Acai Berry Energy Drink - Business Opportunity

A friend of mine just let me in on this new drink, which apparently is supposed to be red bull's competition. From what I understand its a new all-natural energy drink made from "Acai Berry" and comes in both caffeinated and non-caffeinated versions.

He gave me the link to his site, Im interested in becoming a member but thought i would pose the question to you guys first. Check out his site and let me know what you think:

http://www.efusjon.com/chicagofusjon

I tried it today and I have to say it tastes much better than red bull and is 100% natural, so im going to start drinking it at the very least. Any thoughts or comments from you guys would be appreciated. Thanks

- Jake

which apparently is supposed to be red bull's competition.

Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

Rather than aiming to de-throne an established winner in the category, tell your friend to just make and market a good-tasting, quality product.

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

G Wiv wrote:

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

Red bull has been one of the most fascinating marketing stories of the last 10 years or so. They own the category- seriously, no one is even close. They outsold the competition by BILLIONS last year and their marketing technique is so different than anything else out there.

By the way, the sugar free red bull ain't bad- it was my go to for the first semester of graduate school.

Looks like any other MLM setup, except instead of cosmetics or sex toys, you're selling energy drinks. At $39 per 12-pack.

Sounds like a good way to pour $156 down the drain.

G Wiv wrote:

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

Make that 11-people.

I get a lot of SPAM email lately inviting me to buy these drinks. You can get acai berry stuff at Costco, so I'm not sure how new and hot it is

G Wiv wrote:

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

count me in that list 10 people who have never tried Red Bull(et al.)

jimswside wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

count me in that list 10 people who have never tried Red Bull(et al.)

Red Bull scares me more than Eyeball Tacos, and there's no way I'm eating an Eyeball Taco.

It sounds like very few of these açai berry offers are on the up-and-up:

http://www.bbb.org/us/article/8493
http://www.nj.com/parenting/.../moms_beware_diet_scam.html
http://consumerist.com/...delicious-scam
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/.../weight_loss_scam...
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6578594&page=1

From what I can find, açai berries are a good source of antioxidants, but no better than many other berries, nuts & fruits. I definitely haven't found any legit studies proving that açai berries (or their juice) are a good way to lose weight or boost energy. ABC News seems to have reached the same conclusion:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=6434350&page=1

I tried a few different brands/varieties of açai-containing drinks when they first started showing up on the shelves atWhole Foods, and I found that they had a really weird mouth-feel...sorta gritty, and left an odd "film" on my teeth & in my mouth. Personally, I'd rather drink Red Bull.

Red Bull/energy drink virgin here!

jimswside wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

count me in that list 10 people who have never tried Red Bull(et al.)

I've never tried it either. I'm afraid it would make me shake so bad that I'd be a blur even standing still.

I sell a lot of acai juice and concentrate and I can assure you that while it's tasty, its benefits are not only greatly overstated but also diminished even further via pasteurization. Bottom line: if you're eating fresh acai, it may provide limited health benefits. If you're drinking processed juice, probably not so much.

=R=

When I was working in Utah frequently 2002-05, the hot juice that was supposed to cure everything that ails you was Noni juice. A former neighbor here tried to get me involved in a MLM scheme.

jlawrence01 wrote:When I was working in Utah frequently 2002-05, the hot juice that was supposed to cure everything that ails you was Noni juice. A former neighbor here tried to get me involved in a MLM scheme.

I was told by an Italian friend that Noni was a term of endearment referring to grandmother. They're making juice from grandma??? ARRRRRRGHHHH!

G Wiv wrote:

elakin wrote:Hate to break it to your friend, but there are at least 200 already-launched brands that are "supposed to be red bull's competition".

I must be one of the last 10-people in Chicago who have never drank a red bull or related product. Somehow I doubt I am missing much, but one never knows.

I think you have more company than you suspect. Never tried it, and don't care.

tortminder wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:When I was working in Utah frequently 2002-05, the hot juice that was supposed to cure everything that ails you was Noni juice. A former neighbor here tried to get me involved in a MLM scheme.

I was told by an Italian friend that Noni was a term of endearment referring to grandmother. They're making juice from grandma??? ARRRRRRGHHHH!

LMAO

In my family we spell it (the word for grandmother, not the fruit juice) "Nonie".

A recent article from the NY Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/dining/24acai.html