Take a look at our newsletter this month.
THE
AUGUST 2018
WELCOME THE NEW FLAVORS
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, your eyes do not deceive you. In this edition, we’re celebrating the launch of our two new flavors: Lemon Lime and Blackberry Currant, both of which are Caffeine-Free! These brand-new additions to the O2 family have been a long time in the making, and we’re excited to finally share them with you. As I write, the team and I are gearing up to make the long drive north to Madison, Wisconsin, to debut the new flavors. We’ve got crates full of O2, and we’ll be passing them out at The Games. We can’t wait to hear how everyone likes our crisp new recovery options. But more importantly, we’re thrilled to be delivering on something our longtime fans and retailers at home have been asking for. By far, the two most common questions I’ve heard since getting O2 off the ground have been “When are you coming out with new flavors?” and “Will there ever be a Caffeine-Free option?” Over the years, my answer has always been some variation of “Yes … eventually.” Both requests made perfect sense. Some people like
first few years of getting these requests, but the product wouldn’t be true to us or fair to you and your members. We knew that anything we made had to live up to the same standards of taste and function that earned us such loyal fans in the first place. Thankfully, we weren’t starting from scratch. We kept the underlying formula for O2 the same and just removed caffeine from the equation while adding the two new flavors. At their core, Lemon Lime and Blackberry Currant have all the same benefits you’ve come to expect from our beverages, minus the kick. But as we learned with our original prototyping back in 2011, it’s not enough to have a recovery drink that just works. At the end of the day, even the most health-conscious athletes want something that tastes great too.
“Honestly, I didn’t know how many types of lemons and limes existed in this world until we began this process.”
to work out in the evening (myself included) and aren’t looking for an extra boost of energy afterwards.
So we partnered with the same team of food scientists that helped make our original flavor profiles a reality. They are skilled professionals who know our high standards for quality and our uncompromising attitude when it comes to keeping O2 functional and delicious. The biggest hurdle was coming up with what the flavors were actually going to be! When we were launching O2 in 2014, we wanted one flavor to be familiar (Orange Mango) and the other one to be totally new and unique (Grapefruit Ginger). We took the same philosophy when designing these new flavor profiles. Lemon Lime was a no-brainer as a classic standby, but we wanted to make sure we didn’t “phone it in.” Honestly, I didn’t know how many types of lemons and limes existed in this world until we began this process. It took a lot of sampling, but we eventually got there with what I believe is the best lemon-lime-flavored drink on the market.
Some parents want an option their kids can drink. And who doesn’t want
more flavors of something they love? So why did these new additions take us so long? Simple: We wanted to do them right .
We don’t believe in half
measures at O2. Sure, we could have pumped something out within the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ...
O2 | PAGE 1 | DRINKO2.COM
ARE CYBERCRIMINALS’ NO
Today’s small businesses are woefully unprepared for digital threats. Cybercrime is at an all-time high in 2018, and yet a frightening number of small-business owners assume that their organization is too small to ever warrant the attention of hackers. From the perspective of cybercriminals, most small and mid- sized businesses (SMBs) represent the low-hanging fruit of the digital world: a modest pile of cash guarded by outdated or easily circumvented barriers. That’s why 71 percent of cyberattacks are directed at SMBs, according to Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigations Report. And a huge number of those strikes actually succeed. If you’re hoping to protect the business that you’ve built from the ground up, it’s important to be vigilant. Here are three steps you can take right now to drastically improve your chances at scaring off the wolves at your digital door: BACK UP YOUR DATA. A large majority of data breaches today come in the form of ransomware, which locks users out of everything on a company’s network. Hackers then threaten to delete the data forever unless the company forks over thousands of dollars. But if you have all of your files automatically backed up to an
WELCOME THE NEW FLAVORS ... CONTINUED FROM COVER
The inspiration for Blackberry Currant was, fittingly, a bit unorthodox. I have to give credit to one of our O2 athletes, Alison Scudds. She suggested we head down to Jeni’s Ice Cream here in Columbus for ideas. If you’re not from the area, Jeni’s is renowned for some of the best, most unique ice cream flavors you’ll find anywhere. When we were headed to meet with our team of food scientists, my girlfriend reminded me that my personal favorite Jeni’s flavor is Brambleberry Crisp, and she Googled the ingredients. Turns out, blackberry and black currant are behind this delicious ice cream flavor, so why not see what we could do with those ingredients while formulating? I talked with our team of food scientists, and while they’d worked with blackberries before, they hadn’t yet found an opportunity to work with black currants, a popular berry in northern Europe and Central Asia but almost unheard of here in the States. After a few weeks of fine-tuning, we had our second flavor: a dark, brilliant, completely unique flavor to the beverage world. It just might be my new favorite. I always tell people I founded O2 for selfish reasons. I wanted a drink that fit my needs and lifestyle, so I made it happen. The irony was, making the drink of my dreams meant changing my lifestyle — I had to get up early and grind through the day, moving my workouts to the evenings. Suddenly, I couldn’t have caffeine after my workout because of the time of day. I was unable to drink my own beverage for its intended use (although I still drank plenty of O2 at different times throughout the day)!
