A year and a half ago, in January 2023, I reported on a new product series of drinks from Swiss beverage manufacturer Rivella. With its three energy drinks Mate, Guayusa and Cascara EnerTea, the company was breaking new ground in every respect in terms of corporate strategy.
As I check in from time to time to see how the products that I report on are developing, I recently noticed that the excellently designed EnerTea website, which was aimed at a younger clientele, was no longer online, whereas the EnerTeas were still available at many retailers. This indicated that the EnerTeas may have been discontinued and retailers were selling off their remaining stock. Speculation is all well and nice, but to find out for sure I wrote to Rivella. Here is the reply that I received today:
Hello Mr. Langenbahn
Thank you for your inquiry dated June 18, 2024.
Unfortunately, we have to confirm your assumption. The bottles you find in stores are effectively leftover stock.
The concept of ENERTEA by Rivella has received sensational ratings in market research and the brand was also seen by consumers as an exciting alternative to existing products on the market. However, the product did not fully meet the taste of the broad target group in terms of its recipe - it was too polarizing and therefore a niche product. The product also required a lot of explanation due to the newly created category. As all the caffeine comes from the plant and nothing is added, the product is a little more bitter than the competition. This has won some fans, but this was enough.
We are sorry to no longer be able to offer you ENERTEA and thank you for your support of ENERTEA.
With refreshing greetings
....
What does this tell us? It tells us:
- The results of market research are not necessarily congruent with product acceptance. Desire and reality on the consumer side can diverge.
- New, and especially upcycled products, have an increased need for information and education
- Tastes matters!
The experience that Rivella has had with its EnerTea series is not an isolated case. I hope that anyone who brings upcycled coffee by-products on the market, be it a food product or food ingredient, will gradually have to pay less dearly (ideally not at all), and that a stable market for this kind of products can be established in the near future.
