SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – LIFEAID Beverage Company, the range of function-driven and nutrition-focused products popular with performance-conscious consumers, achieved significant business and brand-building milestones in 2018. LIFEAID enters 2019 in an exceptional position to become a recognized leader in the functional beverage category, health and wellness supplements and the emerging category of nootropics.
Increased 2019 Distribution at Walmart
LIFEAID started selling in approximately 400 Walmart stores in 2018, merchandised next to enhanced water brands. This year, the number of Walmart stores carrying LIFEAID will increase ten-fold, with the LIFEAID SKUs FitAid, FocusAid and the recently launched ImmunityAid selling in the retailer’s newly-planned ‘functional beverage’ section. According to LIFEAID co-founder and CEO Orion Melehan, “Consumers are actively looking for functional benefits in whatever they drink, and this is an excellent opportunity for brands like LIFEAID to connect with more performance-driven consumers across the U.S.”
Strategic Innovation: ImmunityAid and FocusAid
The range of LIFEAID products always emphasizes innovation – through thoughtful ingredient selection and formulation. In October 2018, the brand introduced ImmunityAid, a health and wellness-focused product created to help combat the negative effects of flu season. Upon launch, ImmunityAid became an instant success, and in 2019 will enjoy increased availability in approximately 8,500 retailers nationwide.
FocusAid, the LIFEAID brand’s ‘brain food’ nootropic product, has become increasingly popular as an alternative to coffee and energy drinks, is a top-selling SKU for LIFEAID and is becoming one of the best-selling nootropic products at retail, with sales of FocusAid up 162 percent in 2018.
Overall Retail Growth
LIFEAID launched in 2011 solely on e-commerce and did not enter retail doors until 2015, making its 169 percent retail growth in 2018 even more impressive. By the end of last year, the LIFEAID brand was available in approximately 8,000 retail doors including Kroger, Whole Foods Market, HEB, CVS, Sprouts and GNC.
In 2019, the brand will triple its total retail doors to over 18,000.
At Kroger, availability of LIFEAID beverages will increase from three divisions of the grocery chain to 15 divisions. Sales of LIFEAID at Kroger affiliate Safeway increased 350 percent vs. a year ago. In premium grocery chain Whole Foods, LIFEAID is the number three best-selling natural “energy drink.” Per SPINS, LIFEAID sales growth is up 169 percent for the full 2018 year.
Direct Store Distribution (DSD) Network
As part of the brand’s multichannel sales model, the LIFEAID senior leadership team is concentrating on increasing the brand’s DSD network along the West Coast, in Utah and in Southern Nevada. “We expect to have our West Coast DSD network fully in place by the end of 2019,” states CEO Melehan, “and will replicate a similar DSD architecture across the country starting in 2020.”
LIFEAID co-founder and president Aaron Hinde adds, “Our 2019 success will be based on adding a strategic mix of retail partners that increase our availability in key markets and also help build the LIFEAID brand through forward-thinking retail programming. While we remain dedicated to the consumer convenience of e-commerce and enjoy an increasing D2C online business, grocery and convenience stores represent extraordinary growth opportunities. Our innovation pipeline is robust, and LIFEAID is meeting existing, and identifying new, consumer need-states that inform the creation of our functional line. We’re excited about this upcoming year and what it means for our brand and the category of functional beverage.”
About LIFEAID
With a focus on great-tasting, wellness-enhancing and solutions-driven supplements that can be enjoyed as a drink, LIFEAID Beverage Co. has become a leading brand among health- and performance-conscious consumers. LIFEAID offers a range of beverages that meet popular consumer need-states including: FitAid, FocusAid, LifeAid, GolferAid, PartyAid and the newly launched ImmunityAid. Since founding LIFEAID Beverage Co. in 2011, Orion Melehan and Aaron Hinde have built the brand into a thriving consumer-focused business and wellness movement that is a standout on e-comm and social media, and one of the most dynamic brands at retail in the US and 20 other countries.
Visit lifeaidbevco.com for more information about the brand, or to shop the entire lineup of their clean nutritional blends to fit your active lifestyle.
Source: Press Release on BevNet.com - Jan. 25, 2019 at 2:30 pm
Top photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon
