As the final-ever Natural Products Expo East trade show kicks off this morning, our first dispatch looks in at shot maker GNGR Labs’ expansion into 12 oz drinks, a new chapter (and product) for growing platform brand Clear Cut, Remedy Organics’ growing wellness set and the growing momentum behind American yapoun tea. Be sure to download our Expo East Booth Planner before you hit the show floor.
GNGR Grows Up
After three years spent winning a hard-earned footprint in New York City, the question for cold-pressed juice maker GNGR Labs (#744) was where to go next.
The answer is “big.” This week at Expo East, the Brooklyn-based company is showcasing its first non-shot product: a two-SKU line of sparkling prebiotic drinks in 12 oz cans.
Speaking with BevNET this week, co-founder Namik Soltan said the concept was inspired by consumers mixing GNGR‘s shots with sparkling water at home. But the finished product splits the difference between gut-friendly sodas and a carbonated juice, clocking in at 50-80 calories per SKU and 5 grams of prebiotic fiber per 12 oz can, with no stevia or artificial sweeteners. To start, the brand has gone with rough adaptations of its two most popular shots: Vitamin C (Orange, Turmeric, Ginger) and Lemonaid (Ginger, Lemon, Honey).
Both the touted benefits (digestion, immunity) and the ingredients don’t stray too far from the shots, either: the Vitamin C variety (25% juice) contains Orange Juice, Turmeric Juice, Ginger Juice, Agave Nectar, Agave Inulin, Apple Cider Vinegar, Acerola Cherry Extract and Orange Extract. Production for both brands will remain local via NYC-based co-packers.
On the shelf, Soltan noted the drinks (priced $3.99) should appeal to both existing consumers and those who’s local stores don’t carry refrigerated shots; GNGR is currently in around 1,200 stores in NYC through distributor Dora’s Naturals, but he sees opportunity to get into as many as 2,000 with new release. The hope is for its existing chain partners — namely ShopRite, Rite Aid, Kings Food Market and Walgreens — will follow once traction is established in independents eager for a broader spectrum of healthy drinks, much like what happened with the shots. That experience has boosted belief that the brand can reach into adjacent spaces long-term, so why not get started?
And yes, the move ostensibly puts GNGR in direct competition with nationally distributed rocketships like Olipop and Poppi, but Soltan pointed towards product efficacy and quality as potential differentiators, two qualities that have resonated within its shots. It also underscores some of the limitations of working exclusively in that space, as Soltan acknowledged; relatively few brands work solely in shots – at Expo East, there’s also KOR (#1648) – highlighted by Vive Organic’s launch of a 12 oz canned drink last year.
Elsewhere, GNGR’s fellow NYC ginger shot brand Monfefo has gone the other way by releasing 16 oz multi-serve bottles.In terms of the 5-SKU core line, GNGR’s 2 oz shots — amongst the most expensive in NYC at $3.99 to $4.99, Soltan said — continue to roll along without significant promotional activity. Its newest release, Vitamin D Booster, launched in August.
Clear/Cut Goes Shifts Its Phocus
After refreshing its flagship energy seltzer line Phocus this year in partnership with new co-owner and rapper Jack Harlow, Clear Cut ( #921) is expanding its platform at Expo East with two new brands: a hydration drink called Hero and an energy shot called LEVO.
CEO Joey Nickell told BevNET that when the company rebranded Phocus this Spring, positioning the brand as a slick-packaged, lower-caffeine energy drink, they made the decision to drop the name “Clear/Cut” from the product so it could better stand on its own. Now, Nickell says the parent company is reinventing itself as Clear Cut Brands, with all three brands serving as independent products.
Its sports drink brand, Clear Cut Hero, is launching in six flavors (Apex, Nova, Nexus, Dragon, Cosmic and Eclipse) and comes in 16 oz. bottles containing 5 grams of sugar and 25 calories each. The drinks are sweetened with cane sugar and stevia and also contain added vitamins.
Nickell said Hero was initially a “customer request” from regional buyers seeking more options to build out the sports drink set. Since Coke’s acquisition of BodyArmor, Nickell noted that the opportunity to get a foothold in the sports drink category has expanded, with the latest disruptor being PRIME, which has quickly scaled up to be a national brand with strong demand among younger consumers.
For Hero, Nickell said the goal is to be a regional player and to reach new, everyday consumers who don’t normally buy sports drinks. Much of the marketing will revolve around everyday hydration and in order to reach those regional shoppers the brand intends to work with Division I and Division II NCAA athletes who can serve as local ambassadors outside of major metropolitan markets while building around the message of how consumers can “be their own hero.”
“Who’s talking to the local guy? The number one barrier to entry in sports drinks right now, and I’m just quoting Mintel, is ‘It’s not for me,’” Nickell said. ”Most people walk down a category, they think it’s not for me, and what we’re asking is … ‘How do we debunk this idea of Not For Me?’”
