Midterm - Glacéau

Glacéau

Glacéau is a water company that plays by a different set of rules than it’s other corporate competitors. This is evident when one first opens their corporate information page and is greeted by simple text in all small letters with an opening sentence that states, “glacéau’s boring history”. From this very first encounter one might be able to see why Glacéau’s products have become so popular among the younger, athletic demographic.

Glacéau was founded in 1996 when Darius Brikoff created SmartWater. SmartWater is a “zero-calorie, vapor-distilled, electrolyte-enhanced water. Just the purest, cleanest water possible with added electrolytes.” (Glacéau) What started off as just a new way to offer water quickly grew into a small company that was selling water to health food stores and specialty retailers in the New York area. In 1998 FruitWater was added and by the year 2000 Darius added the now famous VitaminWater to his company and the waters began to be sold nationwide.

The new VitaminWater is a “great-tasting, healthy enhanced water that is packed with nutrients. In addition to providing the perfect compliment to everyone’s less-than-perfect diet, each VitaminWater variety has a unique combination of nutrients to deliver a specific benefit to get you through your day.” (Glacéau) The VitaminWater brand was what really helped Glacéau to get on the map. The water was first promoted by rapper 50 Cent and afterwards every young 20-something was enamored with the brand and began drinking it. Today VitaminWater, with it's many different flavors and kitschy names, continues to market heavily to the younger demographic with their fun advertising campaigns and prevalently placed ads in magazines such as US Weekly, GQ, Vogue, and sports magazines.

After the success of SmartWater, VitaminWater, and FruitWater domestically, Glacéau launched their products internationally in 2008 by introducing them into the UK, Australian, and French markets. The continued success both domestically and internationally has helped Glacéau to “experience triple digit growth for five straight years and according to industry reports (no we didn’t write them) is poised to become one of the biggest brands in the history of beverages.” (Glacéau)

Today the Glacéau brand and it’s products are created and distributed by Energy Brands, a company created by Darius and his partner Mike. Another beverage giant in the industry has also taken notice of Glacéau’s prominence as Energy Brands is now a privately held subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Co.

Midterm - Colgate

Colgate

In 1806 William Colgate began a small starch, soap and candle business in New York City. Many years later in1873 Colgate introduced toothpaste in a jars and finally in collapsible tubes in 1896. Colgate won top honors for its remarkable soaps and perfumes at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1900 and a global brand was born. This success has continued for over 200 years and the brand has become an American standard. As Ian Cook (Chairman, President, and CEO) says “For more than 200 years, Colgate people and Colgate values have been at the heart of our success. We are proud of the powerful strategies and sharp focus which drive our success today. Thanks to all Colgate people, our consumers and business partners for their contributions in helping us to become strong, focused and truly global company we are today.” (Colgate)

After 100 years of business (in 1906), to celebrate their success, Colgate distributed two million tubes of toothpaste and toothbrushes to schools around the US and provided hygienists to demonstrate how to properly brush teeth. By the 1920s, Colgate began establishing business in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Near the end of the 1920s, Colgate merged with Palmolive and was first listed on the NY stock exchange in 1930.

Colgate-Palmolive is now a highly valued, award winning company, “today, with sales surpassing $15 billion, Colgate focuses on four core businesses: Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. Colgate now sells its products in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.” (Colgate) In 1996, Colgate’s program “Bright Smiles, Bright Futures” spread to 50 countries and now reaches over 50 million children each year. Colgate-Palmolive has also received many domestic and international awards including; “100 Best Companies to Work For,” “Best Companies for Minorities,” Top 50 Employers” and “Global Most Admired Companies” from Fortune Magazine and Equal Opportunity Publications.

Colgate prides itself on being a diverse, caring, always improving company. “Our three fundamental values — Caring, Global Teamwork and Continuous Improvement — are part of everything we do.” (Colgate) Colgate cares about their customers, shareholders and business partners, all alike. Colgate believes that “by better understanding consumers' and customers' expectations and continuously working to innovate and improve products, services and processes, Colgate will ‘become the best." (Colgate) This mantra has helped them to continue to grow their business both domestically and internationally.

