Posted: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 11:30 pm
BeBevCo held the inaugural Koma Unwind Open House at its corporate headquarters and distribution center in Statesville on Wednesday and shared the company's big plans for the future.
The beverage company expects explosive growth in the near future, said CEO Brian Weber, with plans to add 100 jobs in Statesville over the next 24 months in a variety of positions, including sales, customer service, shipping, logistics, marketing and brand management.
“Four years ago, we didn’t have anything. Now, we’re the biggest brand in the country in relaxation and we just opened an office in Europe and Asia," he said. "In four years, we went from zero to being the only relaxation drink at Walmart in the nation, and it’s been a fascinating journey.”
At Wednesday's event, athletes and sportsmen sponsored by Koma Unwind — which the company markets as the opposite of energy drinks like Red Bull — signed autographs and showed off their race cars, racing motorcycles and boats.
At 6 p.m., the autograph session gave way to cocktails and dinner, followed by an on-location filming of “Chris Lafferty's Motorsports TV,” which airs on the Pursuit Channel. The evening wrapped up with live music by country singer Darrell Harwood, Chris Lafferty and Another Lost Year, whose song, “War on the Inside,” plays when Carolina Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton runs onto the field at Bank of America Stadium.
The day started off with business, however, when Weber said more than 30 investors traveled from points as far as Arizona, Houston and Calgary, Canada, to meet with BeBevCo’s corporate management.
“We spent a minute or two reviewing the past, and we spent quite a bit of time talking about the present and the future,” Weber said.
Relaxation beverages existed when BeBevCo was founded four years ago, but Weber said the drinks were marketed toward a very small niche of urban consumers.
“We wanted to market to middle class, working people and people who drink beer and wine and take Ambien to sleep,” he said. “We’re a medicated society, so I thought it was a good idea to make something that was not so hard on you, but worked effectively.”
Koma Unwind is lightly carbonated and has a “multi-berry” flavor that tastes a bit like grape soda. To achieve the relaxing effect, the drink includes a proprietary blend of the supplements melatonin, milk thistle, rose hips and valerian root.
Koma Unwind sponsors long-drive golfer William Hinson, a high school senior from Blythewood, S.C., who turned pro in June at the age of 17 and already ranks 59th in the world with his longest drive measuring 418 yards.
The youngest long-drive championship winner in history, Hinson not only wears the Koma Unwind logo on his golf shirt — he swears by it.
“I had trouble sleeping and would stay up, especially during tournaments because we travel all over the place and I’ll get all jacked up the night before, so now I drink a Koma and it’ll knock me out and put me to sleep,” he said.
Koma Unwind is available in Statesville at Walgreens, Walmart, Compare Foods and several convenience stores.
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