No stranger to aligning with sports and professional athletes, yerba mate energy drink Yerbaé has partnered with Penn State University’s Name, Image Likeness (NIL) collective, Happy Valley United (HVU), in a unique marketing arrangement.
The brand intends to tap into Penn State athletics’ 6.8 million fans and “deliver something that means something to those consumers” – including a new HVU branded Penn State flavor, Blue Razz, released on the collective’s website and in select retailers in the State College, Pennsylvania area – according to Yerbaé co-founder and CEO Todd Gibson.
“They are going to know that every can that they purchase is actually going to support the NIL that supports Penn State University, Penn State football and other Penn state sports as well.”
Discussions about the partnership started among “several forward-thinking members of the [Penn State] football office staff” who connected Yerbaé and HVU but there was “no blueprint” to the deal, the brand said. Similar to other NIL collective deals with beverage brands (predominantly in the bev-alc category), Yerbaé will provide its Blue Razz branded cans to HVU which will receive a royalty for every can sold. In exchange, the collective will use its platform and standing in the Penn State alumni and fan community to promote the beverage.
It is not a traditional sponsorship or endorsement relationship where Yerbaé is paying HVU or any Penn State athletes to market the product but it marks a “mutually beneficial relationship” between the two organizations where the collective will facilitate introductions and distribution opportunities in the local economy, said Brandon McCladdie, HVU’s executive director.
“In some ways I feel like it’s an eat-what-you-kill or commission type situation where it benefits us to be good partners and help them with exposure,” McCladdie said.
HVU already has similar partnerships with spirits brand Boyd & Blair on a Happy Valley Vodka product and New Trail Brewing’s State Light American Lager.
In essence, NIL collectives like HVU act as the marketing arm for collegiate athletes, McCladdie said. “Not every athlete has a large enough brand where marketing agents are going to want to represent them individually.”
A percentage of what Yerbaé sells of the Blue Razz flavor will go to HVU’s pool that helps fund Penn State student athletes in brand-building and securing NIL deals with other brands. The athletes and coaches that HVU services are not paid spokespeople for Yerbaé and are free to sign other individual NIL deals with other brands.
The upside for Yerbaé is the opportunity to engage with a large group of potential consumers who might not be familiar with the brand. The energy brand has built an extensive roster of investors in professional sports, including the announcement last week of a new $5 million private placement with a lead order from NY Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Yerbaé reported a $4 million investment round in August deepening its pockets as it prepared for a more significant eastward expansion.
Having built a foothold on the western half of the country, the brand has been busy establishing Pennsylvania as its “beachhead” in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coinciding with the launch of the HVU partnership.
Gibson said he is “confident” in the DSD network the company has in place to service its statewide launch in “strategic grocery store chains” and “very meaningful” convenience stores.
The brand is not able to release the names of its distribution partners yet but plans to do so starting in December. Yerbaé Blue Razz will be ready for delivery in early 2024.
The opportunity for Yerbaé to work with an NIL collective broadens its reach within the entire Penn State community more than any one athlete would at that level.
“We feel like we go deeper with the nation than we do with an individual,” Gibson said. “Our job is to connect to those loyal faithful and bring an experience to them that keeps them uniquely tied to the university.”