Ol' Glory in Oklahoma

MERCHANDISING PRICE POINT DRIVES SALES

Prior to American Beverage acquiring the exclusive national distribution rights for Ol’ Glory, the brand established its initial success through the work of Capital Distributing, a MillerCoors distributor serving the Oklahoma City metro market. Capital gained the rights to distribute Ol’ Glory in May, 2008 and the brand has steadily grown each month, averaging over 4,000 case sales per month.

Capital Distributing management had previous experience selling energy drinks and knew to target convenience stores due to their strong single serve volume for “ to go” customers. Capital’s sales team was diligent about getting two 16-oz can single serve facings in C-store coolers and merchandising them with static stickers. These stickers highlighted the $.99 price point which is on the front label of each can. “Retailers like the fact that the package communicates clearly to the value shopper a very attractive price point of 99 cents,” noted Rick Higginson, VP of Sales & Marketing at Capital Distributing.

OL' GLORY #1 IN 7-ELEVEN

In fact, the $.99 price point played a key role in attracting new customers enough to make the Ol’ Glory 16-oz single can the best selling energy drink item in the 108 7-Eleven stores in the metro Oklahoma City market. Gordon Green, Capital Distributing’s General Manager, observed that “We can appeal to the drinker who wants to be able to purchase two 16 oz cans for two bucks versus spending that, or more, for only one serving of the other leading energy drinks.”

Capital also expanded Ol’ Glory distribution into grocery stores, where there was greater retail interest in the higher dollar ring on the Ol’ Glory 16-oz 4-pack. Typically priced at $3.89 versus Red Bull’s price of a similar 4-pack at $7.99, grocery retailers, similar to their C-store counter parts, liked the fact they could offer the value-minded customers a smooth tasting, high quality energy drink at a substantial savings.

WIDE APPEAL FOR OL' GLORY

Ol’ Glory continues to grow with double-digit increases in metro Oklahoma City and will also launch a sugar-free version in early Fall ‘09 due to requests from retail customers responding to consumer demand. It’s clear that the value pricing has appealed to a broader audience of energy drinkers beyond the more typical 18 to 25 age group common among energy drinkers. However, equally important to Ol’ Glory’s value pricing is the smooth taste that has built a loyal following in Oklahoma and bodes well for Ol’ Glory’s success in other markets as well.