Quick, what do Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM), and Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA) - the purveyor of Jamba Juice smoothie shops - have in common? They're all three offering at least one product from KonaRed Corp. (OTCBB:KRED). All told, KRED products can be found in a variety of retail outlets, ranging from mass marketers like WMT to niche players like WFM to service providers like JMBA to convenience stores like 7-Eleven to grocers like Albertson's to.... well, the point becomes clear. KonaRed is in a lot of places. Yet, the number of spots where a KRED could multiply by eight by the middle of the year. In fact, the organization's growth rate is the most exciting - and perhaps most understated - aspect of the KonaRed story.
If you're not familiar with the company, that's ok; most investors aren't. Most consumer weren't that familiar with the company a year ago either. Things change, however, and quickly. In less than a year, the number of places that offer a KRED product ramped up from 375 locales (mostly in Hawaii) to 540 locations, some of which - like Whole Foods Market - are retail venues in Hawaii. That's a 44% improvement in the number of places where the company's coffee fruit beverages and green teas are available. And it's not like these venues are second-rate players either. Wal-Mart doesn't bother carrying anything it doesn't think will have mass appeal, even on a local/regional basis. Jamba, via its Jamba Juice stands, won't take the risk of co-branding a smoothie flavor unless it's sure it will only enhance and not damage its own brand name. And, Whole Foods Market has a well-known penchant for only offering the highest-quality and healthiest products on its store shelves. The fact that any of these outlets was willing to sell a KonaRed product is impressive, but the fact that all of them - and several more key players - are willing to carry a KRED line of products is nothing less than amazing, and encouraging.
Great, but what's the product? Don't get the wrong idea by the "coffee fruit beverage" description. It's not coffee. The flagship product fruit juice, made from the fruit surrounding the coffee bean while it's growing. Previously this fruit/shell had been discarded, but as it turns out, not only is packed full of antioxidants and other healthy ingredients, it tastes great too. KonaRed also offers a line of green tea, and most recently has announced it will begin production of coconut water... the latest hot button in the functional beverage world.
They're all secondary details for KRED fans and followers at this point, though. The show stopper is the number of places KonaRed CEO Shaun Roberts expects his company's products to be found in by the end of the second quarter of this year. It's 3200, up nearly 500% from the current venue-count of 540.
At first it sounds like a ridiculous number; Roberts may as well have predicted a kajillion outlets by the middle of the year, since it's an equally unattainable number. Here's the thing - 3200 locales is completely attainable, as KonaRed Corporation has tapped the resources, know-how, and marketing reach of beverage distribution expert Splash Beverage. Splash Bevarage also handles brand names like Red Bull, Ernest & Julio Gallo, and Nabisco. So, it (almost) goes without saying that adding an extra 2660 KonaRed retail locations is not only not out of reach, it would be a little surprising if it didn't happen.
As for KRED investors, there's a lot to be compelled by, but more than anything it's becoming clear than 2014 is apt to be a breakout year for the company. The stock is likely to follow suit.
For more on KonaRed, visit the SCN research page here.
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