The packaged beverage category may be one of the most innovative in convenience stores. In it, there's the explosion of several new segments, including energy drinks and shots, flavored and functional water, private label products, enhanced beverages, ready-to-drink teas and more.
As this category continues to grow, it is inevitable that there will be some new product success stories, and some that -- despite significant market research and hefty promotional budgets -- fall flat. And then there's the small beverage companies that are vying for space in the cooler, and those that offer some interesting, if not unusual items -- remember the energy drink Cocaine? And there was the equally offensive "Green Card" energy drink; the anti-energy relaxation beverages Malava Relax and drank; and many, many more.
And as the editor at CSNews who handles new product submissions and write-ups, I get bombarded with e-mails marketing the newest innovations for consumer packaged goods products that can be sold in the convenience store industry. So when a new product e-mail came across my inbox for something called MeatWater, I didn't immediately discard it.
The so-called product is called MeatWater, with the tagline "High Efficiency Survival Beverage," and is supposedly made by Liquid Innovation. It comes in bottles that look remarkably like VitaminWater. The press release I was sent included this promotional text for a new line called Wings:
"This is Liquid Innovation’s rapid response to the growing demand for convenient finger-food lifestyle replacement on the go.You’ll fly higher after one sip, and no need for wetnaps after you're done. Just recycle the bottle!"
Flavors for the product included BBQ Wings, Buffalo Wings and Pigs with Wings. The Web site for the product is DinnerInABottle.com, where visitors can explore the other MeatWater flavors, including Beef Jerky, Dirty Hot Dog and Peking Duck, among many others.
The Web site even states: "By drinking Meatwater you can cut down on exercising and eating time, and have more time to enjoy yourself."
Thankfully, it wasn't a virus-laden message, but I was surprised that, in the face of all these increasingly diverse packaged beverage introductions, I had to research the product to make sure it wasn't a fake. Which it was -- and that's a good thing, because I can't imagine that meat-flavored beverages would be very appetizing.
But you never know -- imagine how successful a meat snack/MeatWater cross-promotion could be?
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