A local endurance-drink operation is shutting down because itsowners lack the endurance to keep pushing the product.
Xood (pronounced 'exude'), the brainchild of a pair of Tucsoncardiologists, will no longer be sold at retail or online come July31. Drs. Salvatore Tirrito and Lou Lancero started the company in2008.
'It requires a lot of constant work, making sure things are goingwell with online sales, going well at retail stores,' Tirrito said.'Both of us really felt we didn't have the ability to maintain thatsort of commitment.'
Tirrito, a 2009 Arizona Daily Star 40 Under 40 award winner, andLancero worked 18 months and spent $300,000 getting the drink offthe ground.
The drink, which comes in several different flavors, has noartificial colors, sweeteners or flavorings.
It remains available at 21 retail locations in seven states andonline at www.xoodhealth.com
Tirrito wrote on the site: 'Just a few short years ago mybusiness partner and I set out with a simple task: To make a sportsdrink that works better than (or just as well as) the current drinkson the market but was also healthy. From the hundreds and hundredsof athletes we have personally heard from over the years, we learnedthat mission was accomplished.'
He said the business remained profitable, peaking in the summerof 2010, but sales have slowed since the beginning of the year. Heestimated that he and Lancero would need to invest considerably moremoney to keep the product growing.
Tirrito said pushing a product is all about money anddistribution clout, and has little to do with the quality of aproduct. He said that if a company spends enough money to market aproduct and put it on shelves, people will use it, regardless of itsquality.
'There's some really horrible stuff on the market these days,'Tirrito said.
He said he's not disappointed about the closure of the business,but wishes the outpouring of customer support he's seen recently hadcome a bit earlier.
'After we announced we were closing up shop, we've had no lessthan 200 emails. If those 200 people bought the product every month...' Tirrito said, trailing off while contemplating thepossibilities. 'It's almost ironic.'
The company will lay off its one full-time employee.
Tirrito has no regrets, and feels Xood was successful.
'Part of it is we really had given it our best shot,' he said.'We made a product people loved, but we are cardiologists, notbusinessmen. We lacked the time to really take the business and kindof give it all we should have.'
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at pvillarreal@azstarnet.com or573-4130.
