FITAID Renews Partnership with Leading Endurance Brand Spartan in US and Canada for Multi-Year Term
LIFEAID Beverage Co.’s Recovery Beverage FITAID Continues its Reign as “Official Recovery Beverage” of Spartan, Supporting The Fitness of Millions
BOSTON, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — FITAID, the recovery beverage of LIFEAID Beverage Co. has renewed its partnership with Spartan®, the world’s leading endurance sports and wellness brand, maintaining its designation as the “official Recovery Beverage” of Spartan North America, as part of a multi-year deal.
“Spartan athletes have long-come to know and love cracking open a FITAID when they reach the finish line as the first step to their recovery,” said Spartan’s Vice President of Global Partnerships, Ian Lawson. “Our community relies on FITAID more than ever to fuel a clean recovery from training day to race day. We’re excited and honored to continue our FITAID partnership for years to come – they have been with us from the beginning and are truly part of the Spartan family.”
As part of the multi-year partnership, FITAID will be served to all racers after they cross the finish line at scheduled 2021 Spartan events in the US and Canada to aid in recovery, in addition to on-site branding. The official recovery beverage will also receive integration on Spartan.com, Spartan’s social media and the Spartan Up! Podcast.
“Spartan is an ethos and movement. It has always been more than what happens on a single race day. It’s a mindset of perseverance, individual commitment and collective community building with other passionate athletes,” says Aaron Hinde, co-founder and president of LIFEAID Beverage Co. Orion Melehan, fellow co-founder and CEO adds, “These parallels in our two organizations and the community we both serve stand as the foundation of our continued partnership.”
As a partner since 2015, FITAID has become an essential part of the nutrition-conscious Spartan Community. With millions living and breathing the Spartan Lifestyle, the recovery beverage is paramount in the daily, active lives of millions.
ABOUT LIFEAID BEVERAGE CO.
With a focus on great-tasting, wellness-enhancing and solutions-driven supplement products, LIFEAID Beverage Co. has become a trusted brand among health- and performance-conscious consumers. LIFEAID offers a range of “vitamins you’ll actually enjoy drinking” including: FITAID, FOCUSAID, PARTYAID, IMMUNITIYAID, LIFEAID, GOLFERAID and the newly launched Keto-friendly FITAID ZERO and FITAID RX ZERO. The FITAID line is currently the #1 Post-Workout Recovery Drink in America as well as the Official Sponsor of the U.S. Spartan Race Series. Visit Lifeaidbevco.com for more information.
ABOUT SPARTAN
Spartan is a global experiential sport and wellness brand with a 10 million+ strong community. We create transformational experiences, products, and content to help people, companies and teams tear down boundaries and expand what they believe to be possible. Spartan combines large scale global events with a vibrant digital Content and Community Platform. With more than 250 events across more than 40 countries on six continents, Spartan is the world’s leading extreme wellness and endurance brand. Visit spartan.com for more information and registration.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Jonathan Fine, 781.248.3963, jonathanf@spartan.com
SOURCE: LIFEAID Beverage Co.
Related Linkshttp://www.lifeaidbevco.com
Original article posted Oct. 18, 2018 by MORNING CHALK UP
If you’re not already familiar with FITAID athlete Logan Aldridge, then read our mini-profile on this unbelievable adaptive athlete.
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In short, Logan lost his left arm in a boating accident when he was 13 years old. But this guy isn’t one to just “survive” but thrive.
He currently holds the World Record for the most one arm/one leg push-ups in 1 minute and for most weight cleaned with one arm in 1 minute. He also boasts a 315 pound front squat and a 455 pound deadlift. He can also climb a rope with one hand, and yes, he has his sights on doing them legless.
You get the point.
The story.
So a few weeks back, Logan was competing in a Spartan Race when he approached the side-by-side rings across a moat. These are challenging even for strong athletes with two arms.
Logan has one, but that doesn’t matter to Logan.
“I did not complete this obstacle. I failed. But that was okay. ‘It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default.’ It is ‘impossible’ for me to complete a Spartan Race without failing at least one obstacle. That does not discourage me or reduce my confidence. It excites me! Failure is inevitable, so fail forward,” Logan wrote on Instagram.
Check out these photos, then be more like Logan.
> > > Live well.
Brad Avery | Feb. 22, 2018
There’s nobility—and money—in wanting to achieve mass appeal,
building a brand that appeals to as many types of consumers as possible.
But few brands succeed in truly reaching a universal market. It’s a time-honored tactic, in fact, to thrive by thinking smaller — focusing in on specific demographics, need states, or consumer identities to build loyalty. For a long time, this simply meant “college students” or “moms on the go,” but some brands have started to take things even deeper, selecting niche target audiences that live in their own communities or form their own online tribes.
Brands big and small are now finding emerging subcultures to build their beds in. From startup recovery drinks crafting an identity around cult fitness brands to big soda companies focusing in on the emerging gaming community, we took a look in this two-part series at how companies large and small are searching for wide success with niche, but fast-growing communities.