So it’s fitting that I now find myself returning to the same business strategy that got me here in the first place; I am, yet again, making the drink I want for myself after my evening workouts. At the end of the day, that’s our whole team’s philosophy. Why make something we weren’t dying for ourselves? We love these two new flavors, from the beautiful flavor profiles to the refreshing taste. We hope you will too and can’t wait to hear how you like them.
Cheers,
–Dave Colina Founder, O2
O2 | PAGE 2 | DRINKO2.COM
1 TARGET
AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT TALKING COMMUNITY WITH CROSSFIT 740 CrossFit 740 is a premier box in Lancaster, Ohio, with a large membership of supportive, competitive athletes. We wanted to catch up with the head of 740 itself, Dustin Lansing, to find out how they built such a strong community. It also happens to be home to our very own affiliate sales manager, Brittany Garrett. HOW DO YOU BOOST MEMBERSHIP? Focus on our current members! If we make sure that our current members are 100 percent happy, they do all of our marketing for us. About 99 percent of our members have come from a current member. I truly believe that the energy put into outside marketing is just energy that could have gone into our current community, and at the end of the day, that is what’s most important at 740. WHAT SORTS OF EVENTS DO YOU DO FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF? We recently introduced our “Buds and Suds” night. One Friday night a month, we cook out and play games — anything from Spikeball and Cornhole to Bucketz and anything else they want to play. YOU RUN A LOT OF “O2 CHALLENGES.” CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THOSE? I really just love anything that produces smiles and high fives. The O2 Challenges are an awesome way to do that! It also provides a great time for people to try O2 for the first time or just get a nice post- workout chug in. Pro tip: get a big group together, give them all a can of O2, put two minutes on the clock, and whoever finishes their full can of O2 and does the most air squats wins! WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB AND/OR YOUR COMMUNITY? Oh man, so many things! I guess if I had to pick just one, it would be the people. The 740 people are some of the best I know. They push me to become a better human. O2 | PAGE 3 | DRINKO2.COM alternate location (that can’t be accessed on your ordinary network), you can skip paying the ransom, let the criminals wipe your system, and make it through the crisis unscathed. TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES. It’s easy to imagine a team of evil geniuses typing at lightspeed to try to penetrate your business’s defenses, but 60 percent of the time, it’s a simple mistake by one of your employees that leaves the company wide open to attack. To combat this, you need to ensure that every single one of your employees is on board with strong cybersecurity practices. That means building a comprehensive cybersecurity policy that all members of your team must sign (including provisions such as password strength requirements) and supplying extensive training on the biggest digital threats. USE FIREWALL, ANTIVIRUS, AND ENCRYPTION SOFTWARE. Firewalls, which are usually included with your operating system, block unauthorized access to your network. Antivirus software serves as a watchdog, sniffing out malware and spyware before they become a problem. And encryption ensures that the data on your system is unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the encryption key. All three of these powerful protections are inexpensive, user-friendly, and essential tools for businesses of all sizes seeking to stave off cybercriminals.
