Nutrisoda

Nutrisoda

Type	Private
Industry	Beverage/CSD
Founded	2003
Founder(s)	Joe and Lesley Herron
Headquarters	Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Products	Nutrient-enhanced sodas
Parent	PepsiAmericas
Website	nutrisoda.com

Nutrisoda (formerly known as airforce Nutrisoda) is the brand name of a nutrient-enhanced soda sold in the United States by the Ardea Beverage Company. Nutrisoda contains no artificial flavoring or coloring, zero sugar, zero sodium, zero aspartame, and zero to five calories. It is sweetened with Sucralose, an artificial sweetener made by chlorinating sucrose.

Origins

Nutrisoda was created in 2003 by Joe Heron, previously the Senior Vice President of Novartis Medical Nutrition, and his wife, Lesley Heron. While at Novartis, Heron spent most of his days traveling between his native South Africa to Novartis headquarters in Switzerland and his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On one such flight, Heron was seated next to a passenger with a severe cold. This sparked the idea for an immune boosting beverage to protect passengers on crowded planes. Nutrisoda is now a line of nutrient-enhanced sodas that claim to provide specific wellness benefits.

In January 2006, Ardea Beverage Co. was purchased by PepsiAmericas, the second largest Pepsi bottler in the world. ^[1]

Product development

^[2]

Nutrisoda was reformulated in early 2009 to improve taste and reduce price ahead of its May 2009 re-launch in San Diego and Minneapolis/St. Paul. During this reformulation, Ardea decided to move forward with four SKUs, down from the eight that were previously for sale until early 2009. Flex, Slender, Radiant, and Renew are the flavors no longer being produced as of May 2009. Nutrisoda also officially dropped airforce from its brand name during this period.

Reformulation also previously occurred in early 2006, when Nutrisoda underwent a repositioning from dietary supplement to conventional food. Ardea revised Nutrisoda formulations to omit the use of some herbs, while retaining certain nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

All herbs and nutrients used in the four flavors of Nutrisoda are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are considered Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) approved.

Flavors

There are currently four flavors of Nutrisoda containing different combinations of 11 vitamins and nutrients that are said to help support separate aspects of wellness. None contain sugar, aspartame, or sodium, and have zero to five calories. ^[3]

• FOCUS: Black cherry and apple natural flavors. Contains 100mg of Ginseng extract, 50mg of amino acid L-Tyrosine, and Vitamin B₁₂, Folic Acid, Biotin, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine HCL (Vitamin B₆), and minerals Zinc and Selenium.
• ENERGIZE: Mandarin and orange natural flavors. Contains 50mg of Caffeine, 500mg of Taurine, and Vitamin B₁₂, Folic Acid, Biotin, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine HCL (Vitamin B₆), and minerals Zinc and Selenium. Energize is the only flavor of Nutrisoda to contain caffeine.
• CALM: Wild berry and citron natural flavors. Contains 100mg of Chamomile extract, 10mg of Choline, and Vitamin B₁₂, Folic Acid, Biotin, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine HCL (Vitamin B₆), and minerals Zinc and Selenium.
• IMMUNE: Tangerine and lime natural flavors. Contains 500 mg of the amino acid L-Arginine, 100mg of Ginseng extract, and Vitamin B₁₂, Folic Acid, Biotin, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine HCL (Vitamin B₆), and minerals Zinc and Selenium.

References

1. ^ "PepsiAmericas Buys Ardea Beverage Co." (Press release). PepsiAmericas. 2006-01-23. http://investors.pepsiamericas.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?releaseid=185060. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
2. ^ Vomhof Jr., John (2008-11-21). "Hunt Adkins wins Ardea's Nutrisoda account". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/11/17/daily50.html. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
3. ^ http://www.nutrisoda.com