饮料行业生存法则

    并不是所有品牌都能有这么好的归宿。琼斯苏打饮料公司（Jones Soda）是红牛饮料（Red Bull）之外少数几家保持独立经营并不断发展的饮料公司之一。其实，2007年到2010年之间，琼斯苏打公司境况惨淡、收入停滞。2010年领导层变革之后，公司成功改善了分销策略。公司总裁及首席执行官比尔•梅森纳表示，要诀就是要生产独特的产品，而不只是使市场上再增添一种能量饮料或可乐而已。梅森纳加入该公司时，跟随他同时进入公司的是来自饮料公司Vitamin Water和SoBe的一批老员工，这两家公司已被可口可乐和百事可乐收购。

    他们的目标是巩固琼斯苏打饮料公司作为手工饮料企业的地位。该公司位于西雅图，有两大主营业务。MyJones是公司的单独瓶装个性化服务，消费者可通过公司网站上传家庭照片及信息来定制饮料。梅森纳表示，这项服务为公司贡献了总收入的8%左右。（该公司每年还定期通过全国性分销系统，销售印有消费者提供的约15,000张个人家庭照片的产品。）尽管公司的零售业务还不发达，但公司的整体在线销售额能够支撑起品牌发展。梅森纳预计，到2016年，公司年销售额将从去年的2,000千万美元增加至1亿美元以上。他说：“饮料增值服务领域不适合可口可乐和百事可乐这种巨头。”

    可口可乐和百事可乐在收购方面表现得相当积极。最近，他们又把目光投向了受热捧的饮料产品椰子汁。2009年，可口可乐公司购买了Zico饮料公司20%的股权，收购价未透露。差不多在同一时间，O.N.E.椰子汁公司与百事公司签署投资协议，希望利用百事的分销体系资源。尽管有着业内巨头的帮助，Zico公司在销售额上仍居次位，O.N.E.排名第三。排在首位的却是单枪匹马、孤军奋战的Vita Coco公司。该公司仅与软饮生产商Dr Pepper Snapple集团建立了合作关系，借用其分销渠道。随后，公司向麦当娜、黛咪•摩尔、马修•麦康纳、蕾哈娜等大牌明星寻求资本支持。该公司表示，收购仍然是一个可能的退出战略，但现在还不是时候。公司共同创始人迈克尔•科尔班称：“如果被大公司收购，就会丧失创业精神，而创业精神正是打造品牌的动力。”然而，对uFlavor公司来说，成功似乎没有别的道路可供选择。

    译者：李玫晓/汪皓

    All brands haven't fared so well. Besides Red Bull, Jones Soda Co. (JSDA) is one of few firms that has managed stay independent and growing. Hopes for Jones Soda were actually pretty glum between 2007 and 2010, with revenue stagnating. After a leadership switch in 2010, the company managed to improve its distribution tactics. The key, says President and CEO of Jones Soda Co. Bill Meissner, is to make a unique product, not just another energy drink or cola. When Meissner joined Jones Soda, he also brought with him a team of ex-Vitamin Water and SoBe veterans -- both firms that were acquired by Coke or Pepsi.

    The goal was to strengthen Jones's position as a craft soda company. The Seattle-based company has two key businesses. MyJones, the its individual bottle personalization service, allows customers to order beverages with a home photo and message on the label through the company's website. It makes up about 8% of the company's total revenue, Meissner says. (Jones also rotates about 15,000 personal home photo submissions from its customers in regular national distribution each year.) While the company is still underdeveloped in retail, its overall online sales have managed to carry the brand. Meissner estimates Jones will make more than $100 million in sales by 2016, up from $20 million last year. "Premium soda just isn't a category big players like Coke and Pepsi can do well," Meissner says.

    Coke and Pepsi have been aggressive about acquisitions. Most recently, the companies have turned their sights to the latest beverage craze, coconut water. In 2009, Coke bought a 20% stake in Zico Beverages for an undisclosed amount. Around the same time, O.N.E. coconut water signed an investment agreement with Pepsi in exchange for use of the company's distribution arm. Despite the help of industry leaders, Zico is number two coconut water brand based on sales and O.N.E. is number three. The lone holdout? Vita Coco. Instead it partnered with the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) for distribution only. It then turned to stars like Madonna, Demi Moore, Matthew McConaughey, and Rihanna for capital. The company says acquisition is still a possible exit strategy -- just not yet. "When you're acquired by one of those big companies you lose a lot of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives and creates a brand," says co-founder Michael Kirban. For uFlavor, meanwhile, it seems like there aren't many different avenues to success.