Xyience Announces a New Distribution Agreement with Albertsons
Xyience
is proud to announce a new distribution agreement with Albertsons for
their energy drink, Xenergy. This agreement will add over 500 new
locations for Albertsons customers to purchase Xenergy.
In May
2006, Xyience, Inc. entered the energy drink market with the launch of
its energy drink, Xenergy. Like the Xyience name, the name Xenergy is a
combination of Zen and Energy and is, therefore, pronounced Zenergy.
While the first flavor of Xenergy was Cran Razz, Xenergy’ss line of
flavors also now includes Citrus Clear and Big Apple.
Albertsons
is a part of the Super Valu family, which is the third largest food
retailing company in the United States. Albertsons’s key markets are
Nevada, Northwestern United States and Southern California.
This
partnership represents an enormous opportunity for Xyience to bring the
Xenergy name and product to a broader customer base, said Bill
Underhill, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Xyience. We have achieved
tremendous growth and traction in the competitive energy drink market,
and we are extremely pleased to be working with Albertsons as a partner
to help drive rapid growth in this exciting category.
Labels: anabolics, beverages, drinks, energy drinks, Monica, Monica video, Nox-CG3, supplements, XCFB, XELERATE, Xenergy, XLR8, XNGF, Xtreme, xyience
BY BEN STEPHENS
Nutritional-supplement
and energy-drink manufacturer Xyience may need wings if it is going to
catch competitor Red Bull in the next three years. A company official
thinks the brand may find its way there through a partnership with
Ultimate Fighting Championships.
The Las Vegas-based company’s
Xenergy energy drink is ranked seventh in sales in the U.S., Xyience’s
vice president of business development David Stewart says, citing
industry reports. While it is far from the company’s "lofty goal" of
being ranked second by 2010, Stewart said a young relationship with the
mixed-martial-arts organization has catapulted the brand and faster
than traditional ad campaigns would have.
More than two years
ago, Xyience — then mainly a supplement company, Stewart recalls –
approached the UFC to become a sponsor. The organization was familiar
with its products. "It evolved into a handshake relationship, which
eventually became contractual."
Xyience is now in its first year
of a five-year contract, and has become the exclusive energy drink and
supplement of World Extreme Cagefighting. WEC is a mixed-martial-arts
organization which UFC’s parent company acquired last November.
LESS SUGAR, MORE PROFIT
Although
still producing supplements, Stewart said the company is focusing more
on its no-sugar, no-calorie beverage "because that’s where 85 percent
of profits will come from." It’s not the only drink maker looking to
cash in, though.
In a billion-dollar industry where there are a
lot of "me-too brands," Stewart contended — without naming competitors
– that the strategic partnership with UFC helped Xyience establish
itself. It didn’t hurt that UFC hadn’t gone mainstream yet, allowing a
smaller company like Xyience to get in on the ground floor, he says.
"We created a barrier of entry before the UFC had really caught on," he recalled.
After
the first match between UFC light heavyweight fighters Randy Couture
and Chuck Liddell, Xyience took a risk and sponsored Liddell, who lost,
going into the rematch. It turned out to be a smart business decision
after The Iceman (Liddell) knocked out Couture. Xyience later
capitalized on the fighter’s success, running ads on ultra-masculine
cable network Spike TV.
Xyience’s "integrated, exclusive,
indefinite, first right of refusal agreement with the UFC" has given it
great placement on camera. Its name is plastered all over the octagonal
ring in which the fighters duke it out.
Pay-per-view orders of
UFC fights, each of which average "eight pairs of eyes," have reached
more than 750,000 per fight, Stewart said, remembering it wasn’t long
ago when orders were around 100,000 per fight. Then again Xyience
enjoys repeat exposure, making advertising nearly moot, Stewart says.
One of the hottest selling DVDs at retail giant Wal-Mart are UFC
events, viewed time and time again.
A GOOD BUZZ
The
company also had good placement on Spike TV’s "Ultimate Fighter" — the
series credited with bolstering the sport’s status. Looking forward,
Stewart said the brand will have good placement when ESPN News
broadcasts live coverage of the next UFC weigh-in.
Stewart
admitted Xenergy is more expensive than many of its competitors’
offerings, but said it is a quality alertness booster without a crash.
"Xenergy isn’t a ‘get you wacked out’ energy drink," he said.
Overall,
sales of Xenergy were up 30 percent last month, Stewart said. The
company is in the process of increasing the number of shelves the
product reaches. According to Stewart, Xenergy had 10,000 accounts, or
stores in which it is sold, as of 45 days ago. Currently it has 20,000
accounts, including deals with 7-Eleven and Kroger.
"Our goal by
the end of the year is to be in 100,000 accounts," or almost half of
the 220,000 existing accounts in the country, he said. "We wanted as
close to 50 percent as we can."
bstephens@lvbusinesspress.com | 871-6780 x316
Labels: anabolics, beverages, drinks, energy drinks, Monica, Monica video, Nox-CG3, supplements, XCFB, XELERATE, Xenergy, XLR8, XNGF, Xtreme, xyience
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