Lemon Perfect’s plans for 2024 follow a simple strategy: go big.
That applies to both physical footprint — in the guise of a new 15.2 oz. PET bottle, replacing the existing 12 oz. format — and the brand’s market ambitions, as the Atlanta-based brand is using the rollout of a top-down reformulation as the launchpad for introducing three new flavors and targeting a $100 million year.
As noted during NACS in October, the process has been underway in earnest since last March, according to founder/CEO Yanni Hufnagel, with the knowledge that its upcoming co-packing partnership with Niagara Bottling was coming online later that year. Despite strong consumer response to the current lineup (+87.6% sales in 52-weeks through Nov. 10, 2023, per Circana), Hufnagel said he and flavor lab Ocean Blue Innovation began experimenting with reb M stevia as a substitute for the existing sweetener system, which featured stevia alongside under-fire ingredient erythritol.
More importantly, the new format is envisioned as the key for Lemon Perfect to unlock one of its top priorities: gaining placements in convenience retailers by offering a stronger value play. Rather than offering a 12 oz. for $1.99, the 15.2 oz. units will go for $2.29 each, making it 10% cheaper per-ounce for consumers. Pilot runs in select chains (Wawa, Quick Trip) have backed that thesis, Hufnagel said, spurring the brand to begin phasing out the current format nationwide this month.
The brand’s move from New Jersey-based copacker LiDestri to expansion-minded Niagara Bottling, meanwhile, ticks boxes in terms of output capacity and “product experience,” according to the founder.
“There’s more dollar profit for distributors, more value for consumers,” said Hufnagel. “Everyone wins in this transition.”
The company has also timed the new bottles to debut at the same time as three new flavors — Blueberry, Coconut and Watermelon (teased in a press release in May) — which brings the total roster up to seven SKUs.
Along with recent internal moves, highlighted by the hiring of former Spindrift executive David Kimmell as the company’s first-ever chief supply chain officer, the stage is set for Lemon Perfect to aggressively chase shelf space and category dollar share in 2024, fueled by a “big step up” in trade spend. Having enjoyed a prodigious run of fundraising – bringing in more than $35 million over the past two years – the brand appears well-positioned within a more difficult investment climate.
Though, even as he voiced confidence in the brand’s stated mission of “nearly doubling the business” this year, Hufnagel acknowledged that the shift isn’t without its share of uncertainties.
“There is a psychological, everyday kind of difference in being above or below $2,” he said. “Are we going to allocate our resources in the best possible way? Are we making the best possible decisions to drive awareness and trial, because the product is so special? It’s an execution story now.”