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WHEN DARRELL DUCHESNEAU ASKED PEOPLE WHAT THEY THOUGHT THE "purple stuff" was in the refrigerator during Sunny Delight commercials in 1984, everybody had a different answer. Friends would say it was grape soda, grape juice or a juice drink.
That one drink could be something to everybody sparked an idea in Duchesneau, chief executive officer of Funktional Beverages Inc., Spring, Texas. 'Purple' became a brand when the company released Purple Stuff, a purple-colored soda in three flavors with antianxiety properties.
"The idea of the company had been germinating in my head for multiple years," he says. "It was more of an evolution than it was an initial kind of strategy. It was a lot of pieces of the puzzle coming together."
The puzzle came into full view when Duchesneau decided to capitalize on the growing beverage industry trend of combining flavor with function.
He established a business partnership with Randy Traver, the company's Utah-based chief operating officer, and hired Tim Lucas to be the company's chief marketing officer. Drawing on his experience in the fresh juice industry, Duchesneau knew quality and taste were critical, he says. So, in 2008, Duchesneau and Traver developed an anti-anxiety beverage that tasted like...