FitAid Hits with CrossFitters
LIFEAID co-founders Aaron Hinde and Orion Melehan first met in a CrossFit gym in 2009, so it’s appropriate that their workout-based FitAid product would become the Official Recovery Drink of the 2017 CrossFit Games.
FitAid, in fact, was carefully built and cultivated around this particular fitness subculture. Oft parodied for its customers’ cult-like devotion to their all-in style of workout, CrossFit has built a loyal consumer base, so a beverage brand built within the culture targeting not only their nutritional needs, but their whole identity, was in a good position to resonate. Its founders say FitAid, one of the multiple functional beverage sublines released under the LIFEAID master brand, is formulated with vitamins, electrolytes, and other ingredients to fit the needs of CrossFit athletes. The brand’s early business strategy involved getting the product in those gyms.
In creating FitAid, Hinde and Melehan — like a large group of insurgent brands, from competing sports drink Kill Cliff, itself a former CrossFit Games sponsor, to a variety of energy bars and snacks — sought to find a way to access a large and still growing customer base made up of several key age groups. According to a report from Rally Fitness, CrossFit counts roughly 4 million members worldwide, with 42 percent ranging between 25 and 34 years old. 19 percent are between 35 and 44, while 18 percent are minors. The demographics skew evenly between men and women. The $4 billion company has experienced massive growth in the past decade, expanding from 13 locations in 2005 to more than 13,000 worldwide today. The company’s low-tech gym setup and franchise model has also given it the ability to rapidly scale and bring in new customers.
Of the roughly 10,000 gyms LIFEAID products are currently available in nationwide, about 4,000 are CrossFit locations. As LIFEAID expands its distribution in traditional retail channels, its connection with its base gives it an extra edge in grocery and at retailers where CrossFitters shopped, such as Vitamin Shoppe.
“That gym channel has been a great driver because it’s very consistent with that health-conscious consumer who we’re targeting,” Hinde said. “That consumer who happens to shop at Whole Foods, and at Kroger’s, and at Publix. We’re able to get turn from day one in a traditional retail environment, which is extremely crowded, because we already have that core community that we’re bringing to the table that we can mobilize.
Having company leaders in Hinde and Melehan who live the lifestyle — and participate in the grueling events — gives LIFEAID another layer of authenticity.
Knowing CrossFit’s unique vernacular and partnering with the culture’s celebrities for social media influence have both been vital to developing an authentic relationship with the consumer base, and not coming off as another invasive brand just looking to exploit a community.
Working within CrossFit has also opened the door for Hinde and Melehan to move into similar fitness-based markets — a transition that reveals another set of growing fitness communities that are being targeted by entrepreneurial brands.
In 2016, Hinde and Melehan began running in the Spartan Race obstacle competition when LIFEAID (FitAid) was signed as the event’s official recovery drink. According to Hinde, Spartan Race and CrossFit had a significant overlap in their consumer base, giving the company “street cred” as it integrated and was introduced to new consumers.
“We followed a very similar approach,” Hinde said. “Got some top influencers and ambassadors on board, ran a few races ourselves, started showing up to events on a smaller scale level, and then when the time was right we wanted to step up and do finish line sampling for all the racers.”
The company has innovated around the partnership, premiering CrossFit-exclusive FitAid RX and the protein-heavy FitAid Fuel snack packets in order to better fit the needs of that consumer. But beyond CrossFit and Spartan Race, much of LIFEAID’s portfolio is built around niche target audiences. Using a uniform can design, the company also markets products such as GolferAid, intended to help golfers improve their performance on the course, and TravelAid (now ImmunityAid), an immunity drink aimed at frequent travelers. The company’s FocusAid is recommended for students, gamers, and office workers and features Nootropics and other allegedly brain-boosting ingredients, while PartyAid focuses on providing clean energy.
Similar to LIFEAID, in November, Kill Cliff—which has long fostered its own relationship with the sport and its athletes—partnered with another Spartan-like endurance event, Tough Mudder, to be the Official Sports Drink of its 2018-2019 season. The company also lends its name to the Kill Cliff Granite Games, furthering its presence in the competitive fitness world.
Meanwhile, GT’s Living Foods is also running with the Spartans, bringing its kombucha products to races as an official partner.
“We are an inspirational brand and we like to take a position of living life to the fullest and making sure each day is rich with experiences,” GT Dave, founder and CEO of GT’s Living Foods, told BevNET. “That kind of philosophy completely aligned and resonated with the Spartan community.”
Dave said he and Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena have long been personal friends, but only last year did the two brands opt to capitalize on their synergy. GT’s Kombucha is being served at all U.S. Spartan Race events this year, and Dave said he sees big potential for the community’s “Spartans” to find value in kombucha as an alternative to sugar-heavy sports drinks like Gatorade.
