in grocery retail and convenience with distribution in the U.K. and United Arab Emirates.
“Five years in, I think we figured it out: Match marketing with great internal processes to be able to deliver,” Lowe said.