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Comstock’s, October 2007

When the Go Girl gets tough

By Rebecca Adler

Employees at Nor-Cal Beverage Co. in West Sacramento have gotten in touch with their feminine side, and it’s beginning to pay off.

In June, the company expanded its Go Girl energy-drink operation to include Hawaii and Nevada. The company looks to move into Washington, Oregon and Arizona next year.

Although the drink has been on the market less than two years, it has flourished because of Nor-Cal’s long-standing partnerships with distributors from its other brands.

“We’ve expanded quickly, but the demand is there,” says Gordon Guzenski, Go Girl brand manager. “The thing about a product created for women is that women do our marketing for us. Women will tell people when they like something, and they’ll say, ‘You have to try this.’”

In addition to expanding its current distribution area, Nor-Cal has been developing a second Go Girl beverage for women who are sensitive to caffeine. The brand extension will begin its test market this month. The Go Girl energy drink is sugar-free, but contains 150 mg of caffeine, almost double the amount in a cup of coffee. Some experts say it may be too much for pregnant women and children.

“We’re not really sure what effect caffeine has on pregnant women, but it’s not recommended,” says Dr. Liz Applegate, director of sports nutrition at UC Davis.
Applegate also recommends that breast-feeding women not overindulge in caffeine, unless they want their babies to be wide-awake at 11 p.m.

Aside from the caffeine, Applegate doesn’t see any glaring reason not to consume energy drinks. But she does recommend drinking them in moderation.

“Energy drinks are a supplement that don’t contain many nutrients,” she says. “If women are replacing healthier drinks, like milk, with an energy drink it could have a negative effect on their health. But if they normally drink soda with their lunch than this would be a step up.”

But energy drinks are the fastest-growing segment in the beverage industry, according to Beverage Digest. For the past two years, energy drinks have been holding up the carbonated soft drinks category, which would be down 1.5 percent instead of the current -.6 percent if not for energy drinks.

The market for female drinkers is becoming just as competitive as the overall energy-drink market. In February 2006, Coca-Cola entered the arena with its pink-labeled TaB Energy drink; Phoenix Global Group, makers of the Vegas Energy Drink, has gone all pink with its Pink Energy Drink; and Damzl Inc. has released Damzl Fuel, an energy drink that’s “not for dudes.”

A 2006 study by Simmons Research shows that the number of teenage girls consuming energy drinks more than doubled from 14 percent in 2003 to 34 percent last year.

Red Bull held 65 percent of the market until 2002. In recent years it’s been losing market share as more energy drinks flood the market. Still, none compare to the energy drink that defined the market. The other top ten companies combined make up less than half the market, while Red Bull was holding at 42.6 percent earlier this year.

Nor-Cal was vague about its market share and revenues. However, the company donates 25 cents per Go Girl case for breast cancer. In 2006, Go Girl generated $25,000 for the cause and hopes to double that amount this year.

“We wanted to do something positive with this product, not just make another energy drink,” says Guzenski. “Part of that was donating to breast cancer from the very first case. It’s a disease that women are concerned about, so it was an easy choice for us to get involved with.”

But it’s not just the pink label and breast cancer donations that make women buy this drink. The beverage’s appeal lies in its lack of sugar, low calorie count and appetite suppressant. And don’t forget the taste.

“One of the drink’s biggest successes is its taste profile,” says Guzenski. “We’ve gotten hundreds of letters from women thanking us for making an energy drink that tastes good.”

Most energy drinks are known for a medicinal flavor, something Go Girl executives worried about when they wanted to make their drink taste good.

“We thought maybe people were paying $2 and $3 a can because of the medicine flavor. We thought maybe it made them feel like it was really working,” Guzenski says, “But the Go Girl flavor has actually been one of the most successful parts of the product.”

Although the taste is difficult to identify — consumers have described it as tasting like strawberry soda, starbursts and even bubble gum — it definitely doesn’t taste like medicine.

Nor-Cal Beverage has also embraced everything women love as they’ve created the “Go Girl Sorority,” Guzenski says.

As part of its grassroots marketing campaign, Go Girl attends a number of charitable events, mostly for breast cancer, sometimes even taking along its Go Girl Lounge.

The lounge consists of white furniture and a pink Go Girl bar, where ladies can sip their pink Go Girl energy drink out of a martini glass while waiting for a manicure — in Go Girl pink, of course.