New York Press
June 17, 2003

GABRIELLA GERSHENSON

 

Nobody likes a gimmick. Right?
Like cliches, the sad truth behind gimmicks is that, while we’d like to avoid them, they proliferate precisely because we buy into them. So maybe the opposite is true and that everybody, like it or not, likes a gimmick?

There is no better place to spot a gimmick than on the shelf of your local deli. Examine the row of energy drinks, many of them sitting in special-sized holders affixed to the doors with suction cups. Beverages like Piranha, Herbn Love, KaBoom, Rush! and of course, the industry leader, Red Bull, speak to the shallow thrill seekers in us all. Are we more likely to choose based on the hyperbolic monikers? Or based on the names of exotic, healthy-sounding ingredients splashed across sleek cans? Novelty additives such as guarana extract, a derivative of a South American plant that contains more caffeine than coffee, or taurine, an amino acid that is touted as a de-stressor, enliven this stuff of dubious benefit. One version of Red Bull was banned in Canada, and another such beverage is being investigated in connection to two deaths in Sweden, yet energy drinks are selling like hot cakes.

What’s the appeal of the energy drink and why do new brands keep sprouting up? Dave Kreitzer, the cofounder of Olde Brooklyn Soda, will soon launch an urban lifestyle energy beverage called New York Minute. When he attempts to answer this question, Kreitzer avoids addressing the substance itself, which seems of tertiary importance to him. A relaxed middle-aged entrepreneur with white hair, blue eyes and a Long Island tan, Kreitzer belongs to the school of businessmen that speak more in terms of "concept" and "brand cache" than "product."

Kreitzer, who used New York City as the selling point with his first line of beverages and will do so with the second, has lots to say about New York the Brand: "If you go to Russia and show someone a picture of this bridge," he says, pointing to a rendering of the Brooklyn Bridge on a label of his Coney Island Creme Soda, "they’ll know which bridge it is. The Brooklyn Bridge is recognized throughout the world."

In all fairness, Kreitzer’s use of New York is inspired by a real love of the city–he grew up in Brooklyn and Queens and as a boy worked at his father’s candy and nut shop on Ludlow St.

Still, the commodification of New York is a clever thing, and the numbers show to what degree cleverness can pay. Olde Brooklyn Soda, which came about during the tail end of the boutique soda trend in 1998, saw a brisk business with a 500 percent swell in sales three years into its existence.

As much as New Yorkers may hate to admit it (since New York Minute is actually made in Missouri), the stuff just might follow in the footsteps of its bubbly predecessor. According to market research, the energy drink is now having its moment. The projected increase in the U.S. energy and sports drink market is more than 25 percent from 2002, seeing the industry rise to a $22.8 billion value in 2006. Although a tiny piece of that market belongs to energy–or "functional" drinks, as they are also called–small businesses like Kreitzer’s are fighting it out for a piece. With the nostalgia on the bottle, New York Minute just may succeed in convincing a whole lot of people that this city’s world-famous energy is actually in the can.