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Permalink Reply by Christopher Lutz on February 28, 2012 at 6:34pm

Thanks for posting the article.

When RG first announced his plans to get into the energy drink business, I spent a while surfing the internet trying to find documented sales and profitability figures.

I failed. RedBull is private and divulges "nothing" and Monster (the only other brand worth researching) is bundled with the overall numbers Hanson's distributes.

For some reason, the SPEED energy drink business fascinates me as much as the racing business. The NASCAR angle is intriguing because I think there is a demographic mismatch. I would wager the average Nascar fan is on the high end of the 18 -30 range.

My 2 pence (which is worth a fat load of nothing).....

The magic here is pull a play from the Tabacco Industry and market below 18 and develop "fans" early. I'm thinking 14-18. No idea about the legality here....but, surely there are events that target these young adults.

Also, I agree with the article in that the popularity of the brand is predicated on the spokesperson. Jennifer Aniston and "Smart Water" come to mind. There is almost zero differentiation among water brands, yet that product commands a price premium due to her star status.

I haven't followed the SPEED stuff that closely, but it looks like RG is already in the SuperCross / Motorcycle arena. Personally, I like the Monster Truck idea. This venue is far more oriented toward young families and you could establish brand awareness early.

On a related, but personal note - I recently looked for an energy drink and found the Monster and Rockstar choices REALLY confusing. There must have been over a dozen options each. This is too many - it's confusing and hard to tell which one is designed for what.

I'd like to see SPEED step out and differentiate a bit more - with a "no caffeine" version. You could really hit them hard then without the caffeine related health worries.

RE: Monster vs. RedBull - I think it's a taste thing. RedBull really doesn't taste that good compared to some of the new comers and definitely not as good as SPEED.

Commenting here was better than working - thanks for reading.

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Permalink Reply by 7gason7 on February 28, 2012 at 6:39pm

I agree about the number of Monster cans. I would like to see a 1/2 the sugar Speed can. I find the zero carb drinks from both Speed and Monster don't seem to taste right. the low carb Monster is superior. I like Speed but the 54 sugar carbs are too much to consume more then once a day.

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Permalink Reply by Wally Meier on February 28, 2012 at 10:28pm

Something outside the relm of "Energy drinks" as far as I know is a protien based drink. I know there are a ton of drinks and powders ETC. out there already but for those of you who have used them I don't know if you agree but I have yet to find one that doesnt taste like crap! It is a large and varied market. I for one need protein because of a bariatric surgery I had a year and a half ago. I'm on a high protien low carb diet and a decent tasting drink to supplement what I allready do would be incredible. If it were coming from Speed would make it that much better so thats just my 2 selfish cents worth.(a little brag on myself I'm down 170 pounds from a high of 430+)

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Permalink Reply by Bubba Gophast on March 1, 2012 at 11:48am

good for you! you probably extended you life span by 20 years. Everyone on my over 40 soccer team pounds the protein drinks.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Horwath on February 28, 2012 at 6:46pm

Good reading...thanks. Who would have thought 20 years ago we would be buying water in a bottle?! I remember a Leave It To Beaver episode when The Beave sold "dippers" of water for 15 cents. If I only realized it then...

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Permalink Reply by rob woodward on February 28, 2012 at 9:14pm

Red Bull is huge in bars and nightclubs mixed with vodka shots. I bet if you looked at thier sales a sizable portion of their sales are through the bar scene. Robby should think about partnering with bars and nightclubs and making a speed drink? Maybe he alreay has. Or better yet he could partner with a liquor distributor to make an adult beverage like Mikes Hard lemonade, Twisted Tea, etc. He could come out with speed fully leaded cooler, vodka octane. Just my drunken opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Todd on February 29, 2012 at 6:50am

Hmmm my thoughts are to partner with Fuzzy's Vodka...hmmm Fuzzy's sponsoring Ed Carpenter...Hmmm Derrick Walker is with Carpenter....Run INDY with Fuzzy's and Speed Energy... Speed girls going to Bars serving shots of Fuzzy and speed... Don't wake me up from this dream...

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Permalink Reply by Rob Hoban on February 29, 2012 at 9:29am

Here's another article to add:

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-06/strategy/31028820_1_...

This article suggests that the brand needs to have an "image" that the consumer can connect to. Similar to Monser, Rockstar doesn't have commecial advertising similar to Monster and has had similar results. They are connecting wih kids and young adults, I see teenagers wearing Moster or Rockstar shirts from time to time and took note of a girl in her 20's buying a can of Rockstar yesterday and wondered why that product appealed to her. This artice explains it.

Robby needs to build and image for Speed and target the younger crowd that will buy energy drinks. Right now the focus is on the Southwest US and Mexico so being a east coast guy, it is hard for me to see where the product is making progress but I wish Robby the best on this venture. Speed Demons is a great place to start. Hopefully this will help the product to TAKE OFF! The design of the new Ethanol can doesn't hurt either. Nice.

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