California-based VYBES has released its first line extension, a sparkling Adaptogenic Elixir that does not contain CBD.
What is the new product?
VYBES Adaptogenic Elixir is a functional sparkling beverage aimed at supporting natural anxiety relief and relaxation. The formula contains a blend of eight ingredients designed to work in harmony to “improve mood, mental clarity and the body’s immunity and vitality,” according to press materials.
Those ingredients include four aimed at the mind — ashwagandha (100mg), L-theanine (50mg), rhodiola (100mg), L-tyrosine (50mg) — and four for the body — elderberry (50mg), vitamin C (250mg), zinc (25mg) and red ginseng (25mg), according to VYBES founder and CEO Jonathan Eppers.
The new shelf-stable line has soft launched at retailers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver in three flavors: Apricot Lemon, Pineapple Ginger and Watermelon Lime. The product is further distinguished from VYBES’ core CBD line through the use of a 11 oz. amber glass bottle with a twist-off crown cap and screen-printed label. The suggested retail price is $4.99 per unit (compared to $5.99 for the core VYBES line).
What’s behind the pivot?
Having entered the beverage business with VYBES after experiencing the benefits of CBD in his personal life, Eppers sees the launch of VYBES Adaptogenic Elixir as a way to expand the company’s reach into wellness and mental health in particular.
“I’m a real big believer in functional wellness, and that’s where I see VYBES evolving as we are coming into our third year,” he said. “This is something that I always intended to do, to launch another beverage that didn’t have CBD in it, so I don’t see this as cannibalizing our CBD line but as really expanding the market of plant-derived functional wellness.”
Along with protecting the integrity of the adaptogens, the apothecary-style bottle is intentionally designed to look medicinal, Eppers said. Flavor wise, the new SKUs are designed to be “light and refreshing” with a robust level of carbonation.
As brands like Recess, beam, DEFY and Cloud Water have shown, introducing a non-CBD product is also a way to sidestep complex legal questions around its use as an ingredient: Despite consumer interest, the slow and uneven rollout of rules regulating the safe use of CBD as an ingredient in food and beverage products has hampered VYBES’ ability to maximize its growth potential, Eppers said. To that point, he added that the new Adaptogenic Elixir line will launch in some retail accounts in which the company’s CBD products were previously pulled from: specifically juice bars, hotels, gyms and coffee shops.
However, he framed the move into non-CBD drinks as an acceleration of the company’s existing goals of bringing new consumers into the brand and category, this time with more familiar ingredients and a lower price point. Following the initial rollout, Eppers said VYBES will look to take the line from independent stores to national chain grocers such as Wegmans and Sprouts over the next 12 months.
Though the drink does contain L-tyrosine, which Eppers described as boosting mental alertness and clarity, the caffeine-free line is mainly centered around the theme of mental health and anti-anxiety, and is designed for anytime use rather than a specific occasion.
“Some of these aren’t necessarily new ingredients but they are being used now for the first time in ways to mimic existing ingredients on the market that maybe have some side effects that are kind of counter to where society is going,” he said. “We just try to use ingredients that improve mental health, and I think that’s where adaptogens and cannabinoids have shown the most promise.”
Where else has VYBES made gains?
Like many during the pandemic, VYBES leaned into e-commerce to offset losses in brick-and-mortar retail; according to Eppers, online sales, which were 3% of the total business pre-COVID, are now at 18%. In that channel, the brand offers 6-packs and delivery within 24 hours for most customers, while its monthly subscriber base is growing at around 50% each month (around 400 total since launching in December), according to Eppers.
However, he emphasized that VYBES’ primary focus is in retail. The products are currently sold in 38 states nationwide, having recently entered Colorado and Tennessee (the latter as an on-premise item with I Love Juice Bar) and launched with Atlantic Naturals in the Northeast (Maine, New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts).
How does this fit with larger trends in CBD and functional drinks?
VYBES is one of a growing list of beverage brands that, after emerging as buzzed-about early pioneers of the category during its boom several years back, have made the shift into non-CBD products. Meanwhile, adaptogen-boosted relaxation and mood enhancing drinks are having something of a moment themselves: see PepsiCo’s launch of two in-house developed functional CSDs, Driftwell and Soulboost, plus new innovations from Kin Euphorics and smartwater.
According to an April trends report from research firm The Brightfield Group, 18% of U.S. consumers reported looking for stress reduction claims in products that they buy, while 14% reported looking for items that promote relaxation.