Energy Brands Inc.
It’s all about being passionate and intense about what you do—and having fun at the same time.
“Integrating fun into the workplace has been key to my business’s success,” says Darius Bikoff, CEO of Energy Brands, the company that created the popular new enhanced waters, glacéau vitaminwater, and glacéau smartwater. “It’s all about being passionate and intense about what you do . . . And having fun at the same time.”
The label of the company’s new glacéau vitaminwater flavor, leadership lemon rooibos tea, perhaps sums up Bikoff’s leadership philosophy best:
If “revenge of the nerds” movies have shown us anything, it’s that corvette-driving, all-state quarterbacks with perfect bone structure, dandruff-free hair, and cheerleader girlfriends named Tiffany aren’t true leaders.
The real leaders are usually the dorky guys. The ones who were voted treasurer of the AV club, took their cousin to the prom, and spend most nights alone trying to watch the scrambled “nudie” channel.
Now if that’s the secret to success, no wonder a guy named Darius-is our president.
Darius continues, “In the mid-1990s, when I was developing the concept for glacéau vitaminwater, I decided that in addition to being the pioneer in the enhanced water category, I wanted to create a product that consumers like me could connect with based on a fresh, modern approach that would be engaging.
“I decided to integrate fun and humor into every aspect of the company and give the brand a personality, something that had never quite been seen before in consumer products.
“From the label copy, voice mail recording, Web site, and trade show booth to the messages spontaneously scrawled on the glass walls in the office, I encouraged irreverence to be contagious.
“Today, the brand personality comes from the entire team’s collective-feedback and is projected into one idiosyncratic voice that can be heard on everything from our point of sale materials to our sampling vehicles. For example, two of the newest glacéau vitaminwater stickers read: ‘Available in many colors, like a certain king of pop,’ and ‘How do you get the vitamins in the water? How do people get into Speedos?’
“While the sampling program GVWTV, for glacéau vitaminwater tasting vehicle, looks like a news truck, the crew, who are dressed like correspondents, enthusiastically spread the word about glacéau vitaminwater.
“This is symbolic of how glacéau vitaminwater overcame one of the greatest paradoxes in the beverage business—first by creating a product based on the science of healthy benefits while tasting great, and then by designing a somewhat clinical looking package that speaks a funny language. This adds an aesthetic to the brand, which is already considered by many experts to be the most elegant solution to the demand by modern consumers for healthier hydration options.
“Glacéau vitaminwater was the first brand to merge the obvious benefits of vitamins and water. The product was something I wanted for myself, and the big reward is that now millions of consumers every day let me know that I’m on the right track by buying a bottle.
“Glacéau vitaminwater resonates with so many people because it is intrinsically relevant to the healthier, more purposeful lifestyle we all lead. It simply makes perfectly good sense to choose a product that is low calorie, great tasting, and nutrient enhanced, in a package that is clean, modern, and straightforward with a personality that, at no additional cost, makes you laugh.
“I started in the business as a student. First of the biology of water, then of the beverage industry, and ultimately of my own brand. Now I am a teacher.
“I educate my team of over 450 people from across the country on a daily basis about the choice of being passionate and intense while having fun at the same time. In doing so, I hope to be following in the footsteps of other entrepreneurs before me who all redefined a category and achieved significant scale even in the face of extreme competition.
“For example, it wasn’t Maxwell House but Howard Schultz at Starbucks who made coffee experiential. It wasn’t IBM but Steve Jobs at Apple who made computers easier. And it wasn’t British Airways but Richard Branson at Virgin who made flying enjoyable.
“Even in a highly evolved industry like beverages, by focusing on consumers like myself, I was able to create an innovative product and redefine bottled water. And by adding a dose of my secret ingredient, fun, glacéau vitaminwater is achieving significant scale.”