AriZona Enters Coconut Water Category

BevNet has posted a review on AriZona’s recently launched coconut water beverage – CocoZona (link here).  According to BevNet’s review, CocoZona is a 100% pure coconut water product that contains 70 calories per 14.5oz (429ml) serving, and comes in a resealable and fully recyclable  aluminum can.  The suggested retail price is $1.99-$2.49.  The product is not yet available in Canada, having launched in the United States first (like how most products are initially launched) and recently gaining national distribution.

BevNet’s review on CocoZona’s product and packaging is on par, saying that the product is on par with other coconut water brands available and that the packaging is refreshingly different from other coconut water manufacturers with their resealable aluminum bottle.  Their only suggestion is that the company name AriZona should be more visible and printed across the front of the bottle, rather than its current position that has the brand name vertically printed, semi-transparent, and on the side of the bottle.

Why would AriZona, a well-known beverage manufacturer, choose to brand their coconut water product with ‘CocoZona’ across the top of the bottle rather than their own company name AriZona?  Wouldn’t they want to leverage on their brand name and generate more exposure for their new launch?  In my opinion, the success of AriZona is also the reason why they chose not to print AriZona in big, bold letters across the front of their coconut water product.  AriZona is most famous for their tea products – Green Tea Gingseng, Arnold Palmer Half & Half, Pomegranate Tea, etc – but not for their other products.  Without much success, they have tried to branch out into energy drinks (AZ Energy, Caution Energy), energy shots (AM, PM, Rx), water (Vapor Water, Rescue Water, Organic Tea Water), sports drinks (AriZona Sports), and even snacks (AriZona snack trays).  This means that the strength of their brand name only extends to tea products but not other areas.  Likewise, consumers will trust the AriZona brand name for tea beverages, but are likely to choose another brand for energy drinks (Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar), water (Nestle, Aquafina, Dasani, private label), sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade) and so on.  As a result, this puts AriZona in their current state as they try to expand their product offerings outside of tea.

I do see the possibility of AriZona making their name more visible on CocoZona.  There are many similar product benefits between their tea and coconut water offerings that would help the consumer easily associate both products back to the AriZona brand name.  Both tea and coconut water are low calorie products, and both are also seen as healthier beverage alternatives.  The point is, the reach from tea to coconut water is not as far as from tea to energy drinks or sports drinks.  Since packaging may differ from country to country, we may have to wait for this product to enter Canada to see AriZona plans on printing their brand name across the front of their coconut water.  So when and if this product crosses the border, BevWire will post an update and opinion on CocoZona’s packaging.

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