WisBusiness: Flatt Cola looks to shake up energy drink market

By Ben Wurl-Koth

For WisBusiness.com

Would you drink a flat cola? Most people would not. But you might reach for a can of “Flatt” Cola just to see what it’s all about.

The whimsical name of Flatt Cola is not the only thing that’s different about this novel energy drink, which combines the taste and popularity of cola with the growing consumer trend toward energy drinks.

Founded three years ago by Paul Pucci and Dave Kruse, two former UW-Madison graduate students, Flatt Cola is bubbling its way into the rapidly growing market for energy drinks. That market is growing by roughly 15 percent per year nationally. Pucci and Kruse recognized that trend as early as 2005.

“Monster (energy drink) had just hit the scene in 2004 and Red Bull was picking up steam,” Pucci said. “Both of those products, and subsequently a lot of the similar products like RockStar and Amp, all have the same kind of flavor profile.”

That inspired Pucci and Kruse to fill a gap in the market by developing a good-tasting energy cola. Flatt Cola has a cola taste, contains about as much caffeine as a typical cup of coffee, and is enriched with 100 percent of the suggested daily value of vitamin C and only uses natural cane sugar.

Cola is the number one grossing carbonated soda in the world, with average annual sales over $4.6 billion. Combining the number one carbonated beverage with the trend toward energy drinks seemed like a natural, Pucci said.

Still, why would anyone choose a beverage off the shelf that is advertised as being “Flatt”?

Pucci believes the name stands out and reinforces the “fun” image of the drink, which is captured by a branding statement: “Life is too serious, Flatt is here to bring back the fun.”

Pucci said Flatt Cola has worked with Hiebing marketing of Madison on “fun marketing techniques” to build their product’s image. As a result, Flatt is not reaching out to the action sports guru seen on most energy drink commercials, but the every-day warrior hoping to get through the week, perform better in meetings or fight through late-night study sessions to pass the next mid-term exam.

Flatt Cola is sold in 10 Wisconsin counties and stocked in about 175 locations between Milwaukee and Madison. When Flatt was first released it sold about 20 cases per month. It is now selling between 120 and 150 cases per month.

Flatt is seeking $400,000 through investors and partners to assist in the company’s growth and expansion and presented to potential investors at the Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium in Madison in early November. Additional funding would be used to help launch a low-calorie Flatt Cola and other flavors, and expand the market from Wisconsin into Chicago and the Twin Cities, followed by other major college towns across America.

— Wurl-Koth is a student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.