In his attempt to “go shot for shot with world hunger,” rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has enlisted a big ally: Big Red, that is.
The company that makes the Texas-based legacy soda brand will take on a sales and distribution role and a minority partnership stake in the new Street King Energy Shot, which Jackson is releasing along with product innovation house Pure Growth Partners.
The shot’s makers say that each sale will provide a meal for a hungry child. Pure Growth Partners founder Chris Clarke said the company will donate the cost of a meal to the United Nations World Food Program for each shot sold.
Big Red CEO Gary Smith said he was excited by the prospect of the philanthropic aspects of the brand, as well as the marketing campaign that was backing Street King.
“It is exciting to bring a brand with this much purpose to retailers,” Smith said.
Pure Growth Partners initially hired Big Red as the production facility for Street King, but Smith told BevNET that after discussing the brand’s go-to-market plans with Pure Growth he became interested in having Big Red play a larger role.
According to Clarke, the brand will rely on Jackson’s strong social media presence as well as the social media fan base of several other celebrities, including boxer Floyd Mayweather and New Age luminary Deepak Chopra. In addition to a viral platform, the brand will also use billboards and other physical advertisements, Clarke said.
“You’ve got the viral videos, and you add 50 to the mix and it’s very interesting what’s going on,” Clarke said.
Its marketers describe Street King as being designed to provide energy from caffeine, gingko biloba and vitamins. It is expected to retail for between $2.49 and $2.99 and comes in two flavors: Orange Mango and Grape.
This is not the first time that Jackson has been involved with a beverage company. He famously made an estimated $100 million from a partnership with Vitaminwater-maker Glaceau, with whom he had a product-development and promotional deal in the brand’s early days.