We are in the final stretches of Holiday season and for me it is a triple threat with Xmas, my birday and then new years. During this time we are also trying to get a new label redesign and gear up for our next order.

This next year is going to really determine the state of this company. I don't mean that as a bad thing, but year 2 is where some expansion happens and really begins to test our ability to adapt to things going very wrong and very right. It should be interesting.

We have been sampling like madmen and its really starting to pay off around the area. The past month saw us at the mall every weekend for 8 hours stints to meet and greet as many holiday shoppers as possible. The next one will be all the new gym goers trying to shed off those holiday pounds. So look for us at your neighborhood gyms and other indoor athletic facilities during January!

Something I noticed with the sampling is I feel like we are doing some arts and crafts projects whenever we set up. We have our little easel and poster board, a pretty table cloth, a video for the table, a nice polo, a cooler of cold drinks and a mountain of Dixie cups sporting daisies and lady bugs; neither of which seem aware of the fact that old man frost is chillin' outside.

It always brings a smile to my face when I catch myself tripping over my words trying to explain this sweet sweet new beverage to people for the unteen thousandth time and forgetting if I told this person all of the important information yet.

I get to see people light up over the new local start up, love the tangerine, hate the tangerine, pick apart any detail imaginable, ask about low calorie, if we are getting new flavors, are we in wegmans/tops, drop names and locations we should contact and just as quickly disappear back to what they were doing.

Mike just got back from a brief trip in Florida. Scottie is keeping us from going bankrupt while still juggling his other job. The new guy Pat is working his butt off, and I am signing off on this post... unfortunately I have work to do.

So for now good morning world. If I don't see you again, good afternoon and goodnight.

-J

Picture Blog: Dirty faces, Sparkling clutch

A few weeks ago we had a minor setback. The speedy delivery mobile (RX7) couldn't deliver any more cases without a new clutch. Being a startup, we like to save money were we can, so Scott and I gathered some tools and about 30hours of time and got to work...

This note is mainly pictures. Long story short, we had to put the car up on blocks and remove the transmission and drive shaft just to get to the clutch! Those chimney cleaner good looking guys are me and Scottie.

The job was not easy, luckily the car ran great after we finished!

No drinks were harmed in the production of this blog
-Mike

PS. The circular thing with gear teeth around it is called the flywheel. The engine is connected to the flywheel, the flywheel is connected to the clutch, and the clutch is connected to the transmission, which drives the wheels! (in case you're interested :) ). If you look hard on the second to last picture you can see the turbo to the top right of the flywheel.

Athlete tested, Santa approved

So its snowing up here, FINALLY. I love the winter and don't want to hear any complaints, you can move to Florida. I am so pumped about some snowboarding and flying around like a baboon on the mountain. Since we are talking about that, we just landed a sale at Bristol a few days ago! So now you can feel refreshed, hydrated and mentally perky all day long while you fly down the bunny hill indiscriminately crushing those in your way (we are not held liable for any damages). We are pursuing the other mountains as well so you won't be limited to where you can get Vital Energy on the slopes.

We have been talking to a few local companies to get some cross promotions going including a clothing line and a local skiing/snowboarding company. We are having to really branch out during the winter due to slower cold drink sales. Most people don't want to be enjoying an ice cold Vital Energy while they are pumping gas in -20 degree winds... doesn't work that well. Although you can serve up a hot tangerine Vital Energy with a slice of orange in a mug and see how that goes.

With winter break coming up our big sellers are going to be out of commission for a few weeks. I am referring to colleges of course. To compensate we have been focusing hard on gyms and indoor athletics. We are still sampling at any store where space is available for us to do so and people are starting to recognize us... its kind of a nice feeling. Definitely makes sales easier and when we are sampling people are more open to talking with us about it.

On sampling, we killed it at Marketplace Mall. We set up 2 tables, one near the food court and one near Santa's photo booth where there is high traffic. We sampled hundreds of people and talked to even more... we couldn't have asked for better promotion. After a while I decided I needed to get a photo with Santa and see if he enjoyed our beverage.

I guess christmas came early for Santa!

-J