Since the brand’s inception, Recess founder and CEO Ben Witte has been on a mission to develop a platform brand built around the concept of relaxation and de-stressing. With the debut of the company’s second line extension, that theory is about to be put to the test.
Launching this week, Recess Mood takes the New York-based brand into a different state of mind, quite literally: while the flagship product offered a sense of “calm, cool and collected” through a combination of hemp extract and adaptogenic herbs, Mood is positioned as a caffeine and CBD-free “uplift” delivered via a proprietary blend of magnesium L-theorate. The line, available in RTD 12 oz. cans or in powder tubs and sticks, is set to launch online and at retail.
Most immediately, Mood provides Recess with a non-CBD product to offer stores as they await further action from federal regulators, a strategy that other hemp-based brands like Weller and Cloud Water have also recently followed. Yet in Witte’s vision for Recess, CBD was always intended to be an entry point rather than the focal one. Under the broad umbrella of “relaxation,” he’s aiming for his brand to play in all areas, all the time.
“The vision has always been to build out a full platform of products, so different ways to take a Recess throughout your day during different occasions when you want to feel different things, but all having the idea of calm, cool and collected at the center,” he said.
By casting a wide net, Witte is hoping Recess can emerge as the leading player in a largely undefined category. The concept of “relaxation” drinks has been around for years, ranging from Marley Beverage Co.’s “Mellow Mood” teas to classic before-bed chamomile. But the rise of functional beverages of all types — compounded with pandemic-induced anxieties — has given entrepreneurs and brands in the segment a fresh impetus to redefine the concept for a new and young audience. The result has been a wide spectrum of products across various use occasions and formats, from alcohol alternatives (Kin, Cann) to “chill” drinks (Health-Ade, Limitless’ new L-theanine line) to sleep aids (Pepsi’s Driftwell and plenty of others).
In moving beyond its flagship line, Witte’s goal is to put Recess into a position to take on the relaxation category from multiple angles, with Mood providing a glimpse into how that process will work. Under the remit of developing formulations to “optimize the brain and nervous system” and help bring them “into equilibrium,” the brand turned its focus to magnesium, an essential mineral which can be a cause of fatigue, weakness and other health issues when people are deficient. Recess uses magnesium L-threonate, a form of magnesium that can enter the brain to improve mood, Witte said, which has not previously been featured in a beverage. The brand is hoping to take advantage of rising interest in magnesium supplements — roughly $142 million through last October, according to data shared by the company.
In appearance, Recess Mood looks the part of a line extension: the can features the somewhat subtle addition of clouds to each can’s colored label, while the word “mood” is discreetly placed in small text below the brand logo. Three of the line’s flavors — Blood Orange, Peach Ginger and Black Cherry — come from the flagship line (Strawberry Rose being the sole new exclusive), and Witte believes that other brands’ focus on functional ingredients like protein and collagen gives Recess a wide berth to take advantage of rising consumer interest magnesium — to the tune of roughly $142 million in supplement category sales through last October, according to data shared by the company.
Recess Mood’s positioning is to “calm the mind and lift the mood,” Witte said, as opposed to the “not tired not wired” callout on the original line. Though similar, he believes that consumers will see a distinct role and use occasion for each.
“I don’t think it’s a one size fits all, and I think the key to our brand and messaging is more of this abstract feeling,” he said. “We aren’t telling you specifically how to use it, and I think we have a bigger addressable market because of that.”
With Mood, Recess is targeting “everywhere we don’t sell CBD,” according to Witte. Though the initial focus will be on the natural channel, Mood will allow the brand wide access to conventional, drugstore and chain retailers, with Witte noting that the company had been working with some on building out their respective “relaxation” product sets on-shelf. The product will also be distributed via DSD partners Columbia and Classic on the West Coast.
“The strategy here is basically we are going to sell this everywhere we don’t sell CBD,” he said. “We think they can exist on the shelf next to each other because there’s a role for magnesium and CBD in people’s eyes. We’re going to feel it out, but there’s a huge market that we can’t access right now.”
The launch of Mood also marks Recess’ entry into powders, a format that has enjoyed strong consumer interest and innovation over recent years. It’s also a further test of Witte’s belief that his brand’s architecture and marketing voice can translate into the supplements category, in which the concept of mood-boosting products is more mature and usage types are more varied. As such, Recess is offering an unflavored version for use with juices and smoothies, while all three SKUs (the others being Gradient Berry and Lemon Citrus) contain added electrolytes for hydration. The powders will be sold in tubs (28 servings) and in the increasingly popular stick format (10 count packs), aimed at the supplement shelf and point-of-sale, respectively.
Witte is “placing a big bet” on magnesium providing a launchpad for the overall Recess brand, he said, a subtle acknowledgement that the future of the still-developing relaxation segment is far from certain. But the company’s increasingly varied methods of connecting with its fans — which also includes selling brand merch and running (suspended-for-now) pop-up installations — suggests that the strategy is bearing fruit.
“I’m all about what are the moves we can make today that will allow us to basically compete at long term to win this thing,” Witte said. “By going broad and becoming hopefully the default brand in consumers’ minds when they think about relaxation, just like White Claw is to hard seltzer, I think this allows us to do it. For us, they are all different ideas of the same thing, which is taking a Recess. So we market that idea, and you can buy it however you want.”
Note: A previous version of this story stated that Recess Mood would be distributed by Big Geyser in New York. The article has been updated.