Flying high with Bai!
September 3rd, 2010 • Uncategorized • No comments
Here’s our friend Dave Zucchero flying high with Bai in the Swiss Alps. As Dave said in sending along this picture: “Nothing tastes like a Bai5 at 12,000 feet!”
From up the road and around the country …
August 24th, 2010 • Uncategorized • No comments
I recently received a couple of nice e-mails from new Bai5 drinkers, one from right here in Princeton, N.J., and another from an eager customer 1,100 miles away in Iowa. It’s always satisfying to get e-mails like these … keep ‘em coming!
From Sarah in Princeton:
Subject: Love, love, love Bai drinks!
Thanks for making a great,TASTY, low-cal HEALTHY drink..quite an accomplishment!
And from Scott in Cedar Falls, Iowa:
Subject: Want to buy Bai In Cedar Falls, IA
Hello–I see that you sell Bai in the Dubuque Hy-Vee stores.
If you could get them to the stores in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, I’m sure they would do well.
Recently bought several flavors of the five-calorie variety and loved them–from the Stargazer in Grayslake, Ill.
Making a direct impact …
August 12th, 2010 • Uncategorized • 1 comment
I have often noted that Bai pays homage to the coffee industry — where I spent much of my career — 
by utilizing the coffee fruit as the source of antioxidants found in our drinks. This relationship brings benefits on many fronts.
For years, coffee growers would simply discard the fruit of the coffee bean during the harvesting process, as roasters were only interested in the bean itself. In learning more about the rich antioxidants in the coffee fruit, I was intrigued not only by the opportunity to harness that power to develop our beverages, but also by the sustainable aspects of a commercial use for the coffee fruit. With Bai, we have found an opportunity to reuse an abundant natural product formerly regarded as waste and, just as importantly, we are providing an additional revenue stream for the coffee growers themselves.
Through my years in the coffee business, I developed a tremendous appreciation for the care and hard work that the best coffee growers put into their craft. Anyone who enjoys a good cup of rich, flavorful coffee can taste the difference that comes from beans that are cultivated with passion and dedication. Coffee growing is a difficult, competitive business. In developing Bai, we have forged direct trade relationships to purchase coffee fruit from growers themselves, providing opportunities for them to realize new revenues at a time when the global economic climate remains under pressure.
Just as I continue to be thrilled by the responses we get from consumers about how they are “getting Bai,” I am equally proud of the direct impact we are having to benefit the people who make the coffee “superfruit” available to us literally from the ground up.
Hee hee hee! Elmo loves Bai …
August 10th, 2010 • Uncategorized • No comments
One of our sales representatives, Eddie Quiñones, recently ran across a celebrity Bai fan in Times Square in midtown Manhattan. Boys and girls, Elmo loves his antioxidant infusion! Ya ta ta ta!
Happy Birthday to Bai …
August 3rd, 2010 • Uncategorized, antioxidants, coffee fruit • 1 comment
One year ago today, we officially launched the Bai brand with great excitement and optimism. I’m proud to say that our first year has turned out even better than I could have imagined.
What began with a three-person crew has blossomed into today’s Team Bai, which is nine people strong. Our product line has grown from three to eight flavors, including four varieties in the low-calorie Bai5 line, which we introduced earlier this year and which has been extremely well received. From our initial rollout in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and select West Coast locations, our distribution has expanded throughout the Northeast and into the Midwest and even the Caribbean.
I look back at this past year and feel very blessed by our success. Bai began with a singular idea — making use of the coffee fruit in a healthy, flavorful way — that took root in my own kitchen. It was an idea that was cultivated with the support and counsel of family and friends, and has evolved rapidly into a business that is breaking open a new category in the industry — a functional beverage for health-conscious consumers, powered by a natural ingredient that was largely unknown before Bai hit the market.
I have been fortunate to put together a team of hard-working, committed people who share my enthusiasm for building the Bai brand. Together we have put Bai on a solid path by doing business with good partners and positioning ourselves for further growth if we continue to work as hard as we have over the past 12 months.
As any proud parent would say about watching a child grow, I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone. And as I blow out that candle today (before washing down a slice of cake with a frosty Congo Pear), I am filled with anticipation about what the next year will bring.
Team Bai Spotlight: Mary Hall
July 30th, 2010 • Uncategorized • No comments
Name: Mary Hall
Title: New York City area sales manager
Background: I previously worked for an energy drink company as an area sales manager in Manhattan. Prior to that, I was a marketing manager for a tea company.
