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The Cola that Always Promises a Jolt
Posted by Failed Success on 04/18/06 at 12:30 PM
Throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s, Jolt Cola became a cult classic in the world of caffeinated cola. Featuring twice as much caffeine as Coke, it was an incredibly potent energy drink.
Jolt became insanely popular among gamers, computer programmers, and pretty much anyone who needed to stay awake throughout the night. So where did it disappear to all those years, and why is it back?
Jolt was on top of the world in the last decade. Just ask fans of the movie “Hackers”, or the countless teenagers who wallpapered their walls with Jolt wrappers. Who could possibly resist a soft drink that featured as much caffeine as a strong cup of coffee? As we entered into a new century, Jolt Cola seemed to drop off the radar as the market became saturated with all sorts of new energy drinks and upgraded soft drinks. What was once Jolt’s bold new territory of too much caffeine and angry parents was now relatively commonplace. Jolt became extremely hard to find in stores and even a website dedicated to helping Jolt Cola fanatics find their fix was created. The Jolt Cola Company (now Wet Planet Beverages) had lost their footing in this profitable new market they had helped to bring about. So how do you bring your product back from obscurity and place it back on its former pedestal?
The can is described as a remarkable combination of the right designs, the right innovations, and the right manufacturers meeting at the right time. Experts say aluminum cans get colder faster, keep carbonation longer and are easier to recycle. The Battery Bottle also has a “power gauge” that changes color when chilled and illustrates how much liquid is left. According to Jolt representatives, the response to the bottle has been beyond expectations. Sales have doubled since the Battery Bottle hit the market last year, encouraging the company to go further with its marketing plan. In addition to this new container technology, Jolt is offering up new flavors including cherry, blue raspberry, lemon-lime, and others to help compete with energy drinks that currently saturate the market. But it’s not just the flavors that Jolt wants to push. The company’s approach, says founder C.J. Rapp, is to remind consumers about what got them interested in Jolt in the first place — the caffeine.
“There is likely an upper limit to the number of drinks that can survive the competition”, said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest, an industry trade publication in Westchester County. “There is room for more,” he said, “but not many more. The beverage graveyard will be littered with failed energy drinks.” Jolt’s advantage, he said, is its prior reputation. In many ways, Jolt was “ahead of its time,” Sicher said. In the meantime, Jolt continues to believe that very soon young people will once again be decorating their rooms in Jolt Cola logos and “Battery Bottles” Further Reading:
- Jolt Cola’s Official Website
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Once a cult favorite, Jolt Cola looks to use new flavors and technologies to regain their status as the ultimate in alternative cola
Jolt Cola hopes to accomplish this feat with a radical new can design and a whole new array of flavors. The new can design is known as “The Battery Bottle”. The Battery Bottle relaunch of Jolt introduces the industry’s first resealable 23.5-oz. aluminum container into the marketplace.
So can Jolt reclaim their former status in this high power beverage market? The demand for high impact drinks is not expected to weaken anytime soon, but competition will remain high, analysts say. Besides the Coke and Pepsi products, the energy drink category includes popular independent brands such as Monster and Rockstar. New to market are energy-infused waters and juices.