<< Previous 1 2 3 4 Next >>
A Function in the Crowd?
But despite the possibility that one of these two products might be the “killer nap app,” experts agree that consumers will need a lot of education before calming beverages become a part of the everyday, off the shelf pickup.
Given the equal footing of so many calm-inducing ingredients (SEE SIDEBAR), as well as the Pharmacopeia of prescription and non-prescription sleep aids and anti-anxiety medications on the market, there’s a lot of different information that exists when it comes to calm. Beyond that, functional beverages overall remain a fairly new concept in the U.S. Those products that have marketed calm have done it as part of an array, a la vitaminwater or Life Water.
“If you have one message on one ingredient, that could be the ticket,” CCD’s Nielsen said. In a functional array, “we’re inundated with so many different messages, it’s hard to understand the differences between the products or the ingredients. There needs to be some education with the product launch for consumers to get it.”
Nevertheless, an initial lack of information about a “mystery ingredient” hasn’t stood in the way of energy drinks, Morgan notes. “Something like Taurine was unknown 20 years ago as well,” he said. “I don’t see it happening soon for calming ingredients, but it could be on the horizon.”
Not if you ask John Bello, however. The SoBe founder said that calm and relaxation just aren’t the kind of need states that are addressed by beverages. Calm runs counter to the character of American beverage culture, says the industry veteran.
“People have come to me repeatedly about doing something with relaxation and calm,” Bello says. “I think it’s going down the wrong road. Refreshment, it’s always about the caffeine. Living life to the fullest, every golden minute, all those things.”
When Bello was the “Lizard King” at SoBe, before selling out to PepsiCo, his brands emphasized energy, he said. SoBe did have its Zen Blend, but he said the company tried to angle it toward refreshment rather than calm. And obviously, Hansen’s didn’t become a stock market monster until it developed Monster Energy.
“What drives the core of the category is refreshment,” Bello adds. “And refreshment is energy-producing. All the rest of it is trimming to make it sound better than it is.”
Possibly, but SoBe itself is the barest shell of what it once was. A line of elixirs and energy drinks has basically been reduced to a set of five functional waters, one of which calls itself “Calm” and another of which uses L-theanine. Neither is the functional giant that energy has become. But if you ask Nielsen, there’s plenty of space left on the functional beverage shelf, and something with an immediate calming effect has a strong group ready to pick it up.
After all, she says, it’s not as if energy drinks are being bought by everyone, either.
“If you look at it from a mainstream point of view, the trucker probably isn’t going to buy the relaxation drink,” she said. “Maybe it’s a niche – I think it’s going to depend on how it’s marketed. I don’t think it’s going to be the next Red Bull – but Red Bull isn’t for everybody, and it’s still a truly successful brand.”
Got it, Haters? Just chill.