Thunder only happens when it rains … and at BeatBox, it’s raining Cranberry Dreams.
BeatBox Beverages, a Future Proof brand that creates wine-based punch, has partnered with viral TikTok star Nathan Apodaca (aka DoggFace) for a new flavor release. Cranberry Dreams, an 11% ABV cranberry-raspberry drink, will launch nationwide on June 20.
The new flavor will be the first nationwide launch by BeatBox, thanks to a deal with the supermarket chain Kroger, which will stock the product at 1,300 locations. The collaboration will also be available at Circle K locations, and through BeatBox’s existing distribution partners.
Apodaca gained fame last September when he posted a TikTok video of himself leisurely skateboarding down the street, drinking a bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry-raspberry juice, and lip synching to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” The video garnered more than 51 million views and nine million likes in just a month, and the virality caused “Dreams” to re-enter the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 21 in October, landing on the chart for the first time since 1977, according to Billboard.
Around the same time, BeatBox was looking to launch its #BeatBoring campaign to spread positivity with consumers battling isolation caused by COVID-19 and came across Apodaca’s video.
“We watched it and were just like this is the exact vibe of BeatBox; this is the exact reason we started. It was making the best of the situation, having fun, he’s just enjoying it,” Brad Schultz, BeatBox co-founder and Future Proof CMO, told Brewbound. “It was the exact kind of energy we were trying to convey and channel.”
BeatBox investor Zech Francis, CEO and founder of Society Industries, coordinated talks between BeatBox and Apodaca, leading to the creation of Cranberry Dreams.
“To help everybody smile daily is what helps me in life knowing I brought someone happiness for even a couple [seconds] is dope and mind blowing,” Apodaca said in a written statement to Brewbound. “I know my new Cranberry Dreams flavor is going to bring a lot of smiles to a lot of people, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Apodaca will be making appearances at events and music festivals, interacting with consumers. BeatBox’s first music festival return since COVID-19 will be in July at Rolling Loud in Miami.
The “modern celebrity” collaboration is in line with BeatBox’s mission to market to millennials and younger generations. The company launched in 2011, but gained fame in 2014 when Schultz and co-founders Justin Fenchel and Aimy Steadman appeared on “Shark Tank,” earning a $1 million investment from Mark Cuban.
“This was started by millennials, partiers, people that were going to music festivals, people that were engaging in this,” Schultz said. He emphasized BeatBox’s goal to create partnerships with collaborators, rather than just slapping their name on advertising.
“I think consumers see through the big corporate deals,” he continued. “You see this alignment of influencers and celebrities and you wonder, are they really fans of that brand, or are they just getting paid a lot of money?”
In other Future Proof news, the company is coming off a settled lawsuit against Molson Coors over the beer manufacturer’s Vizzy Hard Seltzer. Future Proof sued Molson Coors in February 2020, alleging trademark infringement, saying Vizzy was “nearly identical” to Future Proof’s own hard seltzer brand, Brizzy.
The two company’s reached a settlement on June 2. Brizzy will no longer be made or marketed under terms of the settlement, but according to Schultz and Fenchel, focusing on BeatBox right now instead of balancing multiple brands was necessary anyway.
“A big thing that came out of [the pandemic] was the need to focus,” Schultz said. “If you think about where we were two years ago, we had multiple brands that we were launching as Future Proof and with the pandemic, we said, ‘There’s no sampling opportunities. There’s no on-premise activity,’ it’s very difficult to launch a new brand at that time. … So we quadrupled-down on BeatBox as a brand, and it paid dividends.”
BeatBox’s biggest challenges now are keeping up with demand and increasing distribution, according to Fenchel, who also serves as Future Proof’s CEO. In the past 90 days, BeatBox serviced 14,000 of the 250,000 off-premise wine license accounts in the country, Fenchel said.
“We’re only in such a small percentage of the account universe and the customers are beating down the doors to get it, so it’d just be crazy not to just focus [on BeatBox],” Schultz said.
“I’d say the number one issue our customers have on social media is ‘there’s not a place within 20 miles of me, there’s not a place within 50 miles of me, where can I get this, I can’t find it anywhere.’ That’s on us and our sales team to get more distribution in the U.S.,” Fenchel added.
To help facilitate new markets, BeatBox added four people to its sales team, funded by a crowdfunding campaign launched in October via Wefunder. The campaign raised $1.5 million from 18,000 investors. Fenchel said the money will also go to increasing BeatBox production.
“We had other investors and these investors put in, but the opportunity to bring the fans and consumers into the fold — we think of them now as extended brand ambassadors, and are sharing and bringing [BeatBox] to their parties and barbecues — it’s right into how we market,” said Schultz.
In the next 12 months, Fenchel said he hopes to have BeatBox available in New York, Massachusetts, and the rest of the Northeast, as well as Hawaii. Additionally, he has started talks with international distributors to have BeatBox available globally early next year.
“We said from Day One, we want to be the Red Bull of the alcohol industry, and we finally have the right product mix, team, the marketing, the awareness and the cash position to go out and see that through,” Fenchel said.
BeatBox’s goal is to ship one million cases to wholesalers in 2021, up 200% from 2020, according to Fenchel. Beatbox has already surpassed last year’s depletion and revenue numbers. In the last year, BeatBox has expanded distribution to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Montana, Colorado, and Minnesota.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Fenchel said. “What makes it more exciting though is that it’s not just because we opened up a lot of new markets … but our rate of sale is up about 40% year-over-year. Every store we’re at is selling a lot more.”
Even as Future Proof zeroes in its focus, the company is exploring new BeatBox offerings. In April, Beatbox launched a zero-sugar, 6% ABV line in Pennsylvania. The initial rate of sale has been 50% higher in the past two months than the sale of BeatBox’s regular product, without taking away sales from the 11% ABV line, according to Fenchel.
Future Proof will also launch a limited 6-pack Beatbox variety pack in Texas later this year, featuring one each of existing hard punch flavors (Peach Punch, Blue Razzberry, Fresh Watermelon, Fruit Punch, Tropical Punch, and Pink Lemonade). The variety pack is the company’s No. 1 requested item, Schultz said.
“When it comes to innovation, we’re not going to throw a bunch of stuff at the wall, we’re gonna be really purposeful,” he said “Part of our mission too is to be a good partner to wholesalers and retailers and that means being mindful about what you’re launching.”
“Fighting against companies like Anheuser-Busch that are launching 1,000 new SKUs, Boston Beer Company launching 1,000 new SKUs at our wholesalers, the reality is that those guys are going to get a little more — a lot more — of the focus and priority,” Fenchel said. “So how do we communicate and effectively manage the wholesaler network so that they really understand what’s happening on the ground level in both the sales, the marketing, the morality and the fun nature of the brand?”
“Eventually you make enough noise that they can’t ignore you anymore,” he concluded.