Last updated on March 25th, 2021 at 07:18 pm
KDP (Keurig Dr Pepper), headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the national distributor for Runa Clean Energy, an organic energy drink.
Runa Clean Energy is made from the guayusa leaf. Guayusa is a caffeine- and antioxidant-rich leaf from Ecuador that is an alternative to traditional sources of caffeine. The brewed leaf provides sustained energy, mental clarity and focus. Runa contains 150mg of natural caffeine from a single source and comes in a range of sweetened and zero-calorie, zero-sugar variants. The company was recently acquired by All Market Inc., the parent company of Vita Coco.
“Runa is a great product with a diehard following, and we’re confident that the brand can be a real challenger to conventional energy drinks. Through a very strong partnership with DPS and now KDP, we’ve built Vita Coco into one of the largest ‘better for you’ beverage brands in the country. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with KDP as we build Runa into the No. 1 natural energy drink,” said Michael Kirban, co-founder of All Market Inc.
The U.S. energy drink category is forecasted to reach $20 billion by 2021. It is one of the only remaining traditional beverage categories that has yet to be disrupted by a naturally-positioned brand. Where category sales from natural and premium-positioned products are 7 percent and 4 percent in RTD coffee/tea and sports drinks respectively, they represent only 1 percent in energy drinks. As consumers look to offerings that are plant based, lower in sugar and have more natural ingredient, Runa will challenge energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster.
“We are excited to partner with Runa to accelerate the growth of this brand, which provides KDP a truly exceptional product in the energy drink category,” said Rodger Collins, KDP’s president of direct store delivery. “Our expansive DSD network and ability to excel at in-store execution combined with AMI’s marketing capabilities and large, dedicated sales organization is a proven winner.”