DISTILLED INSIGHTS ASCENT SAYS TO PUT MEMBERS FIRST We’re big fans of Ascent. From their great protein products to the success they find in CrossFit boxes across the country, they seem to do a lot right. So we reached out for their insights on ways they’ve seen retail done right in CrossFit gyms in an effort to share some of their findings with you.
BE SMART
When we asked Ascent about the most common retail mistakes they see, boxes that don’t have a self-checkout solution were at the top of the list. “Don’t create a retail solution that requires you to be present for every sales transaction and pulls you away from your members or requires an extra body,” says Ascent.
BE SOCIAL
For Ascent, the key to boosting the sale of new products at any box doesn’t lie in fancy marketing and big banners. While they do provide gyms they bring on board with a welcome kit to jump-start sales, Ascent has found the most successful gyms pair this with grassroots engagement. By leveraging email and social media platforms, you can educate your members about great new products, and drive sales — this has always held true for O2. Simply posting a link or an image on your internal Facebook members page along with a caption from you can go a long way toward generating interest and trial of O2 or any other product you sell at your gym. And with a great product, once you get people to try it, the rest often takes care of itself. But you’ve got to get people to try it first. We’ve talked about using workout competitions paired with free giveaways in the past, but Ascent offers a whole new spin on the idea. They point out that nutrition contests can be a great way to educate your members on good dietary practices and highlight the value of your nutritional products. So there you have it — three ways to boost your retail numbers, courtesy of some of the best in the business. When in doubt, think of how you can best create value for your members while giving them great products you believe in. Note: We have zero affiliation with Ascent and get nothing out of sharing this with you other than the pleasure of sharing some valuable insights we agree with. BE COMPETITIVE
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
1481 Showcase Dr., Columbus, OH 43212 (614) 321-9TLC support@DRINKO2.com
How We Made 2 New Flavors a Reality Page 1 3 Easy Cybersecurity Steps for Small Businesses How We Made 2 New Flavors a Reality (continued) Page 2 Affiliate Spotlight: CrossFit 740 Ascent’s Best Retail Tips Page 3 A Guide to Workplace ‘Essentialism’ Page 4
GREG MCKEOWN’S ‘ESSENTIALISM’ “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will,” writes Greg McKeown in “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.” When he set out to write the book, McKeown wanted to know what keeps skilled, driven people from achieving as much as possible. What he found was that many people suffer not from being lazy, but from allocating their time ineffectively. The impulse to “do it all” keeps folks from spending their time on the things that actually matter. The book, then, serves as a guide to cutting out the extraneous and focusing on the essential. Doing your best work where it matters and cutting out the superfluous will allow you to better manage your time and increase your output. As McKeown puts it, “It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at your highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.” Instead of having their energy spread out in a million WILL HELP YOU DECLUTTER YOUR WORKLOAD
“Life is not an all-you-can-eat buffet,” McKeown says. “It’s amazingly great food. Essentialism is about finding the right food. More and more is valueless. Staying true to my purpose and being selective in what I take on results in a more meaningful, richer, and sweeter quality of life.” This metaphor can be applied to your work life as well. There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish every task. The essentialist works to spend their time diligently by pursuing what actually matters, rather than filling their days with busy work. Early in the book, McKeown uses famed Braun designer Dieter Rams as an example of an essentialist. He notes that Rams’ design philosophy can be characterized by three simple words: less but better. This, in essence, is what essentialists believe.
different directions, essentialists channel it only into what really
matters. McKeown also advocates for defining your purpose in order to accurately assess what’s essential and what isn’t. The more a task contributes to your purpose, the more essential it is. Many business owners and leaders struggle to let go of tasks that are best left to other employees. If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to manage a massive workload while resenting the fact that much of what you do isn’t that meaningless, then it’s time to pick up a copy of “Essentialism.”
O2 | PAGE 4 | DRINKO2.COM
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online