What does the Terminator, artificial intelligence, and Bang Energy founder (and former CEO) Jack Owoc have in common? Well…if you hadn’t seen the recent energy drinks market news yet, it’s probably A LOT more than you imagined! For those that didn’t see the announcement yet, Bang Energy founder (and former CEO) Jack Owoc is launching a new energy drink called AI Energy. And if you were wondering…the AI in AI Energy does indeed pay homage to artificial intelligence technology. In fact, many aspects of AI Energy from its visual identity to its digital media assets were developed with AI image generation software. According to the website, AI Energy will utilize a 12-oz sleek can and initially be available in four flavor variants. Based on the earlier comments from Jack Owoc (and seeing the supplement facts panel), AI Energy will be within what I call the “focus, cognition, and nootropic” segment of the performance energy drinks subcategory. Beyond the typical exclusionary callouts (like zero sugar or artificial colors) within the performance energy drink subcategory, Jack Owoc focuses on three other (let’s call them lesser known by the mainstream market) ingredient concerns that are avoided by AI Energy that includes natural caffeine, cyanocobalamin (synthetic form of vitamin B12), and alpha GPC. As for the retail, distribution, and marketing strategy for AI Energy, Jack Owoc is going back to his VPX Sports roots by working with “nutrition and gym channel” distributors Europa Sports Partners and Muscle Foods USA. But beyond focusing on those small but influential sales channels for performance energy drinks, AI Energy will also build out an independent DSD network to service convenience stores and large retail accounts…with my assumption being that many will be previous partners that helped grow Bang Energy before the initial PepsiCo buyout. And then another strategy that Jack Owoc is planning to leverage from his previous Bang Energy success is that large roster of social media influencers. Yet, beyond a few of those strategic commercialization commonalities…you’ll notice Jack Owoc has shifted from the “let’s own everything” asset-heavy business model of Bang Energy to now an asset-light approach. But with a brand name like AI Energy…deploying AI in a manner that can condense operations, write distributor contracts, and/or design visual aspects would be aligned with its strategic narrative, right? But with that being said…my wonder surrounds why AI Energy would even work want to work with hundreds or thousands of social media influencers again anyways, especially when there’s swarms of virtual influencers that are looking more like humans each day. Regardless of how that AI marketing strategy ultimately plays out…my guess is that many of you are wondering if I think AI Energy will be successful or not. And I'll explore that in this content...which has some intermingling with my thoughts around the race within the CPG industry to capture value from artificial intelligence.

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