Seeking to expand its platform as a functional beverage company, New York-based Cloud Water is innovating beyond CBD with a new line of immunity boosting beverages launching this fall.
Cloud Water +Immunity will be available in three flavors: Blood Orange and Coconut; Grapefruit, Mint and Basil; and Blackberry, Lemon and Rosemary. Each drink contains added vitamin D and zinc, 40 calories and is sweetened with wildflower honey. The line will retail for $2.75 per 12 oz. can — less than half the price of the brand’s flagship CBD line.
Speaking with BevNET, Cloud Water COO Carol Dollard said that the company will continue to focus on its CBD products, but the immunity line allows the company to expand its retail presence and grow brand awareness while waiting for regulations surrounding the cannabinoid to be clarified by the FDA.
In particular, she noted that +Immunity will allow Cloud Water to target chain retailers that have refused to carry CBD products. Though none have been announced yet, she said the company has been in talks with several “very interested” national accounts.
As well, the rollout comes months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the brand to recalibrate its 2020 expansion strategy as many retailers pushed back category resets amidst an uncertain market environment.
“I think we’ve done an amazing job with the CBD so far, given some of those headwinds we’ve faced,” Dollard said. “But it’s tough for a new product even without [regulatory hurdles]. So when you have those issues that are kind of out of your control, it makes it difficult. But we’re really happy with how the CBD line has done and our DTC business has exploded given the pandemic and the lack of availability on shelves.”
Cloud Water has already secured a “broad line distributor” to launch +Immunity and the product will appear on shelves around late August or early September, she said. The brand’s CBD products are currently available in the New York metro area with DSD house Big Geyser and were recently added by Hi Touch in Southern California. Though it is currently only available in about 200 stores nationwide, the brand reported that ecommerce sales have grown over 300% since March.
Dollard, who is also an investor in Cloud Water, previously served as the COO of Vitaminwater maker Glaceau from 2002 to 2010 where she oversaw formulations and product development. Prior to Glaceau, she served as senior director of worldwide flavors and ingredient technology for Pepsi Cola. She said she views Cloud Water as building on a category she helped define, citing Vitaminwater as a “function 1.0” beverage that proved consumers would buy nutrient-rich, healthier beverages. As brands such as LifeAID grow nationwide with portfolios featuring multiple niche functional beverages, Dollard said Cloud Water will focus on meeting trending use occasions and integrating scientifically-backed ingredients into its broadening platform.
According to Dollard, she became involved in Cloud Water, initially as an investor and advisor, after a chance meeting with the company’s founder and CEO Marc Siden.
“The product itself is not what made Vitaminwater successful,” she said. “It was the product, it was the team, it was a lot of different elements that went into that and I saw some of those same elements within Cloud Water. Even though the team was very small, it’s a really interesting, diverse team with a lot of impactful touch points across different industries.”