{November 2, 2006 - One final Cocaine (the drink) update} Chairman & CEO George Nadaff did come through with a gift card and a note that confirms he actually read my email. I'm talking a walk downtown for the chipotle chicken, but I give props to you Mr. Nadaff. Thanks for listening.
------------------ from October 31, 2006
I had some email correspondence with the George Nadaff, Chairman & CEO of Knowfat Lifestyle Grille regarding my Cocaine (the drink) encounter at the downtown Boston Knowfat location. Before I posted last week, I sent a note to a number of principals at Knowfat expressing my confusion at the attempted brand affinity between Knowfat and Cocaine (the drink).
Mr. Nadaff replied (1 point for guts) and gave me permission to reprint anything I chose from his email (2 points) and offered me a $20 gift card just for complaining providing my feedback (20 points!) Knowfat has their demographics down and was willing to share this information:
"Our customer base average age is between 18 and 35. We get high praise for providing this group with energy drinks with every product name you can imagine…from Pimp Juice to Pit Bull to Crunk! The names are edgy across the board. While, on the other hand, I can appreciate that some people are not fans of the energy drink category in general for a variety of reasons."
The marketer in me appreciates the fact that they know the customer and they recognize the concerns with the "energy drink" product. In my note to Knowfat I expressed my concern about "energy drinks" being offered in what I consider a healthy (or healthier) place to eat. In researching the "energy drink" thing I have found the category (and its marketing) isn't so much about health as it is about rage, power, strength and raw aggression. That doesn't fall into the healthy brand for me. Mr. Nadaff went on to explain:
“Healthy” means different things to different people. No matter what your definition of healthy is, KnowFat! strives to offer a selection of menu items and active lifestyle products that meet that definition. We closely monitor all comments, whether of a critical or complementary nature. But until we receive a “landslide” negative response to a product, we consider offering our consumers choices (not just ours, but theirs) a top priority.
In terms of 7-11 pulling it off their shelves, my understanding is that their main concern stemmed from complaints from concerned parents of young children who may be influenced by the name. I understand that concern and for this very reason, we have implemented an 18 plus policy for purchasing this beverage. (emphasis added) Interestingly, there is less caffeine in this specific drink than in a large cup of coffee at the leading coffee chain – how much more mainstream can you get?
I hear you Mr. Nadaff, and I appreciate your taking the time to respond - but I will continue to be wary of products called "energy drinks" and hope that the health food, healthy lifestyle folks will continue to learn more about the product group.
I learned a lot about the "energy drink" $3.4 billion dollar industry this week (and believe me, that's a BIG air quote around "energy drink" given what I've read.) An article on MSNBC yesterday entitled Caffeine stoked energy drinks wire a generation points out that more than 500 new energy drinks were launched worldwide this year (that's 12 new products a week!) Canada is monitoring the health effects of "energy drinks" and has studied the Red Bull product long enough to have classified it as a health product and recommending the consumption of no more than 2 cans per day. The University of Michigan Health System provides an informative opinion from March 2005.
What's your opinion? Does the "energy drink" category fold neatly into the healthy lifestyle category? How do products like Cocaine, Monster, Pimp Juice, Bawls and Rushh (as well as Red Bull) fit within the health or healthy lifestyle category? The Internets is open and I am dying to know your thoughts.
Energy drink in the healthy lifestyle category? No fucking way!
Shot of wheatgrass, I'll concede that, but my love for gulping down a constant stream of caffine has nothing to do with health. It has to do with staying awake through all the blogging!
Posted by: Paul McEnany | October 31, 2006 at 03:53 PM