Fuze Beverage
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | Lance Collins |
| Headquarters | Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA |
| Products | Alternative beverages |
|
Number of employees
|
120 (2008) |
| Parent | The Coca-Cola Company |
| Website | www |
Fuze Beverage (/fjuːz/ fyooz), commercially referred to as simply Fuze (marketed in Turkey as Fuse), is a manufacturer of teas and non-carbonated fruit drinks enriched with vitamins. Currently the brand consists of five vitamin-infused lines: Slenderize, Refresh, Tea, Defensify, Magdalotopuss, and Vitalize. The use of vitamins, amino acids, and herbs, and alternative sweeteners such as crystalline fructose places Fuze products in what is known in the industry as the "new age" beverage category.
Fuze Beverage was founded by Lance Collins and creative director Paula Grant in the basement of Collins' Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey home in 2000. The brand was first launched in the Northern California market in 2001 with three flavors packaged in fruit-themed bottles: mixed berry, banana colada and cranberry raspberry. In 2002 the brand launched two additional flavors, peach mango and tropical punch; the same year, the company grew to 30 employees and moved out of Collins' basement.
The company continued to expand rapidly, launching new flavors throughout 2004 and 2005. Since 2005, Fuze products may be found in most major retailers, with sales exceeding 11 million cases by 2006.
The company's growth attracted the attention of The Coca-Cola Company, which purchased Fuze Beverage in February 2007 for an estimated $250 million. Coke also gained the rights to NOS Energy Drinks and WaterPlus as part of the purchase. It was one of Coke's largest acquisitions since it bought Odwalla Inc. for $186 million in 2001. The move was seen as a strategic effort to expand the company's portfolio of non-carbonated beverages, and specifically to compete with PepsiCo's SoBe line of fruit juice blends and enhanced waters. It also confirmed a strategy shift from Coke's long-time practice of developing new products in house in favor of buying innovative beverage companies. Fuze launched over 40 new products and line extensions since its inception. Coke named Carl Sweat, previously senior vice president of sales and marketing of its retail division, as president and general manager to lead Fuze as a separate entity. Company founder Lance Collins was named head of innovation and strategy.
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Wikipedia