How did you see the sports drink sector before the launch?
Jens Haeffner: The sports drink market in Austria can be divided into two different categories: sport drinks and sport drink powders for self mixing. Many of them are largely artificial and have ingredients that are not suitable for the sports consumers they’re targeting. There wasn’t a sports drink on the Austrian market that was specially developed for high performance, or for long-lasting energy, and this was the gap we wanted to fill with AiQA.
What does AiQA contain and how do you make it palatable?
Haeffner: There are a lot of ingredients in AiQA sports drinks that are essential and vital for sports enthusiasts. However, our primary goal was to create a sports drink which was 100% natural. The basis of our sports drink is natural apple juice, with the addition of the new sugar palatinose, which has a low glycemic index and releases long-lasting energy.
A high-quality fruit sweetener with a similarly low glycemic index makes the drinks palatable. AiQA sport drinks also contain the right amount of magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium – electrolytes the body needs for sporting activities. There are no preservatives, as they’re bottled on an aseptic line.
Why make different drinks for men and women?
Haeffner: The body has different exercise requirements depending on whether you’re male or female. Generally, the female body has more complicated demands – it requires different vitamins and minerals and a varying mineral ratio. AiQA Getränke GmbH is the first sports drink producer to recognise this and create drinks meeting these gender- specific needs.
How do your kids drinks work?
Haeffner: When we developed the AiQA range, we examined our target groups and their specific needs. Our kids drink is specially designed for children from one to eight years. The basis is natural fruit juice enriched with magnesium and calcium, and a number of vitamins for children in that age range. There’s no actual sugar in our drinks. Instead, we’re using fruit sweetener. The design of the bottle and sleeve is attractive while also informing parents about the ingredients.
What have been the highs and lows of the pack design process?
Haeffner: As our aim was to fill all our drinks on an aseptic line (preservative free) with the perfect format of bottle for each target group, it was difficult to find a bottler for AiQA. The use of shrink sleeves further limited the choice of bottlers close to Austria, or indeed in Europe. It took us about a year to find the right bottling partner.
What’s next for AiQA? Where are you sold right now and where do you hope to move to next?
Haeffner: We’ve just changed our sleeve design to move AiQA on to the next level. We’re about to penetrate further into the Austrian market and test market in Germany with a partner. We’re already sold, among other places, in major Austrian petrol station chains and are in constant negotiation with various Austrian trade sectors. As it’s our aim to establish AiQA European-wide, we’re also working on a franchise or licensing concept to achieve rapid penetration in different markets.
What are the big issues for the company right now and where do you hope to be in five years?
Haeffner: We’re developing two more drink categories, which we plan to launch next year. Further to that, we’re extending the lines of our existing products. In five years time, we would like to be distributed throughout a number of European markets.
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