Organic beverage maker Marquis is kicking off the new year with a royal makeover.
The California-based company, launched in 2013, announced this week a visual refresh and reformulation for its three-SKU line of sugar free energy drinks, available in Super Berry, Mango Ginger and Citrus Yuzu flavors, with the aim of creating a package design that reflects its positioning as a natural “caffeinated refreshment” beverage.
The cans now feature a sleeker, modern look that emphasize single flavor colors against a neutral dark green splash (compared to the two-color mashups of the old designs), while the Marquis name is larger and the redesigned crown logo is smaller. The updated labels also do more to call out Marquis’ “Tri-Blend Caffeine” profile, highlighting its combination of yerba mate, green coffee and green tea.
Marquis CEO Christopher Lai said the brand, which contains 100 mg of caffeine per serving, is distancing itself from the word “energy” in order to emphasize attributes like organic ingredients, overall wellness and functionality. Along those lines, the brand has replaced stevia with monkfruit in order to reduce the “diet” aftertaste and make the flavors “brighter and fruitier.”
“We printed it [on the old can] – yerba mate, green coffee, green tea – but I think the previous package didn’t communicate very well what Marquis tasted like and what Marquis is,” Lai said. “So we really want to hone in on our ‘Tri-Blend’ of caffeine. Because that is in essence, what Marquis is. It’s not an energy drink, we don’t use taurine, we don’t use any of that other stuff. It just really simply is caffeinated refreshment.”
Marquis’ rebrand comes as the energy market sees a broad expansion of “natural energy” products. While organic and plant-based energy drinks have in the past struggled to gain a foothold in the space, there is now some top-down momentum for natural energy from large beverage manufacturers; particularly Molson Coors Beverage Company’s ZOA which has quickly established itself in mainstream channels since launching in January. Meanwhile, yerba mate brands like CLEAN Cause (which explicitly does not use the term “energy”) are expanding beyond the natural channel quickly as the U.S. market for yerba mate grows double digits.
For Lai and Huang, they’re aiming to build on this momentum for natural energy, but after a decade in business they’re also making sure not to put the cart before the horse. Last year, facing financial pressure amid the pandemic, Marquis pulled back its national distribution to focus solely on the California market and ecommerce.
“One of the trials and tribulations of our beverage journey is that we’ve operated in different pockets of the country before. We worked with brokers who were all about accumulating points of distribution, no matter where they were. And at the time, we thought that was the strategy. But for our category, I think it takes a lot more focus and dedication in a single market to really spread brand awareness.”
Another rising trend that Marquis meets is growing interest in Asian-inspired flavors. As AAPI founders, Lai and Huang built the brand’s flavor portfolio around their own taste preferences, which are now seeing growth as American consumers seek out new types of products. Lai noted that in particular yuzu was identified as one of Whole Foods Market’s top trends for 2022 and other beverage brands have also begun adopting the fruit flavor (CBD sparkling water maker Mad Tasty debuted its own ‘Yuzu Citrus’ flavor this year).
“I’ve had yuzu lollipops, I put yuzu on my fried chicken, I drink yuzu sake,” Huang said. “So, the point is that American consumers are really open to different flavors and fruits from around the world, which we love because one of our goals is to share all these flavors that we grew up loving with everyone else.”
Lai said Marquis is primarily available in independent retailers throughout California and has just received statewide authorization with a major national retailer. The brand has a field sales team that operates across the state and a marketing team based out of its headquarters in Los Angeles, with Huang noting that the company has placed a stronger emphasis on hiring new talent. Marquis has also secured a main floor booth at Natural Products Expo West 2022 in Anaheim, Lai added.
But for now, the founders said they’re “taking our time” growing Marquis in their backyard, and aim to let it grow organically with no immediate push to regain national distribution.
“We’re competing against giants out there that have bigger budgets and bigger resources and bigger teams,” Lai said. “But we’re still sitting on the same shelf as those guys and we still have a consumer base. Now more than ever, there’s so many options for drinks.… So, being able to focus on a store or chain or market with our resources, I think that is how we’re going to organically grow our brand.”