The Double Cola Co. expands beyond the CSD market

via http://www.bevindustry.com

 With a company history that spans more than 90 years, The Double Cola Co. has a lot from which to pull influence. But the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company isn’t resting on its laurels. Instead, it continues to give its established brands a contemporary touch and is now making its first push beyond the carbonated soft drink (CSD) market, which has been its sole focus until recently.


“Today, we’re taking a 360-degree approach to developing all areas of the company, both internally and externally, from administration, to sales and marketing, to [research and development],” says Gina McCommon, vice president of The Double Cola Co. “We’ve also made a concerted effort to be more responsive to the needs of our customers, both proactively and reactively, which has helped us to continue to grow over the last many years.

“We’ve also placed additional focus on international growth for the company and have worked extensively on developing new markets and new brands for the international arena,” she continues.
Part of that customer response is its announcement earlier this year that the company will launch three new brands: Quad Energy, Minōku Coconut Water and Zili Tea.

“The move is consistent with our long-term objective of providing a broader range of profitable products for our bottlers and distributors so we can grow collectively,” McCommon says. “In some cases, our distributors have been asking for these drinks, and in some instances, these will allow us to enter into agreements with new distributors and ultimately enter into new markets. We see real opportunities with our new products, and our distributors are eager to add new age beverages in many markets.”

Launched last month, Quad Energy is available in five flavors: Re-Charge, Low Carb Kick, Berry Fusion, Lime Craze and Orange Twist. Re-Charge and Low Carb Kick incorporate a traditional energy drink fantasy fruit flavor, while the other varieties feature flavors designed to appeal to the brand’s target market of males between the ages of 18 and 34, McCommon explains. Berry Fusion has a bold, tart mixed berry flavor; Lime Craze features a lime sherbet flavor; and Orange Twist is infused with orange flavor and a hint of tangerine, she adds.

Available in 16-ounce cans, Quad Energy has a suggested retail price of $0.99 and was designed to offer consumers a high-quality energy drink at an affordable price point, McCommon says.
“Quad Energy offers consumers an attractive alternative to high-priced energy drinks, while providing the superior quality consumers have come to expect from The Double Cola Co.,” she adds. “The unique flavors of Quad Energy are an added benefit to the functional energy drink [market]. Consumers can enjoy the energy drink without experiencing a prominent vitamin taste.”

Although relatively new to the market, Quad Energy already has generated complimentary feedback from producers, distributors, retailers and consumers, and it has exceeded sales expectations, McCommon notes. “We frequently hear positive remarks on the graphics and flavor,” she says. “People seem to like Quad Energy for the simple, bold brand name and graphics. They also remark how impressive the flavors are for an energy drink. We have great expectations for Quad, as do our customers.”

For its coconut water venture, The Double Cola Co. plans to launch Minōku Coconut Water this month in 350- and 520-ml cans with later plans to add Tetra Pak packaging, McCommon explains. “The outstanding, unordinary graphics of Minōku are sure to stand out on shelves stocked with coconut water competitors,” she says. “The positive feedback we’ve received from the graphics alone is pretty astounding.”

The brand sources its coconuts from Thailand, which produces sweeter coconuts compared with those from  areas where the soil might produce saltier flavored coconut water, McCommon says.
“We feel certain that Minōku Coconut Water will be a welcomed product into the market,” she says. “It is a unique change to the cookie cutter coconut waters out in the market already, and based on our extensive focus group studies, consumers agree and actually prefer Minōku’s sweeter taste. We’re amazed at the positive comments we receive from some of our distributors who ‘don’t like coconut water.’

“It’s funny to see their reactions to Minōku,” she continues. “In many cases, they go from not liking coconut water to drinking an entire 520-ml can of Minōku and asking for more. It creates a really good feeling to know you’ve created a believer out of someone who thought he didn’t like the taste of coconut water.”

The Double Cola Co. also will tap into the ready-to-drink (RTD) tea market this month with Zili Tea. Available in five flavors — Sweet Tea, Apple Honey Green Tea, Citrus Ginger Green Tea, Plum Acai Black Tea and Valencia Orange Clove Black Tea — all varieties contain 25 percent of the recommended daily intake of B vitamins and are sweetened with a combination of granulated sugar and stevia.

“[Zili] taps into both the growing market for fortified and/or functional drinks and tea,” McCommon says. “Global market research from Mintel International last year forecast that tea sales at the foodservice level should grow 5 percent a year, and, if trends continue, tea could one day surpass coffee in North America sales. We wanted to get into tea and into the functional beverage category, so we thought it was a good idea to merge those together into a new drink, which we think has great taste and will appeal to a lot of new customers for us.”

The 100 percent natural tea contains no artificial colors or sweeteners, is free of genetically modified organisms, gluten, cholesterol and fat, and is low in sodium. Zili originally will be packaged in 16-ounce glass bottles, but the company also is working on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) package and has plans to launch proprietary packaging in 2014, McCommon says.

Marketing for the three new brands will focus on consumer sampling. “For us, there’s nothing more important and impactful than getting the product in consumers’ and distributors’ hands,” McCommon explains. “Outside of that, we plan on placing emphasis on print media, in-store advertising and promotions, events, sponsorships and guerilla marketing. We’re continually working on new plans for expanding and growing the brands, so you never know what is around the corner when it comes to marketing.”

For distribution, the company will use a three-pronged approach for the new brands, such as distribution through current distributors, distribution via new partnerships, and a direct-to-retail approach depending on the territory, McCommon says. Available in mass merchandisers, grocery retailers, convenience stores and more, the new brands will initially be distributed on the East Coast in areas including Florida, the Carolinas, New York and Pennsylvania, she adds. The company also has plans for the Southern region states including Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee as well as the West Coast in 2014.