Over its first 3.5 years in market, the only constant at ZOA Energy seems to be change. So, I'll start this content off by reconciling some of my original thoughts around ZOA Energy (from a content piece I created a month before the energy drink even launched), with the drastic changes ZOA made in January 2023. This includes product enhancements, flavor adjustments, and shifts to the visual identity (and brand strategy). Yet, that original brand strategy and associated packaging design felt very much like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was extremely involved in ensuring it properly articulated and aestheticized his defining personality traits. But then the question likely shifts to why did ZOA Energy make all these changes anyways? The simple answer is expectations! Firstly, you have arguably one of the biggest global celebrities behind the company, that seemed authentically motivated, and within a product category that seemed aligned with him. Next, you had a U.S. energy drinks market that was on fire…especially within the categorical fragmentation of “energy plus.” Finally, you had a “Day 1” strategic partnership (and investment) by Molson Coors that provided national sales, field marketing, and distribution resources. This is a recipe for not just success…but outsized success! So, despite the relatively strong start...the brand was underperforming key competitors (e.g. Alani Nu and GHOST energy drinks) that launched within an 8-month period of ZOA Energy. While Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley admitted ZOA Energy made several strategic missteps out the gate...he also stressed that it broke the golden rule of brand building by scaling too quickly. Yet, both Alani Nu and GHOST have been beverage industry rocket ships and now both passed the $600 million mark in retail sales over the most recent 52-week period (outselling ZOA Energy by 20 times more). But even with relatively weak performance since that January 2023 brand reset, Molson Coors expanded its strategic partnership with (and investment in) ZOA Energy. Why? After losing La Colombe Coffee Roasters to a strategic partnership with KDP, ZOA Energy became really the only sizable non-alcoholic (and health and wellness positioned) brand within the Molson Coors beyond beer portfolio...which I'll explain why I believe that's problematic. Finally, I'll examine several different implications around the timing of the brand reset that created distance between ZOA Energy and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In today’s ultra-competitive U.S. energy drinks market, brand authenticity matters A LOT…and that’s because energy drinks are marketed as a lifestyle beverage that offers the functional benefit of energy. But wouldn’t that help an energy drink with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson weaved into the brand DNA? Yes, but only if ZOA Energy still felt like an authentic “energy drink” extension of him…and more importantly, the public still felt like they even knew who the authentic Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was anymore. While changing the look, feel, and tone of ZOA Energy in the first few years was maybe a good decision in a vacuum, it (along with) the “Big Dwayne Energy” marketing campaign exacerbated this feeling with consumers that the brand felt more like just another diverse set of movie roles for the actor Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson. So, for this energy drink brand to really have a chance at meaningful success, ZOA can't just be another ‘ad’ for its superstar co-founder or it’s destined to continuing going ZOAwhere.

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