功能饮料Monster生产商改名的学问

    随后，在2002年，Hansen's创立了Monster业务。据晨星（Morningstar）10月份发布的分析师报告称，该公司的饮料产品收入已从2003年的5,000万美元飙升至2011年的17亿美元。收入激增全都归功于Monster。因此，当今年1月，Hansen's Natural宣布将更名为Monster Beverage时，分析师们也为之喝彩。这完全是出于财务考虑——公司希望更贴近创收主力品牌。

    但Monster也带来了大风险。功能饮料属于营养保健品（不属食品），不归美国食品与药物管理局（FDA）管辖。这样的监管状况或缺乏监管的状况短期内看来不会改变，但分析师们将此视为一项行业风险。眼下看来，Monster Beverage不再躲在Hansen's大旗下悄悄捞进Monster利润，而是扛起能量饮料品牌大旗，似乎是明智之举。

    但如果将来能量饮料被归入食品和饮料类产品，Monster或许会面临它作为一家果汁和天然苏打水公司时从来都不会遇到的难题。既然更名为Monster的转换已经完成，现在已经没有回头路了。

    Then, in 2002, Hansen's created a Monster. The company's revenue from drink products skyrocketed from $50 million in 2003 to $1.7 billion in 2011, according to an October analyst report from Morningstar. The jump was all thanks to Monster. So analysts cheered when this January, Hansen's Natural announced that it would change its name to Monster Beverage. There's a pure financial angle here – the company wanted to identify closest with the brand that generated the bulk of its revenue.

    But Monster also generates the bulk of the risk. Energy drinks aren't considered food but dietary supplements, which aren't regulated by the FDA. The regulation situation, or lack thereof, doesn't look like it will change in the near future, but analysts do consider it an industry risk. For now, Monster Beverage seems smart to capitalize on the brand strength of its spooky neon energy drink instead of quietly raking in Monster profits under a Hansen's umbrella.

    Yet, should energy drinks ever shuffle into the food and drink category, Monster may have a problem on its hands that a fruit-juice and natural soda company never would have faced. And now that the transformation to Monster is complete, there's no going back.