Beer Marketer's Insights - Super Coffee Cuts Cord to Stevia, Going All-Sucralose in All-RTD Strategy That Aims to Re-Energize Anheuser-Busch Partners; Xxtra Canned Energy Line to Roll Out in Kroger

When Super Coffee's Xxtra canned energy line launched this past spring, it might have been viewed as the co's sucralose audition, harnessing great-tasting sweetener as an alternative to naturally derived stevia of core bottled functional coffee line. Xxtra did well enough in 4 inaugural markets to warrant a rollout thru Kroger in coming months. Meanwhile, its Austin-based parent Kitu Life had decided to cut the cord entirely on stevia, switching to sucralose even for core PET-bottle line. It's part of broader restage that includes drastic winnowing of sku's, sweeping packaging revamp and greater engagement with the brand's DSD partner at Anheuser-Busch, a minority investor that's blessed the brand for its national distribution partners. The new direction for brand launched 8 years ago by athlete bros Jimmy, Jake and Jordan DeCicco will be on view at NACS c-store extravaganza opening on Wed. Broader context, as with many other emerging brands, has been to cut the cash burn rate and narrow the focus to the most velocity-generating opportunities. Under Tyler Ricks, an investor and advisor who was elevated to top job last fall (BBI, Dec 5), co has moved to vet innovation more thoroughly and get on a self-sustaining financial footing. Now, Ricks has been taking a more outward-facing role, assuring his strategic DSD partner, the Anheuser-Busch beer network, that he's going all in on DSD with broadly appealing lines that don't require any flavor tradeoffs for their nutritional bounty. Brand has exited rival channels like Shopify and likely will suffer some discontinuations in natural channel (tho some, like Sprouts, have been willing to tolerate sucralose in brands like Celsius). And to address sentiment among some Bud wholesalers that Super Coffee was cumbersome to deal with and didn't always address their concerns, sales exec Mike Louden has transitioned into role focused on wholesaler partner strategy, engagement & execution, reporting directly to Ricks.Here&#39;s new strategy in a nutshell. For starters, co is going all in on RTDs, dropping ancillary items like coffee pods, ground coffee and creamers to focus just on bottled functional coffees and Xxtra canned energy drinks. In coming months, the bottled coffees - which riff off recipe pioneered by Bulletproof Coffee - cut back from what were 20 sku's a year ago to just 4 permanent sku's - Mocha, Vanilla, Caramel and Hazelnut - and 2 seasonal sku's. So-called "tasty-pastry" flavors, tho their novelty generated trial, are being phased out by early next year. Xxtra energy line remains focused on just 2 flavors for now, Mocha and Vanilla. All told, co has gone from over 50 skus to under 10.Besides flavor upgrade thanks to sweetener change, bottled line will look different on the shelf, with new skin that offers higher-impact graphics, more prominent logo and larger functional callouts. Taking learning from tasty-pastry items, Caramel and Hazelnut get more colorful treatment. New ribbed bottle should eliminate denting problem, and new tamper-proof top means users won't need to struggle to tear off shrink wrap over lid, then remove foil seal under the cap.All signals are go on Xxtra, which contains 200 mg caffeine, ginseng and B-vitamins but no sugar and just 130 calories (BBI, Jun 2). It offers high-velocity item for c-stores and indies, but with better nutritionals than leaders Java Monster, Starbucks Doubleshot and Black Rifle. Results of Jul launch in NY (non-A-B territory where brand goes thru unaligned Big Geyser), San Diego and 2 midwestern markets were solid enough to prompt rollout to all Kroger banners as resets occur. But Kitu Life also is putting together strong plan for indie stores, Ricks is promising.

Super Coffee Cuts Cord to Stevia, Going All-Sucralose in All-RTD Strategy That Aims to Re-Energize Anheuser-Busch Partners; Xxtra Canned Energy Line to Roll Out in Kroger

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