Interview with Bump Energy drink
Question 1. Who are you and what is the name of your company.
My name is Mike and I'm the President of BUMP Beverage Company, Inc. We produce BUMP ENERGY.
Question 2. How many people work for your company?
At this time we have 10 employee's.
Question 3. Who came up with the idea for Bump energy drink originally? What’s the story behind it?
That’s a funny story! A few years ago (2003ish) I was at a party in S.F. called Cafe Del Mar with a few friends. Before the party we had rented a room at the Hyatt. In our tradition we had begun to pre-party and get ready for the days festivities, with what else but Red Bull and a lot of Grey Goose! As we kept pouring, a good friend said "It would be really cool if there was an energy drink called BUMP!" With 8 of us in the room, I sat back as everyone else kept talking and thought about it...S**T YEAH – GREAT IDEA! From that day the idea has never been out of my mind!
Question 4. How was the flavor and carbonation level chosen?
Well, seeing as how we all had years of experience in the beverage industry,(LOL) we went to Safeway! Spent about $400.00 on everything from orange juice to ginger ale to milk to Cola and everything in between, and of course lots of Dixie cups! About 5-6 hours later, after taking notes on everything that was mixed, we created a great flavor! But, it was missing something...I went to the fridge pulled out a bottle (the B Factor we'll call it) and poured some into my cup! That was it!! After that I knew that this mixture was it! "Wow, you guy's need to try this", I said grinning to the rest of the group! From that flavor we then set up a tasting party with friends and family, with 12 different variations of the flavor we had made plus 3 control drinks - Rockstar Juiced, Red Bull and Go Girl. All the guests had ballots that they had to fill out (rating from 1-5 with detailed likes and dislikes) for every drink that was tested. I won’t say which control drinks placed where, but when the ballots were totaled the flavor we had created came in first by a land slide! To celebrate we made our first round of Goose-BUMP's for our guest's using Grey Goose as the vodka!
Question 5. How did you decide which ingredients to put in Bump?
That was easy, I didn't want anything in the drink that didn't need to be there and I wanted it to work! We used cane sugar and the best ingredients out there. The rest was on the chemists.
Question 6. How did you decide on the coloring for your drink?
Well, the main flavor of BUMP is Pomegranate it only made sense that the color would reflect the flavor.
Question 7. Why did you decide on the can size? It is not your typical size drink.
I knew that the industry was heading in a different direction than I was going, but the vision that I had for the drink was not in a 16oz. or 32oz. can! I also knew that I wanted to separate BUMP from the others on the shelf. Rexam answered with a 10.5oz sleek! The 2009 run of cans will include a 12oz. sleek can.
Question 8. Do you plan on releasing other flavors or maybe a sugar free version or Shot?
There will be a sugar free drink added to the line as soon as we feel the flavor of the sugar free BUMP is worthy of our users taste buds! The samples that have come thus far are not quite there yet!
Question 9. Some companies target extreme athletes, Students, Party crowd, etc... Who is your target market?
Our target market has been diverse – everyone who tastes this drink loves it, from the normal housewife to the extreme sports enthusiast; from the teenage skateboarder to the 50-year old business professional.
Question 10. Who is your products main competition? Energy drinks, Energy shots, energy pills. The big boys like RB or Monster?
The only competitive products that I see are Red Bull and Monster. And that’s only because they were in the market first – our flavor beats them.
Question 11. What are your feelings on the current controversy concerning mixing energy drinks and alcohol?
BUMP was created for that sole purpose! It is the best mixer ever created. It's like anything in life...MODERATION!
Question 12. Who designed your can and Label? Why was this design chosen?
A few friends and I came up with the design on a napkin at a club. We went back and forth for a while before I had something that looked good. Later that week I ran into a friend who has a great eye for design. He asked to take a stab at the design and the next day we had what you see today. He definitely took it to another level! He still does work for us to this day.
Question 13: Where is BUMP distributed and do you plan on expanding.
Currently BUMP is in Northern and Central California. We have just been accepted and have signed contracts for export into the European Union, which represents 27 countries. Also I am speaking with several distributors in the New York area that want to distribute BUMP along the Eastern Seaboard!! (Good Times!!)
Question 14. Do you drink BUMP on a regular basis yourself?
Oh hell yeah!! I have a mini BUMP fridge that holds 18 cans, always ready when I feel the need. I usually have 2 a day depending on the events of the day.
Question 15. Tell all Energy drink junkies out there why they should use and support BUMP. Give us your best sales pitch.
This is the BEST drink on the market! It has superior taste, it is an amazing mixer with any type of spirit (try it with you favorite beer too!), the strongest punch of energy per ounce, and there has been no reported crash with this drink. Who could ask for anything more?
Read my Bump energy drink review