“What’s very clear in this Spartan community is that the majority of them aren’t really athletes, meaning they’re not doing this for a living,” Dave said. “A lot of them are doing this because they want to challenge themselves to a point of growth, a point of a breakthrough, and a point of new awareness about how their body is a beautiful instrument. That’s kind of our mantra as a brand, we want to help people be the best version of themselves and participate in that kind of awakening about how perfection is not real, but the pursuit of it is.”
On Thursday, Spartan Race signed one of its biggest beverage partners yet, announcing BodyArmor as its Official Sports Drink through the 2019 season.
The brand, one of the top selling sports drinks in the country seeing $130 million in sales in 2016, may lack the grassroots authenticity of a LIFEAID or the holistic health halo of a GT’s, but it can call on endorsements from some of the top athletes in pro sports.
“Partnering with Spartan is a no-brainer for BodyArmor,” said BodyArmor shareholder and 18-time NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant in a press release. “Spartan athletes are driven, competitive and they are obsessed with better, and that’s exactly what BodyArmor exemplifies as a sports drink. Spartan athletes demand the best in hydration and nutrition so it’s only fitting that BodyArmor will be providing them with the best hydration option out there.”
BodyArmor’s partnership with Spartan Race shows the niche market’s value to big brands. The clean hydration promoted by BodyArmor has potential to resonate deep with Spartan’s base, and with the full endorsement of De Sena, it’s being welcomed in with open arms.
Part II of this article will look at how brands are now targeting the emerging eSports tournament circuit as a way to bring in the millennial gamer demographic.
SOURCE: https://www.bevnet.com/news/2018/new-new-niches-brands-look-intense-sports-e-games-growth
By Jason Jaksetic
Why did Spartan and FitAid become partners?
Why do you find a “Spartan-approved” logo on a FitAid can?
Spartan Lifestyle Editor Jason Jaksetic sets the record straight.
I keep FitAid in two bags: my gym bag and my rucksack. I also keep it on my desk and in my pickup truck—both staging grounds for gym and mountain training sessions.
Surely, I enjoy FitAid most when I cross the finish line at a Spartan Race.
This is because in daily living, I’m one of those people who keep the throttle pretty close to the floor while simultaneously trying to stay lean and mean. (Let’s face it: most Spartans are. After all, a Spartan lifestyle is active and demanding.) Sometimes, when running this precarious balance of input and output, we start running a little low and need a boost, both in performance and recovery. And FitAid, amazingly, has Spartans covered in both situations.
ENTER FITAID.
There are many reason why you will find a Spartan logo on a can of FitAid. I’ll break down the main ones for you.
45 CALORIES.
Unless you are doing long workouts, extra Calories aren’t your friend. Especially drinkable ones. You are trying to burn Calories, not gain them. The 45 Calories found in FitAidare not excessive like the Calories most sports drinks. Anyone familiar with how hard you work to remove 200 Calories isn’t about to toss them back quickly during a workout. 45 is not zero, but then again, FitAid is not a ‘diet’ sports drink, full of artificial sweeteners.
RAW, ORGANIC BLUE AGAVE.
When nature has provided so many natural sweeteners, modern humans’ reliance on processed sugars and artificial sweeteners is perplexing. Spartans think so, anyway. That’s why they will reach for FitAid over sugary sports drinks. Agave is delicious. Agave is natural. Agave is a no brainer for a great tasting drink.
Skip the processed. Always. FitAid did.
PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY.
FitAid pulls double duty. I drink a FitAid before and after my workouts, and sometimes during a long endurance session. The one before my workout fuels my endurance and performance. The one after helps me recover from the damage I did.
Incidentally, because most Spartans train early in the morning before work, it’s nice to get the energy boost after a workout with your recovery fuel so you can shower up and roll into the office on a mission to tackle the next challenge.
VITAMIN C, D, E.
Spartans don’t worry about vitamins too much when they have their diets dialed in and are consuming plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. But sometimes, especially when traveling or busy, it’s hard to get the vitamin-rich foods that are essential to a healthy diet and immune system. A day with FitAid is a day you know you have the key vitamins that keep your health covered.
AMINO ACIDS, BCAAS, GLUTAMINE.
Muscle fuel and muscle repair are at the core of performance and recovery. Feed your muscles well when they are most hungry, and they will be therefore you when you need.
TURMERIC.
Spartans love the performance and recovery aspects of this natural ingredient so much that we devoted a whole week of our Food of the Week recipes to exploring how to incorporate it into our Spartan diets.
LIGHT CARBONATION.
I love bubbles. You love bubbles. We all love bubbles. They are, well, just damn refreshing. FitAid delivers bubbles.
Maybe you are a seasoned Spartan, training and living hard. Maybe you are just starting to step on the accelerator and finding yourself lacking some energy as you engage in the Spartan lifestyle. On any gym and on any mountain, FitAid is the performance and recovery support you need. (With bubbles.)
SOURCE: https://www.spartan.com/en/community/blog/lifestyle?article=42661