The Enviga Effect

Nevertheless, even proving a drink helps consumers lose weight is, while measurable, still subjective. When considering the effects of Enviga, which are smallish (the Wall Street Journal reported the calorie burn is similar to that achieved in a 15 minute walk), the customer is going to have to believe, and see, that it is working. Moving into other functional areas, it’s going to be hard to prove more. Products claiming to have longer-term benefits, like all of those that contain antioxidants, aren’t marketed as a cure for anything – their implied benefit is in what they prevent, rather than what they cause. But others, like skin improvement products, performance enhancement beverages that offer everything from tranquility, to spiritual insight, to sexual bliss, may very well have to measure up to their billing, or disappear overnight.

Nevertheless, marketers are gambling billions on the belief that a product that might work will be just as attractive to consumers as the ones that actually work.

“There are two things here,” says Gajrawala. “At the end of the day, it’s got to be a genuine benefit. Today’s consumer is able to see through anything that’s not real. But people are moving from CSD’s because they know they’re bad for you. Now, you look at Enviga, and sure, it’s carbonated, but it’s clearly a green tea product, and not only is it not bad for you but it could be good for you.”

That’s the line walked by the products at Glaceau, whose Vitaminwater – believed by many experts to have helped inspire the rush to launch more functional products – might have already grabbed the lion’s share of the potential market for functional waters. But how many more times can lightning strike in that fuzzy spot between marketed effect and sugar water?

RAISED STAKES

While there’s no arguing with Glaceau’s success, there’s likely no replicating it, either – their lead is huge and they’ve already spawned lessthan- successful imitators. The market strength of Vitaminwater means that stakes have been raised. The next product whose label promises something immediate and tangible beyond basic hydration or caffeine-related alertness needs to deliver, or it could torpedo the whole category. “That’s been the problem with the New Age The next product whose label promises something immediate and tangible behond basic hydration or caffeine-related alertness needs to deliver, or it could torpedo the whole category.

since the beginning,” says Lance Collins, the CEO of Fuze. “A lot of these companies haven’t fulfilled their promise to consumers. Products that were billed as offering ‘healthy refreshment’ were just offering ‘healthy deception.’ I was a witness to all these false representations and thought I could deliver something on that promise.”

Collins says he believes marketers are getting better at creating functional beverages.

“Big companies are delivering beverages that offer benefits,” he says. “It’s better, but it’s not great. They’ve come a long way. They see what’s going on with consumers, and I guess they’re heeding the call.”

Still, that doesn’t mean that as retailers, you should grab every new functional beverage that you can.

“You can’t ignore it, because it’s something that people are looking for,” says Lauren Torres, the chief beverage analyst at HSBC. “It’s always great to be the first one out with things, like with Gatorade. Some of these categories at times do have some traction. But retailers have to be very careful – there’s always shelf space to allocate, but you have to take it very slowly to see how consumers react.”

Chances are, if there’s even a hint of helpfulness to a product, there are a whole lot of sales to come. As a retailer, remember this: a large part of the attraction of functional beverages is that they pay lip service to both convenience and health – currently two of the top three drivers of consumer food choices, according to a recent survey by the NPD Group. Nothing is more convenient than drinking something that will slim you down, wake you up, keep you from getting cancer. It beats the hard work of exercise, the time you need to sleep, the expense and detail required to keep track of one’s health.

“Consumers want more functionality, and they want it to be convenient,” Wildrick says. “Providing more enhancements that are easy to drink and more readily absorbed by the body will be important for the beverage industry in keeping up with consumer needs.”