ANAHEIM — The head of Hansen Natural Corp. couldn't be happier with the fact that competitors' "New Age" beverages are flooding the nation's markets.
In the advertising blitzes for Snapple, Crystal Pepsi and Coca-Cola's Nordic Mist, Hansen Chairman Rodney Sacks sees a sparkling opportunity: a sharper consumer focus on all New Age drinks, including Hansen's Natural sodas.
The loosely defined category includes iced teas, flavored waters and "natural" sodas that generally are viewed as healthier alternatives to regular colas. Pepsi, Coke and dozens of other competitors are fighting for the New Age market share because those beverages are the fastest-growing segment of the soft-drink industry.
As Sacks sees it, Hansen is positioned to grab an increased share of the segment, which accounts for $1 billion of the $50-billion soft drink industry's annual revenue. Sales of Hansen sodas and apple juice totaled $21.3 million for 1992.
Hansen executives do not expect to match the marketing might of upstart Snapple, whose iced teas generated $232 million in 1992 revenue. Nor do they hope to immediately top Clearly Canadian, which sold $150 million worth of flavored sparkling water last year. But industry analysts say that Hansen, based in Anaheim, can increase market share by keeping its costs low and recapturing some of the momentum that pushed Hansen's sales to an estimated $50 million during the mid-1980s.
Nearly 15 years ago, founder Tim Hansen combined unusual flavors with clever marketing to turn the line of Hansen sodas and pasteurized juice products into a California favorite. That history of success gives Hansen a special marketing position, says Paul Gillette, a beverage industry analyst in Los Angeles.
"The idea has been that Hansen wasn't so much formulated as blended from natural products," Gillette says. "A lot of people perceive it as a healthier beverage" than its cola competitors.
"If Hansen can continue that unique selling proposition" nationwide, Gillette says, "it should go right through the roof."
That California connection may be one of Hansen's marketing strengths. Urban violence, earthquakes and a stalled economy may have dulled the Golden State's image, but Sacks contends that consumers still look to Californians to set the next healthy trend. That's why newly designed beverage cans will boldly identify Hansen's Natural as "California's original clear natural soda."
