AriZona Beverages announced today an exclusive partnership with Marvel Entertainment to develop a functional drink called Super LXR Hero Hydration, marking the iced tea maker’s first true leap into the sports drink category.
Hero Hydration is the first release of a long-term partnership between AriZona and Marvel, said a AriZona spokesperson. The new hydration beverage is currently available online in a 16 oz. bottle format that is custom designed for the collaboration. Twelve-packs of each flavor are listed at $24.99 and, initially, the new product line will be targeting c-stores through DSD and direct channels as well as ecommerce, including with GoPuff in the Northeast.
Each bottle contains 25 calories and 2 grams of sugar and is made with a “modern, health-conscious consumer” in mind, according to a company press release. The four SKU-line comes in Dragon Fruit Watermelon, Citrus Lemon Lime, Peach Mango and Açaí Blueberry flavors and are meant to boost energy while “enhancing recovery and focus” by using a blend of 13 vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C, E and multiple B vitamins as well as green tea extract, polyphenols, L-Carnitine, L-Glutamine, and alpha GPC.
Best known for its iced teas and juices, AriZona has made forays over the years into other categories like sparkling water, cold brew coffee and energy drinks. Hero Hydration is its first attempt to break into sports drinks.
The brand hopes to move into the category that has long been dominated by PepsiCo (Gatorade) and Coca-Cola (BodyArmor, Powerade) by offering a lower-calorie, low-sugar alternative. The two beverage giants currently make up about 95% of the sports drink category with Pepsico reporting $6.25 billion and Coca-Cola $2.71 billion in dollar sales in the trailing 52-week period ending September 20, according to NielsenIQ data.
Each flavor in the Hero Hydration line is connected to a Marvel superhero: Black Panther (Peach Mango), The Incredible Hulk (Citrus Lemon Lime), Captain America (Acai Blueberry) and Ironman (Orange Fruit Watermelon). The partnership will continue to expand with new products tied to many of the comic book company’s assets and characters. It’s unclear if the deal covers licensing rights for Marvel’s movie division Marvel Studios, which controls the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the highest earning film franchise of all time with over $25 billion in worldwide gross. Marvel Entertainment has been a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company since 2009, while Marvel Studios has been under The Walt Disney Studios division since 2015.
“When I started selling AriZona Iced Tea 30 years ago, my goal was to provide great-tasting and high-quality drinks all over the country. We’ve done that, but we’re always looking to create new beverages to satisfy our consumers,” said Don Vultaggio, founder and chairman of AriZona Beverages, in a press release. “Marvel is a beloved brand that has touched generations of fans around the world and continues to find unique ways to entertain, inspire and connect with them.”
Collaborations have been used by AriZona in the past to experiment with different categories and leverage its brand name to other channels. In 2015, the company partnered with Welch’s on a juice cocktail line. The same year, Bethany Frankel’s Skinnygirl brand and AriZona created a line of Sparklers that were successful enough to warrant a limited time sorbet collaboration with frozen yogurt franchise 16 Handles. More recently, AriZona dipped a toe into cannabis by releasing a THC-infused products in partnership with cannabis company Dixie Brands.
Marvel is no stranger to leveraging its brand recognition with beverage industry partnerships. Most recently, New York-based sparkling water maker Sanzo released a limited edition can of for Marvel’s Shang-Chi movie release. Marvel has previously been tied to Roar Organic’s Kids drink line with specific flavors coinciding with various Avengers superheroes as well as partnerships with Dr. Pepper on limited edition soda cans and an aquaball release in Sam’s Club.