Nickell, a former SVP at Bang Energy parent Vital Pharmaceuticals, said the line also took some inspiration from his former employer’s own flirtation with a hydration drink, Vooz. Nickell said he felt that product had potential, but with Hero he wanted a more simplified formulation and branding, while maintaining the focus on mainstream, regional retail expansion.
Alongside Hero is LEVO, an energy shot line available in Grape and Berry flavors. Promising consumers “Energy + Focus,” LEVO contains 75 mg of caffeine per 2 oz. shot – which, like Phocus and full-sized energy drinks, is an attempt at countering the high caffeine content of leading shot brands and providing consumers with a more level dose of energy.
“There’s a barrier with shots – you can only slam so many 5-Hour Energies a day,” he said.
LEVO is launching today at Expo East and is now available at select Kroger stores.
Nickell said he is tapping into his past distributor connections at Vital Pharmaceuticals to quickly roll the brand out into retail.
Remedy Organics Finds the Beauty in Ube
Plant-based functional shake brand Remedy Organics (#2005) is unveiling its latest addition to its line at Expo East today: Super Ube Glow.
Made with the Asian purple sweet potato Ube, Super Ube Glow aims to introduce a plant-based “new collagen” product to the market. While the plant-based drink does not contain any collagen, Remedy co-founder and product developer Cindy Kasindorf said ube – along with several other ingredients in its “beauty blend” including pomegranate, camu camu and coconut – helps to promote natural collagen production, which helps with skin health.
Super Ube Glow is available in 12 oz. bottles and also contains 3 grams of sugar, MCT oil, prebiotics, almond milk and 12 grams of protein. Remedy Organics shakes retail for around $3.99-$4.99 per bottle.
The launch arrives as collagen has continued to rise in prominence within food and beverage, with supplements and powder brands like Vital Proteins, Primal Kitchen and Obvi continuing to report rising sales.
Ube has also occasionally made appearances in new beverage innovations – earlier this year Twrl Milk Tea introduced its new plant-based ube milk tea SKU and mochi ice cream brands like Bubbies and My Mochi have also added ube varieties. While ube may be a root vegetable, the ingredient has a naturally sweet flavor and has often been used in Asian desserts.
Co-founder Henry Kasindorf noted that ube has been growing in popularity on the West Coast, particularly in the on-premise channel, but acknowledged that there is still a good deal of consumer education required around the ingredient in the rest of the country.
As well, ube gives the beverage a distinctly purple look. Color has played an essential role in Remedy’s brand, both from an on-set visual perspective, as well as from a health and wellness angle. The brand’s Blue Essentials flavor, for example, uses blue spirulina for its distinctive look, while the Matcha Fuel SKU uses, of course, matcha to create a natural and eye-grabbing green.
Cindy Kasindorf, who is also a holistic nutritionist, has made the color of foods a vital piece of her health and wellness philosophy – suggesting that eating the whole “rainbow” helps ensure people get a full range of nutrients.
“We need everything, we need to eat the rainbow, we need to get all of it – purple, green, blue – for the phytonutrients, which helps the fight against free radicals which lead to disease,” she said. “So we want to eat a variety of colors, fruits, vegetables, and colors.”
The Super Ube Glow launch also features a visual refresh for Remedy’s line of full-sized shakes. The new product features updated labels which maintain the feel of the old branding while helping to make text on the front of the bottle clearer.
Remedy Organics is currently available in over 15,000 doors nationwide and Henry Kasindorf said the brand is now making a deeper expansion in Walmart and expanding its facings in Sprouts.
Momentum Growing For Yapoun
She’s a former CIA agent and beekeeper but Tara Chapman is taking on a different mission now: bringing Yaupon Tea to the masses.
The holly variety – with a notoriously hard to tame flavor – is one of the country’s only native sources of caffeine and is one that has gradually cycled in and out of vogue as a potential functional ingredient.
At Wednesday’s Harvest Festival – the startup-focused Expo East exhibitor session prior to today’s large hall openings – three companies were taking different approaches to the anthocyanin rich compound, two from Texas and one from Florida
Good+Ready is the newest, hawking 10 oz. concentrates in three varieties, a natural, half and half and a ginger spice blend. Meanwhile fellow Texas Yaupon leaf supplier Cat Springs is driving a lot of interest, both as a supplier and with branded pouches, as is Yaupon Brothers American Tea, a Florida-based yaupon grower, roaster, and specialty brand.
Yaupon has had fits and starts in the past but is slowly taking off in Texas, according to Chapman. Rambler, a sparkling water brand, has a Yaupon- enhanced sub-line as well.
For Chapman, it’s a brand new challenge. Two months postpartum, having sold her new business, she was looking for something new when she found Yaupon.
“I tried to buy a brand but after that, I thought, I’m going to do it on my own.”