Kitu Life Super Coffee pilot-launched its first non-coffee innovation in Texas last weekend: a three-SKU, zero-sugar energy drink line enhanced with collagen and probiotics called Super ENRGY.
What is Super ENRGY?
Much like Super Coffee presenting itself as a better-for-you alternative to Starbucks’ Frappuccino drinks, Super ENRGY is positioned as an extra-functional, all-natural choice within the traditional energy drink space. Boasting the tagline “the healthiest energy on earth,” the product has launched in three initial flavors — Mango Peachpop, Strawberry Lemonspark and Mixed Berryburst — in 12 oz. slim cans containing 200 mg of caffeine each.
“Super ENRGY is focused on delivering great tasting, great-for-you, everyday energy that provides consumers with something that is much better for them while being fun, flavorful and relevant,” said Kitu Life founder and COO Jordan DeCicco in an email. “The brand will speak to the next generation of Energy Drinkers who want something that’s great for them, tastes great and has a clear purpose.”
Where is the product launching?
All three flavors debuted last weekend at “roughly 200” Texas locations of grocery chain H-E-B, where they are being sold in single cans from the cooler.
According to DeCicco, Super ENRGY is off to a fast start, scanning 20,000 in the first two days, “an early sign that the brand and product is resonating.”
How does this position Kitu Life for further growth?
Super Coffee has emerged as one of the major entrepreneurial success stories in beverage over the past half-decade: since Jordan and brothers Jimmy and Jake DeCicco launched the protein-boosted RTD coffee brand in 2015, it has rapidly expanded across channels and product formats, including multi-serve coffee, creamers and K-Cups. A landmark investment and distribution deal with beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2020 marked a further turning point, allowing it to build awareness (see its Super Bowl ad with ’90’s rapper Vanilla Ice) and adjusting the company sales targets to over $100 million annually.
But with “positive energy” already one of its core principles, why jump into the fraught energy drink market? According to Jordan DeCicco, the category allows Super Coffee to extend its zero-sugar brand platform to reach more consumers with a value-added product that meets a different use occasion and day part.
“Based on the consumer and category data it will absolutely be incremental to Super Coffee,” said DeCicco. “We know we have a lot of our current consumers who will drink their Super Coffee in the morning and Super ENRGY in the afternoon and evenings instead of trading to another energy drink which is happening very often today. It’s also going to introduce our brand to Non-Coffee drinkers for the first time which is an exciting opportunity that we’ve looked forward to for several years.”
Kitu Life is entering energy drinks at a precipitous time, with major operators like Molson Coors (ZOA), Vita Coco (Runa), PepsiCo (Starbucks BAYA) and others showing increasing potential for disrupting the category with zero-sugar, naturally caffeinated energy drinks. On the independent side, brands with differentiated products for specific demographics, such as CLEAN Cause, Alani Nu, C4 and Celsius, have enjoyed the growth wave. According to Nielsen data for the two-week period ended on June 4, the category has grown upwards of 30% on a three-year stacked basis.
In terms of how the product may potentially fit within AB-InBev’s current network — which includes energy drinks from GHOST and Hiball, and which could be affected should Bang confirm an agreement to terminate its deal with PepsiCo — Super ENRGY’s role is not yet clear.
“We love our wholesaler partners and hope they will all be as excited as we are for Super ENRGY once we prove the product and brand positioning the same way we did with Super Coffee,” DeCicco said. “We won’t ask them to carry it until it’s performing well and we are confident about its future and committed to supporting it with the necessary resources it will need to scale. We are starting with a very disciplined launch at HEB in Texas and then based on performance will start exploring new opportunities with wholesalers and retailers who believe in the brand and want to get behind it through a meaningful partnership and launch plan.”
But for the next three to six months, DeCicco emphasized that Kitu Life plans to be “hyper critical” in analyzing Super ENRGY’s performance at H-E-B, measuring weekly velocities and dollar growth against the category’s top 10 brands — without leaning on promotional pricing.
“We want to ensure we focus on a healthy gross profit for the wholesalers and retailers as we do not want to inflate sales out of the gate with heavy promotions but focus on full price velocities which is a true sign of product and brand strength.”