In the sports drink world there are Gatorade and Powerade -- andthe rest. But Mark Rampolla, founder of a company that sells an all-natural drink made from coconut water, is out to create a nationalbuzz about his product -- without spending a dime on advertising.
'We do zero advertising; everything we do is face-to-face, direct-to-consumer,' said Rampolla, 38, founder of ZICO.
After spending about two years creating a customer base in NewYork by handing out free samples at yoga studios and road races,Rampolla brought the product to the Washington, Chicago,Philadelphia, San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles marketswithin the past year. He says he plans to bring the same 'guerillamarketing' campaign to Baltimore next year.
ZICO's sales are on pace to exceed $4 million this year versus $1million last year, according to Rampolla. The product ismanufactured in Brazil and available online through Amazon.com. Itis carried by yoga studios and health food stores in the targetedcities. Rampolla has seven employees.
'It really is the most cost-effective way to reach consumers,' hesaid. 'Also, with a product like this, you need people to talk aboutit. You need evangelizers versus hearing it from someone in an ad --you need to hear it from someone you respect.'
ZICO is pure coconut water, contains five electrolytes, has morepotassium than a banana, is low in acidity and is fat free,according to the product information. Rampolla, a Pittsburgh native,said he first tried coconut water while a Peace Corps volunteer inCosta Rica during the early 1990s.
'Since then I've probably spent more time in Latin America thanin the United States, and I saw people drinking it everywhere,' hesaid. 'It was at that time we really began to understand the healthproperties of coconut water.'
Some say coconut water hydrates better than other sports drinksand that its potassium levels -- 14 percent of the recommended dailydose versus Gatorade and Powerade's 1 percent-- make it especiallybeneficial in fighting off post-workout muscle cramping.
At New York City's Bikram Yoga Union Square, which sells about 24cases of ZICO a week, instructor George Delancey-Ealy said the drinkwas ideal for intensive calorie-burning activities like Bikram Yogaor marathon running because of its natural rejuvenatingcapabilities. Bikram or 'Hot' Yoga is a 90-minute workout while in aroom heated to 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity.
Keith P. West, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for HumanNutrition, said coconut water's natural properties help rehydrateand refresh faster than regular water.
'It is inside that coconut for a reason -- to nurture thecoconut,' he said. 'I've used it to rehydrate myself in Bangladeshand Nepal when I'm feeling really dehydrated under field conditions,and it works really well.'
ZICO also contains protein, calcium and about a third lesscalories per 11 ounces than Gatorade and Powerade. The company hassigned with major distributors in some markets, including BigGeyser, Vitamin Water's first distributor, in New York and BurkeDistributing, Red Bull's distributor, in Boston. And while Rampollasaid he has begun buying ads for the distribution trucks, the bulkof the money he would have spent on advertising goes into hisproduct and the street marketing team.
He added his marketing method was partially influenced by KevinPlank, founder of Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc., who got hiscompany started by spending a summer giving away boxes of hismoisture-wicking athletic shirts to college football teams.
But some say grassroots marketing, while effective at creatinginterest, can't be the last stop on the block for a company thatwants to grow.
'You can't just stick to product placement, especially if it'ssomething there's a lot of,' said Bob Leffler, founder of LefflerAgency, a Baltimore-based sports marketing firm. 'Sooner or later,you're going to have to buy ads.'
He added that while no one else by 1995 had created somethinglike Under Armour's T-shirt, Rampolla's product is in a market thathad dozens of competitors. According to Lauren E. Torres, a beverageindustry analyst with HSBC in New York, Gatorade and Powerade'sdominance -- about 99 percent of market -- make the sports drinkcategory difficult to penetrate.
She also noted that while ZICO seemed to target differentathletes than the classic Gatorade-drinking football player, theindustry's giants were continuously developing or acquiring productsto suit different athletic styles.
'If this company and product carves out the niche it needs andaligns itself with marathons or yoga studio chains, there can besome longevity,' Torres said. 'But to say it can shell out supportdollars anywhere near the big guys [is asking too much]. So often,the end game is do you get bought by a bigger player or do you fadeout and make room for another new product?'
Rampolla -- for now -- said he's sticking to his game plan ofbuilding a fan base city by city.
'Unless you're going to spend $100 million, [I think] you can'tpossibly market effectively to the countywide outlets,' he said. 'Wewant everyone we deal with to succeed with ZICO. ...We want to makesure that if we are successful with them they can advocate for us.'
