Skinny Nutritional has established their Skinny Water® brand as a clear alternative to other products in the enhanced water space, with the only true zero calorie, sugar, carb, sodium, and preservative-containing beverage available. Skinny Water’s proprietary formulation of essential antioxidant agents, electrolytes, and the critical vitamins our bodies need in order to achieve optimal function, uses 100% natural flavors, no preservatives, no artificial colors, and only the best purified water.
With a wide selection of eight different great tastes to choose from, each designed for a specific function, like Hi-Energy – Acai Grape Blueberry (super charged with B vitamins and electrolytes), or a selection from the Sports line of Skinny Water beverages (the first zero-sodium sports drinks), like Fit – Blue Raspberry, SKNY has cleverly nailed the key demographic of their target market, health-conscious women (38 years old on average, tech-minded, and professional). The new age beverage segment has seen increasing momentum in recent years, with just about every beverage company getting into the game, but none of them has this kind of no-nonsense product composition, something that appeals directly to the more savvy consumers who typically make up the core consumer market.
The company has deftly constructed a network of some 50 domestic distributors (with three more internationally), today placing product on shelves at over 15k stores across the U.S., with the largest venues being CVS (around 7,000 locations) and Safeway (some 1,200 locations). The offering appeals directly to consumers who understand the alarming data brought forth in recent years by CDC and other sources, showing the extent to which the average American is nutrient deprived and thus has a much higher incident rate of disease/illness. In Skinny Water we have a fortified, extremely low-impact, great-tasting array of beverages that are really differentiated from all those other zero waters, and which provide a concentrated punch of the nutrients essential for a healthier lifestyle.
The incredible tastes of the different beverages have been an integral factor in the brand’s success. Derived from the natural flavors contained in fruits and vegetables, with just enough Sucralose and Ace-K (200 times sweeter than Sucralose) to sweeten the taste over threshold, products like Wake-up – Orange Cranberry Tangerine have become an instant favorite as a nutrient-rich kick to start the day. With healthy, delicious flavors colored by natural fruit and vegetable sources, like Shape – Goji Black Cherry, the product looks as good as it tastes, appealing to the olfactory memory of precisely the kind of active 30-something women in the core demographic who will be repeat buyers.
With 30 “Skinny” trademarks already under their belt, SKNY shows the prowess which has propelled the company to this point since emerging back in 2006-2008 (where the brand cut its teeth in the nation’s Target stores), constantly innovating down new product vectors, with offerings in development like Skinny Water – pure Hydration (pH+), designed from the ground up as a pure/crisp water, balanced for optimum alkalinity and infused with electrolytes, as well as the new Skinny Water – Naturally Sweetened, which has all of the same benefits as regular Skinny Water flavors, but with Skinny Sweet™ (a natural, zero-calorie, and proprietary sweetener). Also in the pipeline is another perfect concept (especially for the core market), a brand of low calorie, naturally sweetened SkinnyTinis™ (being a mix of the already great Skinny Water platform with Vodka and other ingredients), an exceptionally salutary alcoholic beverage that promises all the fun for half the calories.
But the ambition and innovation doesn’t stop at new product development for SKNY, the company continues to secure new logistical territory in addition to/in support of expansion of the beverage line. The company recently entered into an exclusive agreement with top global private label/contract manufacturing-focused beverage company (markets beverage concentrates in over 50 countries globally), Cott Corp. subsidiary, Cliffstar, solidifying chain store/regional distribution infrastructure expansion from 2011, and creating operational synergies across the entire spectrum, from production/procurement, through to shipping and inventory management. Similarly, the recent announcement of entry into a one-year partnership with leading global type 1 diabetes research organization, JDRF, that will help raise research money to battle type 1 diabetes, and also see SKNY providing on-site support for 12 of the Walk to Cure Diabetes events held around the country (also a great chance to impress the brand upon key markets), is a hallmark of how the company is positioning the brand well ahead of the constantly evolving market.
This strong emphasis on health, fitness, and community has served SKNY’s marketing initiatives very well and the company moved over 1M cases in 2010 alone, also raising some $15M in equity to date. It’s hard not to feel good about SKNY: great product and a great management team, including Founder, CEO, and Chairman, Michael Salaman, whose 20 years in the trenches of the industry developing and marketing new products makes the company’s new development channels exceptionally promising for investors to look at.
A national media campaign blitz, with keen focus on targeted print venues that are widely circulated among the target market, has also served SKNY well, and the execution of this campaign has included such engaging promotions as the “Skinny BEATS” Sweepstakes (promoted widely at Walgreens via posters and case displays), in addition to the copy/ads in major publications like Women’s Health, Shape, and People magazine.
For more information on Skinny Nutritional Corp., please visit the company’s website at: www.SkinnyWater.com
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