Hard coconut water maker Sunboy won the 14th edition of Brewbound’s Pitch Slam competition, presented by Ollie, a Next Glass company.
New York City-based Sunboy bested five other finalists before a panel of industry experts to claim the top spot. Finalists included High Seas Mead, Primary Colors Brewing, RationAle Brewing, Rincon Reservation Road Brewery and Shoal Draft Cider. They were selected from a semifinal round on Tuesday, in which 12 entrepreneurs delivered two-minute pitches about their brands.
In a four-minute pitch, co-founder Yair Tygiel told the story of his brand’s founding, which began with a custom method to brand coconuts for beverage companies for experiential marketing events in New York City prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When those events stopped for the pandemic, we took everything we knew about coconut sourcing and coconut cocktails and we canned it,” Tygiel said. “Sunboy hits on all of the biggest trends: ready-to-drink, better-for-you, lower sugar and lower alcohol.
“We’re not allowed to make any explicit health claims, but we really don’t have to,” he continued. “Consumers understand that coconut water is hydrating, it’s healthy. It’s what they reach for in the morning when they’re feeling hungover.”
Sunboy is available in three flavors: passion fruit, tangerine, and pineapple. Each 12 oz. slim can checks in at 5% ABV and contains 130 calories, and 3 grams of sugar.
Before Sunboy’s co-founders developed the coconut-branding machine that eventually introduced them to beverage-alcohol brands such as Bacardi and Ciroc, they were serving drinks in coconuts at events in New York City and found that coconuts often brought smiles to partygoers’ faces.
“Just about everyone has the same positive emotional connection to coconuts that we do,” Tygiel said. “They remind people of vacations or their tropical home countries. They’re social – people connect over them, and they’re amazing conversation starters.”
Sunboy launched in 2021 and is in more than 100 retail accounts in New York, including Whole Foods Market. The brand is looking to expand to strong chain markets such as Florida, Georgia and Ohio, Tygiel said.
“Choosing retail targets is easy for us,” he said. “One of our off-premise cheats is to target accounts that already sell a lot of coconut water. We know our customers are there, and it’s easy for us to sell a 4-pack of Sunboy for $10.99 when consumers are used to paying $6 for a single bottle of coconut water in the same store.”
In addition to the cold box, Sunboy targets other sections, such as produce, which creates cross-merchandising opportunities. Out-of-section displays potentially attract the attention of shoppers who weren’t originally looking for beer, generating incremental purchases.
“If a buyer can’t make space for us in the beer fridge, we turn to the produce section and we create these really powerful displays alongside the coconuts, the pineapples and the tangerines,” Tygiel said.
Sunboy’s prize for winning Pitch Slam 14 includes an advertising package valued at $10,000, a 12-month subscription to Untappd for Business and free registration to Brewbound Live Winter 2023.
Judges included Ryan Lake, director at Arlington Capital Advisors; Jessica Muskey, VP of craft and innovation at the Reyes Beer Division; Jamie Wideman, VP of innovation for North America at Molson Coors; and Rich Bloomfield, co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based Funkytown Brewery, and the winner of the 2021 Brewbound Pitch Slam Competition.
Past winners of Brewbound’s Pitch Slam competition include: Funkytown Brewery, Lunar Hard Seltzer, Crowns and Hops, Wilie’s Superbrew, Novo Brazil Brewing, Armada Brewing, Border X Brewing, Hopewell Brewing, Wynwood Brewing Company, Braxton Brewing Company, CODA Brewing, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, and 5 Stones Brewing.