A couple of breaths
later, and another bundle of joy, Nantucket Nectars, was dropped off (at
Snapple). Nantucket came into this world at an auspicious moment, when SBG
had finally managed to take stock of its well-stocked cupboard and produce
something on behalf of every dang one of its kids.
The connection is there in some form for
each brand, as much for Yoo-Hoo (whose summer promotions this year
include its loyalists pouring the chocolate elixir all over themselves
and rolling in sand and turning themselves into Yoo-Hoo Cutlets; maybe
fanatics is a better word) and it's true for the newest addition,
Nantucket Nectars.
Even though Nantucket, to the naked eye,
seems redundant to Snapple and Mistic as yet another fruit-heavy line,
the brainchild of Tom & Tom (it will continue to be run out of their
Cambridge, MA headquarters) fills a definite gap at SBG. There was no
100-percent juice capability, which is a void if you want to be the
premiere premium beverage supplier in the known universe. It helps that
Nantucket's, Mistic's and Snapple's top four fruit flavors are all
mutually exclusive--no overlap at all.
"Nantucket gives us entree into health
and wellness that we didn't have," says Belsito. "Look at our portfolio
now. There are very few things we don't think we can't address with our
current brands. A year ago, we couldn't have said that."
"We try not to Snappleize
all the different businesses," Sands says of the marketing tacks taken.
Partying bottles wouldn't necessarily work for Nantucket Nectars. But
getting new stuff--even if it's not Best Stuff--out the door is another
matter. The speed to market that became Snapple's priority under Triarc,
remains a fast fact of life.
"We bought Nantucket
Nectars," laughs Belsito, "walked in and said 'let's go. How come you
haven't done anything in the last 18 minutes?"' It's funny because it's
true. Nantucket, like Yoo-Hoo and Orangina before it, employed people with
ideas of their own, but their respective ownerships (Ocean Spray and
Pernod Ricard) had the brands on the block for a long time, thus,
according to Sands, inadvertently stifling the initiative pipeline. With
Snapple (and Cadbury) providing a home for these labels, ideas burst into
reality Within fewer than 90 days of the Nantucket purchase, there were
three new flavors on the market, including a very unique blueberry arrival
dubbed Maine Berry Punch.
The House of Snapple
Brand Share Of Volume
Snapple * 75%
Yoo-Hoo
8%
Mistic
7%
Nantucket Nectars 5%
Stewart's 4%
Orangina
1%
* Includes Elements, now positioned as a separate line.