Since October, Nirvana Water Sciences Corp. has aimed to disrupt the functional beverage set with a new brand built around muscle building supplement HMB. Acquiring exclusive rights to the ingredient, compiling a team of industry veterans and preparing for a nationwide expansion next year, the company is now sweetening the deal with NBA All-Star Kyle Lowry, who last week joined the company as an equity investor and member of its Ambassador Board of Directors.
Nirvana makes bottled waters infused with beta-Hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid (HMB), a supplement naturally produced in the human body that supports muscle development and wound healing. Though less recognized by mainstream consumers, HMB has been used by athletes looking to increase muscle size, strength or promote post-workout recovery.
The company’s products are available in three varieties: Muscle Wellness, Aging Wellness (with added Vitamin D) and Select (which includes added electrolytes but does not contain HMB). The water is sourced from the Adirondack Springs and is available in 16.9 oz. bottles.
Lowry joins the company as he makes the transition from longtime team the Toronto Raptors to the Miami Heat. A six-time NBA All-Star, Lowry also was a member of the 2019 NBA Champion Raptors team. Speaking to BevNET in a video conversation, Lowry said the investment reflects a desire to grow his own brand as a businessman.
“When things come along you kind of take a look at it and say okay this is a pretty cool thing,” Lowry told BevNET. “This is something that can help the world, this is something I believe in. Those are the types of things that I really want to put more into and to put my name on and to put my brand behind.”
Nirvana Water Sciences reflects a new era for the New York-based bottled water company, which began producing Nirvana Natural Spring Water in 1998. After filing for bankruptcy in 2015, the company was purchased in court that year for $5.74 million by Alder Creek Beverages, a new entity founded by Paul Rayhill and Wade Abraham, and resumed operations.
In October 2020, Nirvana announced that it had acquired an exclusive license and supply agreement with Metabolic Technologies, LLC, the makers of a water soluble HMB infusion. That month, the company also brought on Mark Zettle as president of sales and strategic alliances. A 15-year veteran of VOSS Artesian Water, where he served as president of sales for the Americas, Zettle said that while Nirvana is similarly a premium water brand to his old company, he sees this new venture as playing in a different space.
Upon his being approached by Nirvana last year to lead the new brand’s sales team, Zettle said he was immediately drawn to the potential for HMB-infused water to gain market share in the functional beverage category. After “several months of due diligence and research” into the company and HMB, he ultimately joined Nirvana in October, bringing with him several other VOSS alumni including Justin Burnett (VP of Sales, Western U.S. & National Accounts), Bob Hoffman (VP of Sales, Eastern U.S. & National Accounts) and Ryan Schalk (Director of National Accounts).
HMB has historically been sold as a dietary supplement and is designated Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the FDA. Citing numerous clinical studies, Nirvana said it has an “unique legal right” to make health claims about the ingredient’s impact on muscle wellness. While the supplement is not well-known by most consumers, Zettle said that the ability to make strong health claims presents an opportunity to launch an impactful education campaign that could eventually grow beyond the water set.
“My conclusion that I came to immediately was that this is a product and a brand that can really separate itself from the category,” Zettle said. “In fact, it can almost become its own category of ingredients that have gone through the rigor that HMB has gone through. So that was the initial light bulb that went off for me.”
On arrival in November, however, Zettle and the team were tasked with setting up Nirvana’s operations from scratch, including developing labels and pack sizes, setting a pricing structure, developing a brand story and establishing a distribution network. Though the company made an early launch in the virtual showroom of last year’s National Association of Convenience Stores’ (NACS) “Crack the Code Experience” event, production didn’t begin until this spring.
In January, the brand built out its executive team, including former Viridian Capital Advisors director of investor relations Scott Narins as CEO and industry vet Ernie Manansala as CMO. Nirvana has also added four more former VOSS employees to its ranks.
Zettle noted that internal difficulties at VOSS were one reason for the mass departure, suggesting that issues between the Norway-based ownership group, board of directors and the brand’s U.S. operations had resulted in supply disruptions and other frustrations.
“They’re folks that we’ve worked with for over 10 years that were seeing their time expire, and their patience had expired with the old shop,” he said. “So all of us are alumni from the old group and we’ve worked well together for many years. It’s just a good team of high quality individuals and an amazing culture.”
Nirvana began selling products online earlier this year and has now rolled out into retail, securing national distribution with KeHE and UNFI. The company has now added 800 CVS stores nationwide and is entering gyms and fitness centers through its wholesaler partners. Now, Zettle said Nirvana is focused on the 2022 selling season with “a full blown national launch in all classes of channel and trade.”
“We’re getting the appointments, we’re getting the audience with the key retailers, and we’re definitely trying to separate ourselves from the functional category,” Zettle said. “Many of our retailers are doing a double take, they’re like ‘Wait a minute, can you repeat what you just said, because this is really, really interesting and highly differentiated from anything that I’ve heard or seen.’”
With Lowry on board, Nirvana is also aiming to ramp up its consumer marketing and brand partnerships. In May, the brand was named the “official water” of wellness lifestyle platform Wanderlust. The company has now released an ad featuring Lowry, who as a member of Nirvana’s Ambassadors Board of Directors will take an active role in promoting the product and educating consumers on HMB. But he also intends to play a hands-on role in the company’s operations.
“What I’m going to be doing is actually being on calls and in meetings,” Lowry said. “I don’t even call it an ambassador as much as I’m a part of the company, I am an investor. I’ll be doing everything and going to the springs and looking at the springs where we get the water from. When we come out with new product lines and advertising and marketing, I’m not going to make final decisions but at the same time I’m going to be a part of these calls and furthering my knowledge of the business end.”