BUBBL’R is going nationwide in Target, bringing the Wisconsin-based sparkling water brand to top coastal beverage markets for the first time.
Developed and owned by Pepsi-Cola bottler Wis-Pak, BUBBL’R produces a line of functional sparkling waters containing antioxidants, vitamins and 69 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. slim can. The drinks are also sweetened with stevia and erythritol and come in 12 different flavors, with the top three sellers – Twisted Elix’r, Triple Berry Breez’r and Tropical Dream’r – set to go chainwide in Target next week.
The brand, which launched in 2017, will be expanding from its current 601 Target stores (primarily in the Midwest and Southern regions) and will have at least nine facings of 6-packs in the mass channel retailer, along with end caps and other displays scheduled throughout the year. BUBBL’R will distribute to most of the new stores through Target’s warehouse system.
According to Tyler Hartmann, director of marketing and brand development at Wis-Pak, BUBBL’R currently has an estimated 9%-10% ACV for U.S. MULO and c-store accounts, with much of its footprint in the center of the country as well as a presence in Florida, Texas and other large market states. However, until now the company has largely avoided major coastal markets like New York and California, preferring to focus on its own backyard first and building out from there.
That strategy has paid dividends. Data firm Circana reported that U.S. retail dollar sales of BUBBL’R in MULO and convenience were up 37.4% to over $119.8 million in the 52-weeks ending December 31, 2023. Hartmann estimated that more recent sales for the trailing 52-weeks including Q1 2024 are now in the range of $150 million and the brand aims to surpass $200 million by the end of the year.
Most of BUBBL’R’s retail sales to date have come from the grocery channel, Hartmann said, but the brand also sees strong opportunity to build out its presence in convenience. He noted that BUBBL’R’s functional positioning, including caffeine, has been beneficial to competing in c-stores where sparkling water brands often see slower sales.
The brand’s sales are split about even with male and female consumers, he added.
Now BUBBL’R is expanding its team with new account managers and regional sales managers to service the new Target stores, and Hartmann said the brand will continue to expand those regions. The company currently has around 50 full-time employees, all of whom are in-house as BUBBL’R aims to avoid outsourcing roles to third-party agencies,.
“We want to build out the markets large scale, and we ultimately aim to be nationally distributed,” Hartmann said. “Target is certainly our entry point in many of these new markets and it’s one of the best retailers you can be with in terms of their ability to draw in consumers that are looking to discover that next brand.”
Zach Lastrilla, brand development manager for Wis-Pak, said BUBBL’R will support the Target expansion with marketing initiatives including in-store sampling programs and social media influencer campaigns, sending out promo boxes with Target gift cards to “higher level influencers” while also working with the retailer’s ‘click and collect’ ecommerce program to drive online sales.
As well, the company is developing new multipack sizes, including club packs and additional variety packs, with a new flavor likely slated to come in 2025.
Even as BUBBL’R starts establishing itself as a national brand and introduces itself to new consumers, Hartmann said the company intends to keep doing what has been working so far.
“It’s atypical – everybody is always going coasts-in versus Midwest-out,” Hartmann said. “It’s not like we lean in heavily to our Midwest roots, but we also don’t necessarily shy away from it. We know where we come from and we have an incredible following in our core markets, and we want to utilize that.”