Coca-Cola is giving the Powerade brand its first update in more than a decade and Shane Grant, President of the Still Beverage Division told Cheddar the time is ripe for change.
“What we’ve seen, really, in the sports trend market is some pretty fast evolution,” said Grant, adding, ”What we’ve seen is traditional core-sports drinks serving, what we think, is probably only a third of what we call ‘sweat moments.’”
Two of the new products will be called Powerade Power Water and Powerade Ultra. The company created the new sugar-free products as market research showed casual athletes are seeking out zero-calorie, water-based drinks.
The drinks will also feature shelf-stabilized creatine, which is supposed to provide energy to muscles. “Our data would show almost 70 percent of sports-drink users use some kind of supplement,” said Grant while noting that creatine use is growing at a high rate.
Grant told Cheddar there has been “pretty fast growth in casual athletic pursuit -- everything from running, jogging, CrossFit, to maybe biking.” He called that a “divergence of sweat moments.” Coupled with growth in what Grant called “high end, more endurance, more intense athletic activity,” Powerade saw an opportunity to create sports drinks to serve every type of user.
He believes the field will continue to grow as people become more active and Powerade hopes to play into that growth, deploying more marketing in 2020 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
