Amino acid water startup Rejuvenation to target 'the evening crowd' with carbonated cans
Rejuvenation launched onto the market in 2016 after ten years of part-time concept development in bottle form and is finalising product development for cans that should launch later this year. The current PET bottles are available in three variants – apple and mint, ginger and lime and Spanish orange – and are stocked in several major UK and UAE supermarkets, as well as online and various food service outlets. Made with L-glutamine from fermented corn glucose, each 500ml bottle contains 5g of protein and is made using natural juices, stevia and British spring water.
Rejuvenation is currently in the midst of a £150,000 (€169,500) seed round to raise funds for the can launch, European expansion and continued UK roll out of its bottles.
'We're aiming for Red Bull in terms of versatility'
Kris Ingham, founder of Rejuvenation, said the company is on track to grow revenues this year by 800% to more than £700,000 (€791,000) and the move into carbonated cans should spark even more growth.
“We don't want to cannibalise what we've done in bottles; we want to welcome more people rather than just offering more SKUs to the same customers which would probably lead to a flatlining,” Ingham told NutraIngredients.
“What you'll find is people will drink one bottle per day and what we're doing is bringing in an evening crowd who are likely to have more than one can.”
The cans will be available in flavours like lime and soda and ginger to appeal as an alcohol mixer or healthy, soft drink alternative for adults – a market segment he said has seen little innovation.
“We're going to market it in a way that it provides the nutrition that alcohol takes away but also offering a hydrating alternative to alcohol. We're aiming for Red Bull in terms of versatility and Fever Tree in terms of premium.”
Through the can launch, Ingham said Rejuvenation should also be able to springboard into mainland Europe and Scandinavia because of a two-year shelf life and lower production costs.
Asked if the US and Asia would follow, he said: “I don't want to scrape the market. We're continuing our trajectory and assessing the local markets at the moment and we could really do with developing the UK market more. We've been given this opportunity where we've just started launching into all the UK retailers and we want to use this as a domino effect to effectively market the brand.”
Messaging? People understand hydration and protein
Ingham said Rejuvenation now positions itself as a 'hydration plus' beverage that contains protein, rather than an amino acid water because the science behind the compound “loses a lot of audience”.
“People understand protein and hydration. We're effectively ringing those two together and people much more understand the benefits of staying hydrated, from a mental and physical capacity, as well as the need for protein in their diet.”
This, he said, is one reason the company won't be investing time in building studies or working towards a health claim any time soon.
“I don't really want to go too far down the health claim thing because then we almost become a medicinal product. I'm quite happy where the brand sits already. If we talk too much about the science and benefits you lose a portion of the market.”
Compared to ten years ago, brands like Rejuvenation are appealing to a very different consumer, he said - one able to research and investigate concepts autonomously. “There's already a considerable amount of research out there on amino acids. It doesn't take much for consumers to find out about it.”