Colgate as an oral hygiene brand has many competitors, though their biggest competition is Crest. These two oral hygiene companies have been in competition since the 1940s, when Crest was introduced. Colgate believes that by their being in business for over 100 years their “reputation has been built upon the quality and safety of our products. Our commitment to quality and safety is essential to the continued growth and success of our Company.”(Colgate)

Midterm - Grey Goose

Grey Goose

Grey Goose vodka was Sidney Frank’s (his company was made famous for introducing Jagermeister and making it a huge success) answer to the new surge for super premium vodkas in the United States during the late 1990s. The surge was brought on by the introduction of Polish vodka brand Belvedere into the market in 1996. Shortly after Frank decided that his company needed to import a high end vodka into the market as well. He quickly dispersed his team to France where they began to create and distill what is now one of the most highly regarded and well-known vodka brands in the world.

In 1997, Frank chose France because “the notion of French manufacturing having an inherent link with high perceived quality” (Wikipedia) made him think that the brand would be able to be successfully marketed to the US premium liquor market. The team chose for the vodka to be created in the Cognac region of France, north of Paris. “For centuries the most respected experts in spirits distillation have practiced their craft in the region, which is renowned for its luxury foods, wines and spirits. It's these craftsmen whose expertise and vision led to the creation of a spirit so exceptional that it redefined vodka.” (Bacardi) This also proved to be a highly useful marketing tool in order to help the brand launch.

Grey Goose’s quality is monitored and ensured by “the watchful eye of an expert, the GREY GOOSE maître de chai (cellar master), the spirit is closely monitored so as to ensure that every drop of its production exceeds expectations.” (Bacardi) In addition to a very high attention detail in order to make sure that each bottle is reflective upon the built up cache of the brand “only the finest ingredients are used, such as the golden fine French wheat and the naturally filtered spring water that creates the superior nature” (Bacardi) of the Vodka.

Such a scrutinized process must have it’s rewards and it in fact has. “In its first year of production, GREY GOOSE was hailed as "The World's Best Tasting Vodka" by the Chicago Beverage Testing Institute and was also awarded a Platinum medal at the World Spirits Championship in San Francisco, California.” (Bacardi) The success of the Grey Goose brand (so successful that Frank was able to sell it to Bacardi in 2004 for $2.2 billion [the largest single brand sale ever]) is due to having a high quality product along with the perfect mix of marketing and brand story when introducing a new brand into the marketplace.

Midterm - Orbit Gum

Orbit Gum

Wrigley was a small family owned company that started in 1891 that sold baking powder and soap to the people of Chicago. Today however Wrigley has grown into a “company (that) is a recognized leader in confections with a wide range of product offerings including gum, mints, hard and chewy candies, lollipops, and chocolate." (Wrigley) They have grown from a small brand to one that has operations in over 40 different countries and distributes goods in more than 180, no small feat. One of Wrigley’s best-known products is Orbit gum.

In 2008 Wrigley was purchased by and has now become a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Mars in and of itself is quite a success story, it has grown to become one of the “world's largest food companies, generating global revenues of $30 billion annually and producing some of the world's leading brands in six segments that include Chocolate, Drinks, Food, Petcare, Symbioscience and Wrigley." (Wrigley)

Orbit gum was first introduced in 1944 when the company began shipping all of their most famous flavors of gum (Juicy Fruit, Wrigley’s Spearmint and Doublemint) to the troops stationed overseas in an order to support the war effort. Since these brands were now “no longer available on the civilian market, Wrigley began production of a new gum called Orbit. After the war had ended and the three established brands returned to the market in 1946, Orbit was discontinued.” (Orbit)

The gum sat dormant for 30 years until in 1976 it was reintroduced overseas in the German, Swiss, and Dutch markets. “This marked the first time that a sugar-free gum was marketed under the Wrigley name.” (Orbit) The brand was first reintroduced in the American market in 2001 and “the brand quickly gained in popularity and became the fastest growing brand in the gum category.” (Orbit)

In 2007 “Orbit, along with Extra® and Eclipse®, became the first chewing gum to receive The American Dental Association's Seal of Acceptance, with nearly 20 years of research demonstrating that the products help to fight cavities, strengthen teeth and reduce harmful plaque acids.” (Orbit) The smooth and refreshing flavor of sugar free Orbit was said to leave your mouth with a just brushed clean feeling and so the now famous advertising campaign featuring a British spokes model toting the line “For a Good Clean Feeling, No Matter What” was introduced and Orbit has continued it’s immense growth in popularity both domestically and internationally.