And now, after the announcement of Vitaminwater selling for $4.1 billion dollars everyone wants a peace of the action.
Everyone can start their own Energy Drink or New Age Beverage. The barrier of entry to get into the market is not very high. You don't need to have millions of dollars to start your own energy drink. You do need some money but you need more vision and work.
Why passion and elbow grease? Well, just because you bottle your Energy Drink does not mean you'll sell it. Distributors get hundreds of calls per month from new energy drinks, or "JAED" (Just Another Energy Drink). Do something different! Target new people, create a new package, not jus another energy drink. Don't just say "I have the best flavor" or "it tastes better than red bull". Everyone has access to flavors, everyone can make a better tasting energy drink, that's not a niche.
You need passion and elbow grease. You need to believe in your products and that you will succeed. You need to see the project through. You also need to put the work in. Just because you have some cases made of energy drinks it does not mean you'll sell them. You need something else. You need to make calls, visit people, make it happen.
. You have to realize that Vitamin Water is not the first company to get big cash for their brand. There are beverage companies being funded every day, and more being bought and sold from large companies. Many companies that you now think as the market leaders started not long ago as start-ups.
Besides the big news companies like Vitaminwater you can find many companies getting funding, selling or going public. Not to mention many more companies that received funding or went public.
Other companies like Reeds Beverage, Who's Your Daddy, Jones Soda and Hensen with Monster Energy Drink access funding through the public markets. These and many others are public companies traded in the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ or the OTC (Over the Counter).
I get a lot of calls from entrepreneurs starting their energy drinks and many more from investors looking to invest in companies or performing due diligence. At the moment I have at least 100 people contacting me every month wanting to know about the New Age Beverage Industry, Energy Drinks, how to get distribution, how to export, how to bottle drinks or to go over business plans or other information. The industry is growing and the category is growing even faster
Now let me tell you a bit about Energy Drinks. Energy Drinks are the new Super Profitable products. Everybody makes money, the manufacturer, the distributor and the retailer. You see, Energy Drinks sell for $1.99 to $2.40 at the stores for 8 to 16 ounces. This is incredible if you consider that you can buy a soda that's the same size for $0.50 to $0.75. Even a 20 ounce soda runs you about $1.25.
Distributors love the product because they make about $8 per every case they sell compared with about $2 to $4 for their other products. Retailers love it because they can make from $16 to $20 per case.
This business is work, but there is a lot of profit in it and even more fun. You have special events, parties, promotions, and you can spin and position your products the way you want, having fun in the process.
