Palatinose - Soft Drinks International

26 PRODUCTS
Soft Drinks International – February 2011
Energy & Sports Drinks
Well played
SOUTH AFRICA Powerade has aligned
itself closely with Proteas, the nation's cricket
team, in a campaign known as the Chosen
One which embraces radio, print and digital
while also utilising tested platforms such as
player appearances, product placement and
television. Initiatives have also included a
prize where the winner and friends play
with the Proteas, as well as match ticket
giveaways.
“Just as Cricket South Africa chose Powerade
to hydrate the Proteas, so too do we
strive to be the country’s number one,” said
Ismail Nanabhay, Senior Brand Manager,
Sports and Iced Tea, at Coca-Cola South
Africa. Product placement is “the greatest
challenge” of the campaign, said Nanabhay,
offering very effective exposure.
Players are drinking several Powerades a
day, based on a belief that “the team or individual
that can best recover from strenuous
exercise, replenish lost nutrients and electrolytes
and then refuel sufficiently for the
next day’s play is the team that will set history
alight,” he said.
The trick, however, was for the Powerade
activation team “to consistently capture the
consumption of the product by the player,
thus ensuring
that our target
market understands
the
authenticity and
uniqueness of
our product”.
organic
UK Powershot Organic Energy is a new
tea-based drink providing natural energy.
There are three variants: ginseng, acai and
tea-based, using white, black and green tea
blended with agave syrup, a natural sweetener,
fruit juices (pomegranate, peach and
cherry) and natural mineral water. The still
drink has 86 calories per serving.
Producer Powershot Brands has also
developed three mini shots featuring ginko
biloba and ginseng.
Another market
SPAIN The V energy drink, created initially
in New Zealand and nowadays also a big
seller in Australia and several other markets,
is being introduced to Spain. Mark
Cowsill, Managing Director of V-producer
Frucor Beverages, described this as another
significant step towards achieving a plan to
make V a global brand.
This plan was made more feasible by
Suntory’s purchase of Frucor in 2009. “Suntory’s
support, knowledge and networks
will be invaluable for Frucor as we up our
focus on the global growth of our brands
and business over the next five to 10
years.”
Frucor is confident Spain has a lot of
potential for V. “The Spanish market for
energy drinks is showing solid growth, yet it
is still relatively underdeveloped compared
to the rest of Europe,” said Cowsill. “This
provides us with a great opportunity, particularly
given our relationship with Frucor’s
Spain-based sister company, Orangina
Schweppes.”
Leading the Spanish market introduction
is Scott Johnson, Frucor’s General Manager
International, who is based in Amsterdam.“We
have learnt a lot through our
Long-neck hot fill
USA Greater>Than’s all-natural sports/
hydration beverage based on coconut
water has been introduced in the first 20oz
stock PowerFlex PET container from
Amcor Rigid Plastics, a leading producer of
PET packaging. The hot fill bottle gives shelf
appeal by offering a glass-like appearance, a
smooth feel, and easy labelling.
Greater>Than, a start-up company based
in Highland Park, Illinois, undertook extensive
research to develop a novel beverage
formulation and brand concept which capitalises
on Amcor’s distinctive long-neck,
panel-less packaging. “The PowerFlex bottle
is unique,” said founder Mark Sider. “It is
taller than other 20oz sports drink containers,
clean-looking, and gives us a big edge in
terms of providing eye-catching shelf
appeal.”
The start-up firm worked with sports
scientists and beverage nutrition formulators
to create a sports/hydration drink that
uses healthy coconut water as the main
ingredient. “We made a major advancement
in the beverage business by taking a fruit
juice and making it a sports drink,” said
Sider. The product is scientifically formulated
to deliver high-performance hydration via
all-natural ingredients with no fat or choles-
experience with V in the UK, Holland, Sweden
and Argentina, and we are using this
knowledge as well as the insights we have
gained over the last three years through
our extensive market research in Europe,”
he said.
terol. The beverage has more electrolytes
than leading sports drinks.
The drink contains no artificial flavours,
colours, sweeteners, or preservatives. The
70 calorie per 20oz beverage is sweetened
with a combination of all-natural sweeteners
including stevia. The product line currently
comprises Lemon Lime, Orange, and
Tropical.
The bottle features a patented panel-less
design which takes hot fill (185º F) bottle
options to a new level. Amcor’s structural
design eliminates the panels, and unlike
competitive containers, provides a large,
completely smooth rib-less label panel.