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Ben Renart, co-founder of the popular Milk Crate at Wellington Cafe, is the managing director of Almighty Beverage, the first kiwi company to bring caffeinated sparkling water to the shelves.
When you run a cafe you love, moving to selling water doesn’t feel like the next logical step.
But that’s exactly what Ben Renato, the founder of the deceased and sad milk crate, did.
His new product is sugar-free, active sparkling water with caffeine and a natural flavor.
It may sound crazy, but caffeinated water is starting to become popular in the United States, with brands like Water Joe, Limitless, and Phocus gaining market share.
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Coca-Cola has added the option of caffeination to its sparkling waters, Aha, as well as its bubbling Pepsi.
But Auckland-based Renart has beaten them to the New Zealand shelves.
Sales reported in a University of Auckland study suggest that kiwis prefer juices, sports and energy drinks to soft drinks.
Almighty sparkling water was created for people who need more energy but want a healthy choice, says Lenart. Each can contains 80 mg of caffeine. This is much like a cup of coffee and contains caffeine extracted from green coffee beans.
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Almighty Active is sparkling water that contains only natural caffeine and natural flavors from green coffee beans.
By law, energy drinks sold in New Zealand cannot contain more than 32 mg of caffeine per 100 ml, or more than 80 mg of caffeine in a 250 ml serving.
“We’re not trying to replace coffee,” he says. “It was my love for 16 years.”
Ghuznee St Cafe Milk Crate closed at the end of April. This is just one of the long list of business casualties caused by pandemics and rising costs in the capital.
The team behind the cafe recently released a recipe book, and Lenart says the same people behind the cafe were also Almighty founders.
Renart moved abroad in 2014, taking a step back from running the cafe, but continued to be a business partner.
Renart launched Almighty Beverages in 2015, starting with organic juices and selling wholesale to hospitality outlets in New Zealand and Australia. In 2019, we added naturally shining water to our repertoire.
The caffeinated product line has emerged from a major global trend away from sugar beverages.
Rosa Woods / Staff
Milk Crate closed in April and the team recently released a recipe book. (File photo)
“We were inspired by the United States,” says Renart. “Some of our team members spent some time there, saw a lot of this over there, and brought back ideas to us.”
“People are very aware of what they have in their bodies and have a great opportunity to replace some of their old style energy drinks with new modern ones related to their current healthy lifestyle. “
These drinks find a niche as an alcohol alternative, pre-workout boost, or afternoon pick-up, naturally energizing and hydrating at the same time.
“For go getters, or those who are tired,” he says.