Some may argue that one of the key factors to launching a successful beverage is timing. Others may insist that without the finances, a beverage, no matter how good the flavor, won’t reach its respective audience. Yet, there are those that believe in that old saying, “if you build it, they will come.”

“I don’t know about you, but it’s 10 a.m. in California and I’m already tired!,” says Maigread Eichten, president and CEO of The FRS Co. (formally known as New Sun Nutrition), makers of FRS healthy energy drink. The point that Eichten is trying to make is that anyone could use a little pick-me-up—the pulsating energy drink market is proof of that. But what she is referring to isn’t the sugar-filled, powerfully caffeinated energy that is out there—she’s talking about healthy energy.

OK, so this isn’t the first beverage company that is offering energy the healthy way, but it is different, Eichten insists. She explains FRS (Free Radical Scavenger) uses quercetin as its key ingredient. Quercetin is an antioxidant found in the skins of apples, blueberries and cocao, and helps extend the body’s natural adrenaline by inhibiting the production of COMT, an enzyme that would turn it off. FRS works with Merck & Co., a global research-driven pharmaceutical company, to harvest the quercetin found in a plant in Brazil, Eichten notes. A can of FRS contains 325 milligrams of quercetin.

“The big issue consumers have with the current energy products is the sugar and caffeine. You crash from that. And that is what’s interesting about FRS. It has a long life in your body and therefore you do not crash,” says Eichten.

“Don’t Crash. Drink Healthy Energy” is the slogan leading the company’s marketing campaign set to launch this month and it comes with good timing, coinciding with the health and wellness trend. And who better to
speak to health and wellness than Tour De France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. In addition to being the company’s key product endorser, Armstrong, who got involved with the company in 2006, also sits on the Board
of Directors.

The FRS formulation that was originally developed in 1997 to help cancer patients gain back their energy has taken an aggressive turn in the past year. Never intended to be distributed on the market as a ready-to-drink beverage, notes Eichten, FRS began rolling out with its first national retail accounts in GNC stores in July 2007 with the help of a $25 million investment from a well-known investment firm.

But it was FRS’ e-commerce site, healthyenergy.com, which launched in 2004, that helped the beverage establish its cult-like following of professional and amateur athletes as well as health-savvy consumers. Eichten reports that in 2008 the company expects to receive five to 10 million visitors to the site and ship out about 200,000 samples.

To keep the momentum going, the company plans to make an impact with FRS by sampling and scheduling in-store appearances to educate consumers on the benefits of quercetin. In addition to quercetin, FRS healthy energy drink also contains vitamins B6, C and E as well as catechins from green tea leaves to support overall health and weight management, which speaks to a broad consumer base, notes Eichten.

FRS comes in orange and lemon lime flavors in addition to three low-calorie flavors—wild berry, peach mango and orange—that have 25 calories and 7 grams of carbs. The drink is offered in RTD cans, drink concentrate, soft chews and a powdered drink mix and all varietals will be shipped to consumers requesting a sample.

“We are excited now to really get it out there,” says Eichten, adding that the company redesigned the cans to include the words “healthy energy.” “I really believe that by communicating healthy energy on the can that will be very helpful to consumers because it communicates the core idea of the brand.” If you build it, they will come…

VITAL STATS
THE FRS CO.
PRESIDENT & CEO: Maigread Eichten
HEADQUARTERS: Foster City, Calif.
EMPLOYEES: 50
GOALS: To bring healthy energy to its consumers.

 From Beverage World February 15, 2008