Organically growing business: Maine Root sees lineup expand, ready for more
June 20, 2011
Maine Root, Portland, Maine, has evolved a lot since the day 11 years ago when Founder Matthew Seiler decided to brew his own organic soda. Seiler was restoring boats on the waterfront in Portland, Maine, in the summer of 2000 when a high school friend opened up Flat Bread Pizza Co., an organic pizza company, just a few wharfs down from where Seiler was working. Seiler was hired by his friend to build the clay oven and stayed on to wait tables. But Seiler realized that the organic restaurant didn’t have the beverages to match, so that’s when he went home and mixed up his own batches of root beer.
Since setting out as an independent company in August 2004, Sunny Delight Beverages Co. (SDBC), Cincinnati, has expanded beyond its core brand of SunnyD juice-based drinks. The company now maintains a portfolio of seven brands that not only appeal to children, but consumers of all ages and lifestyles
During an interview for this month’s cover story, Rick Zimmerman, senior vice president of marketing and innovation for Cincinnati-based Sunny Delight Beverages Co., mentioned that his innovation strategy is influenced by Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen.
Health and wellness continue to be points of interest for the beverage industry not just in the United States, but for other countries and regions as well. On the global scale, “no additives and preservatives” is the top health position for juice and juice drinks launched from Oct. 10, 2010, to March 11, according to Innova Market Insights, Duiven, The Netherlands.
The American College of Gastroenterology reports that 95 million people in the United States suffer from at least one type of digestive problem - that’s nearly one-third of the total population.