Distribution Roundup: LifeAID Adds Target

LifeAID Adds 1,000 Target Stores

Functional beverage make LifeAID has launched four SKUs in grab-and-go coolers at 1,000 Target stores nationwide the company announced this week.

ImmunityAID, FocusAID, LifeAID and FitAID are now available in those locations. In addition to Target, the brand’s FocusAID and ImmunityAID drinks will launch in 278 Sam’s Club locations this month.

According to co-founder and CEO Orion Melehan, the brand is now available in over 30,000 points of distribution across the country.

“We’ve basically got distribution in every major national retailer now,” co-founder and President Aaron Hinde said. “Target was the last one on the list. So we’re super stoked to be partnering with them. They’ve always had a great premium portfolio and that shopper is very consistent with a LifeAID shopper, who is a little more affluent, educated, and we think we’re gonna really knock it out of the park with that one.”

Looking to the future, LifeAID is now focused on increasing velocities in its existing accounts and filling in “blips” in its footprint through partnerships with DSD distribution houses, said co-founder and CEO Orion Melehan. He added that the company has seen an increase in repeat purchases, pointing to growth in sales for dry-shelf multipack formats.

Online, the brand has grown ecommerce sales through Amazon 147% year-over-year and up 80% in direct-to-consumer sales.

“If you rewind five years ago, it was as though there’s two different businesses, the online business and the brick-and-mortar,” Hinde said. “Now all the lines have gone away. So being omnipresent now in all channels — online, offline — we’re totally agnostic to where people buy the product, as long as they’re purchasing it.”

As LifeAID sees sales on its core product line grow, the company is also expanding its Go! Powdered stick line, adding H-E-B, Central Market and Army & Air Force Exchange Service accounts. Launched this year, the brand supported the initial rollout of Go! with a Buy One, Get One campaign and will soon look to expand the line with new innovations.

According to Hinde, LifeAID has also seen velocities in the fitness channel return to roughly normal levels. After gyms closed nationwide in the Spring, he said the brand has experienced a “faster than anticipated” recovery. The brand is available in nearly 10,000 gyms nationwide.

Sol-ti Expands to Sprouts

Organic beverage maker Sol-ti has added over 330 Sprouts Farmers Market locations in 22 states, the company announced this week, bringing the brand’s national footprint to over 4,000 accounts.

The announcement comes in a year where the California-based brand has ramped up its retail presence, adding chains such as Publix and Safeway, which has brought the company’s revenue to eight-figures annually, according to founder Ryne O’Donnell.

O’Donnell noted the growth has come as the brand has put more focus on its marketing and branding. Earlier this year, Sol-ti secured the trademark for the slogan “Living Beverages” and updated its labels to include the phrase. The company has now embraced that message in order to drive trial with consumers, he added.

“We’ve started to hammer that message home and we’ve kept hammering the ‘Best in Glass’ message,” O’Donnell said. “We’re lucky that, even though we weren’t in a lot of retailers 24 months ago, the velocity had always been good with very little to no marketing spend.”

According to O’Donnell, while Sol-ti may look to add new accounts in the coming months — with eyes on several Kroger subsidiaries — the brand will primarily focus on going deeper within its existing retail partners by working to expand shelf space.

The company currently has just over 60 employees and plans to make additions to its sales team in the coming months, O’Donnell said. Sol-ti also recently expanded its San Diego headquarters, purchasing an additional 10,000 square foot space in a neighboring lot to service inbound and outbound freight. Last year, the company opened a subsidiary in Costa Rica, where O’Donnell lives, which runs marketing and customer service.

“I think that gives us a real competitive advantage because we have the ability to answer every direct message, every comment, every email inbound, every Facebook post,” he said. “That’s been huge for us.”

NewAge to Distribute Wingman Smart Energy

NewAge, Inc. has entered an agreement with Moonlight Beverage Co., the maker of Wingman Smart Energy, to distribute the brand throughout Colorado and the Southwest, the company announced in a press release this week.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to expand the Wingman footprint in our home market, while also opening new doors outside Colorado,” said Moonlight Beverage president and co-founder Carl Schroeder in a press release. “Our unique product offerings of scientifically-formulated natural energy beverages, combined with the notable skill and capabilities of the NewAge team, will provide consumers with the next generation of functional beverages.”

Wingman Smart Energy is made with a proprietary blend of free-form amino acids which the brand says “boosts nitric oxide levels and increases exercise capacity and supports immune system health.” The drinks also includes a brain-health supplement called Cognizin and B Vitamins.

VIDE Adds Savannah Distributing

Canned cocktail maker VIDE Beverages Inc. announced this week it has entered an exclusive distribution partnership with Savannah Distributing Company to service the brand in the wine, beer and spirits channel.

Founded in 2019, VIDE is a carbonated, vodka-based RTD cocktail with 5% ABV and 99 calories per 12 oz. can. The drink retails for $11.99 per 4-pack.

“The opportunity to partner with Savannah Distributing Company represents a huge step forward for VIDE,” said co-founder and COO Sal Campisi in a press release. “We are so excited to bring our brand to retailers in the Georgia market as we continue to expand our national distribution presence.”

Marquis Adds DSD Houses in the West

California-based beverage brand Marquis has partnered with beer distributors Eagle Distributing and Great Basin Beverage, as well as non-alc DSD houses Saccani Distributing and J&K Distributors, to expand its presence in the Northern California and Nevada markets, the company announced in a press release.

“Marquis’ brand is… a welcomed addition to our portfolio,” said Eagle Distributing COO Mickey Head in the release. “In the ever-changing world of non-alcoholic and yerba mate [beverages] this is by far our favorite… In this crazy year, it’s good to know a quality product and quality packaging can still be found.”