With the slogan ‘The Dark Side of Water’, blk. is the newly revamped Blackwater – featuring the unusual ingredient, fulvic acid which turns the water black.
We first came across fulvic acid water when Eclipse Concepts was a finalist in the Best new functional water category in the 2010 Water Innovation Awards with Blackwater. Almost a year on, we’re now looking at the newly branded blk. Please tell us about the journey from Blackwater to blk.
Albie Manzo: We’re really proud of how far the brand has come in the last year. When we got involved with Eclipse, we had just decided that the name ‘blackwater’ was just not the right name. Changing the name was definitely not an easy decision, but in the end we all agreed it was the right move. When we finally decided on blk. and we saw the new packaging, we realised how perfect the name really was for us. There’s something elegantly simple about the branding, it really works.
Why fulvic acid?
We truly believe that fulvic acid has the potential as a functional ingredient in consumer beverages. There are so many great attributes to fulvic acid, I just think the public needs to get a better understanding of exactly what fulvic acid is about. As people learn more about it, I am confident consumers will make the same decision we made – to make blk. a major part of their daily hydration routine.
When was the water source discovered, and was it already being used before Eclipse Concepts conceived Blackwater?
Eclipse has access to several pure water sources. What makes the product unique is the way in which our formula is blended. Fulvic acid has been used in many different ways all over the world for a variety of different purposes. It has been available in concentrated form for quite some time, especially in Asia. To our knowledge this is the first combination in a water beverage.
blk., like many other niche functional drinks products relies on the attributes of a particular ingredient. Do consumers understand the benefits of fulvic acid – or is one of your challenges to create education and understanding around the ingredient while also building loyalty for the brand?
Educating the consumer on the benefits of fulvic acid is definitely something at the top of our priority list. When we run into a consumer at an in-store demonstration or a trade show that has heard of Fulvic acid, they almost instantly throw a case of blk. in their shopping cart. It‘s great to see that type of enthusiasm for the product, and we often ask ourselves, ‘why can’t everyone be like this?’. But that’s part of our task at hand – educating people about blk. and sharing the excitement. I have yet to meet anyone who hasn’t been impressed by the benefits of fulvic acid. Each day there are more people eager to experience the benefits of blk. with fulvic acid.
Where is blk. currently available and what’s the next step for distribution?
Throughout the United States, blk. is available at Amazon.com, and we have many quality retailers with blk. on their shelves. We are pleased to be working with Wegman’s, Whole Foods (in most regions), Kings, Balducci’s, D’Agostino’s, Earth Fare, Bevmo, Nugget Market, and many more locations. We continue to receive requests from many other retail stores and distributors who are excited about the brand. It’s difficult to keep up with all the requests in the United States, not to mention international.
Your online presence including FaceBook and Twitter is rapidly building you a loyal fan base… what other marketing strategies are in place or planned to take blk. to the next level?
We are especially excited about the social media and online opportunities for blk. It’s definitely the type of item that people want to spread the word about and these mediums have been a great means for us to raise brand awareness.
Our online following speaks directly to just how much potential blk. has out there. We have only been a presence on Facebook and Twitter for a few months, and already thousands of people are following blk. and those numbers climb daily. That following is one of the reasons we are so excited about where blk. is headed. Our plans for blk. are really exciting, watch for it on television, in athlete and entertainment sponsorships and some other spots we can’t share right now. Our philosophy has always been integration based, using in-store demonstration, event sponsorship, product integration, word of mouth, and endorsement to build our market base and spread the excitement. We like meeting the people who are buying our product. It’s real.
You’ve chosen to pack blk. in a 100% rPET recyclable bottle. Does this form part of a wider sustainability strategy?
We definitely intend to do our best to help the environment. That’s one thing the creators of blk. –Jackie and Louise – have always been especially passionate about. The 100% rPET bottle is one means to that end. We have also been discussing different ways to work with charitable organisations that also aim to help the planet.
In Water Innovation magazine, we focus on innovation in the packaged water industry. Other than blk., what other functional waters have you seen launched in the last year that have really impressed you?
I think this question is what makes blk. so special. There’s a lot of ‘me too’ products out there. I am a big fan of companies that take a very simple approach in their branding or concept, then hit it big. I have always liked Hint Water’s packaging, very simple and elegant. The name speaks straight to the product and I love that.
What next for blk. Beverages?
We are very pleased to announce we will be expanding our blk. line in the months to come. We will be introducing a twist to blk. that we are extremely excited about. Keep an eye out for us and I look forward to speaking with you again soon when we launch!
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