Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 1, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 17 There is essential, life-saving work going on right here in Worcester. Your organization should be a part of it. Making our community stronger. Making our community healthier. Making a difference. You can become a sponsor TODAY. (Tables are filling up fast!) www.umassmed.edu/winterball Polar's grocery stores Polar Beverages is now in 41 percent of grocery stores nationwide, with its highest penetration in the East. A partial list of eastern grocers where Polar is on the shelves in at least part of that chain's locations: 7-Eleven Albertsons Big Y BJ's Wholesale Club Costco Cumberland Farms CVS Hannaford Market Basket Price Chopper RiteAid Roche Bros. Safeway Sam's Club Shaw's ShopRite Speedway Star Market Stop & Shop Target Walgreens Walmart Wegmans Whole Foods Market Source: Polar Beverages T H E F O O D & D R I N K I S S U E F O C U S Polar has not only grown geo- graphically but also moved beyond its mainstays, like lime, lemon or orange vanilla. In 2011, Polar launched its first seasonal flavors, and in 2015, it started its Impossibly Good line aimed at the youngest consumers. To go along with the Impossibly Good tag, Polar gave impossible names: Unicorn Kisses, Dragon Whispers, Mermaid Songs and Yeti Mischief. Gone were the more traditional can designs, and in were modern looks, smaller 8-ounce cans and marketing hashtags made to trend on social media. "e only way to stay in the lead is to be an innovator," Crowley said. Polar, which started its Instagram account in 2012, was flooded on social media with imagines of people stock - ing up on the bright little cans as soon as they went on sale. e Impossibly Good line was meant to be limit- ed-time only but in August was made permanent. "Our customers are increasingly brand-loyal," said Ralph Crowley III, Polar's vice president of marketing and research. at move came a year aer the launch of a line aimed at Millennials, Seltzer'ade, which combines lemon- ade with a range of fruit flavors and emphasizes what's inside has no sugar or sweeteners. "Guilt free," the label says. Ramping up production If there's one parallel to Polar's growth it's the other cult favorite in seltzer, LaCroix. While Polar is a private company, more can be gauged about selzter's popularity by looking at National Beverage Corp., the maker of La Croix. e company is now trading at more than $115 a share. Until April 2016, it had never traded above $50. LaCroix's sales have spiked by 72 per- cent in the past decade, hitting $976 million last year. New competition has popped up, including from Spindri, a Newton company that began making fruit-in- fused seltzers in 2010. "Today's consumers want health- ier refreshment which has helped to boost growth of sparkling waters and seltzers," said Gary Hemphill, the man- aging director of research at Beverage Marketing Corp. "Both sparkling water and seltzer are likely to experience healthy growth in future years." Polar, which also owns Adirondack Beverages, calls itself the country's largest independent bottler, making Continued on next page

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