As a record year draws to a close, pioneering organic energy drinks company GURU is pleased to see that it now holds close to 10% of the energy drinks market in Quebec, and close to 4% of the Canadian market1, making it the first organic certified beverage to rank among the major mainstream energy drinks in Canada.
GURU grew by a dazzling 52% in the last year in convenience store and gas stations, and 42% in grocery stores and pharmacies, according to a Nielsen2. The GURU brand now ranks fourth after Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar, which is an unprecedented achievement for an organic drink in North America. GURU attributes its success to the quality of its healthy ingredients, distribution strategy, and marketing, which sets it apart from the other energy drinks in the minds of consumers.
GURU is also on shelves in the US, in particular at Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Kroger and Safeway, as well as in certain 7-11 and independent convenience stores in California. It was in northern California in 2017, that GURU launched its successful US marketing push in convenience stores in an attempt to reproduce the tremendous Canadian experience. The original GURU is now the top-ranked organic energy drink flavour in the natural foods channel in the US according to Spins3. The company plans to take advantage of the shift towards healthier consumption habits to expand its market throughout California based on the same strategies that worked so well for it in Canada along with a direct to store (DSD) distribution network. In 2018, GURU posted an 86% increase in San Francisco’sBay Area and is the fastest growing of the top 15 energy drink brands4.
“These disruptive results demonstrate the tremendous potential of our unique organic brand against outdated artificial energy drinks,” indicated GURU Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Carl Goyette. “In North America, consumers are wary of the chemical ingredients in energy drinks sold by the big brands. GURU’s mission is to clean up that industry, which is seen as toxic, by offering a healthy solution to energy drink consumers. Now that we have achieved a strong presence in the Health channel and on the organic food shelves of grocery banners, we are looking for strategic partners to expand our distribution and marketing and break into the convenience & gas channels, just as we did successfully in Canada.”
GURU’s three types of products—Organic Energy, Lite Organic Energy and Organic Energy Water—are all made with organic botanical extracts. All GURU drinks are vegan, GMO-free and organic. GURU uses natural and organic sweeteners such as stevia extract and concentrated monk fruit juice, with organic green tea and organic guarana providing the natural caffeine.
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1 Mintel 2018 Energy Drinks, US, Canada report
2 Nielsen, QC 52 wks ending Sept 15th 2018
3 Spins: Health Channel, 52 wks ending Oct 7th, 2018
4 Spins: Energy & Other Functional beverages, SF/Oakland, CA – MULO 52wks ending Sept 4th 2018
Range of products:
GURU Organic Energy Drink
GURU Lite Organic Energy Drink
GURU Organic Energy Water (Lime, grapefruit or pomegranate)