Favorite things to do outside of work: I love being outdoors — it’s my number-one thing. I really enjoy hiking and taking photographs. I hope to see everything in the world someday!
Why Bai? I wanted to work for a company that I believed would be successful and where everyone works as a team. This is definitely a family-oriented company where everyone works together, which is what I love. I also love the whole meaning of Bai — not only the healthy approach of taking the discarded coffee fruit and reusing it, but the start of a new era in the beverage world … and us having worked together to achieve that. I hope we continue to move toward national distribution and we can all have our hands in creating a bigger company and bigger brand. Healthy lifestyles start with Bai.
BevNet Gives Bai 4 Stars!
July 20th, 2010 • Uncategorized, antioxidants, coffee fruit • No comments
BevNet, one of the leading outlets for news and product reviews in the beverage industry, recently sampled several of our Bai and Bai5 flavors. The result was a hit: 4 out of 5 stars for Panama Peach, Tanzania Strawberry, Sumatra Dragonfruit and Kenya Peach.
Check out the full reviews on BevNet. If you’re a Bai fan, hit the site and add your own comments on your favorite flavors.
Here is a sample of some of the comments from the BevNet reviews:
Bai Tanzania Strawberry variety is very enjoyable. The mixture, which includes coffee fruit extract and white tea extract, makes for something that has big fruit flavor (you can definitely taste the pomegranate and strawberry) with a slight note of coffee fruit at the finish. It all goes quite well together, with the tartness of the fruit flavors offering some nice balance to the coffee fruit flavor. … Functionally, the product’s 3,000 ORAC units (antioxidants) are certainly a big plus.
Panama Peach:
Honestly, this is one of the best tasting low calorie products that we’ve ever tasted, with a level of sweetness and lack of aftertaste that’s close to what you’ll find in sugar sweetened drinks. There’s a bold peach flavor to the product, which is the clear result of using peach juice instead of flavorings and filler juices.
Sumatra Dragonfruit:
They’ve hit the nail on the head in terms of the delicate balance of delivering natural sweetness and minimal aftertaste.
Team Bai Spotlight: Robert Watkins
June 24th, 2010 • Uncategorized • No comments
Name: Robert Watkins
Position: National sales manager-DSD
Background: I started in the beverage industry in 1984 as a beer sales representative and worked for 20 years with distributors in the New York marketplace, learning what it takes to be successful. I then worked for Red Bull North America, managing a group of distributors in Southwest Virginia. Most recently before joining Bai, I worked for a tea company, securing distribution throughout the country and into the Caribbean.
Favorite things to do outside of work: Kayaking and spending time with family.
Why Bai? I was intrigued by the idea of being part of a company with such huge potential to create a new category and to bring a new brand to market. Once I tasted Bai, I knew it was where I wanted to be and to be part of its success. Since I have started with Bai Brands, we have secured distribution in Panama, the Bahamas, Northern California and Washington, D.C. It is exciting to have so much going on right now in the Northeastern U.S. that most companies only dream of.
The Bai5 Family Grows
June 17th, 2010 • Uncategorized, antioxidants, coffee fruit • No comments
I am excited to announce that we are rolling out the fourth flavor in our Bai5 line, Congo Pear. Like the other Bai5 varieties, the new Congo Pear delivers a fresh fruit taste with only five calories — and, of course, packs a major antioxidant punch!
With this new rollout, we now offer four flavors both in our traditional Bai family (Tanzania Strawberry, Jamaica Blue Berry, Kenya Peach and Mango Kauai) and our Bai5 line (Congo Pear, Costa Rica Clementine, Sumatra Dragonfruit and Panama Peach).
This summer is shaping up to be an exciting one for Bai — just as temperatures are heating up, so is interest in our products among consumers, retailers and distributors. I am thankful for the positive responses we continue to receive about Bai, and for the hard work our team has put into making this happen.
Visit our main website to learn more about Bai5 Congo Pear. And drop us a line on our Facebook page to let us know what you think about our newest flavor.
Customer Q&A
June 14th, 2010 • Uncategorized, antioxidants, coffee fruit • No comments
With Bai continuing to move into new markets, we have been receiving nice feedback, as well as some good questions, from our customers. I shared one particularly nice note in a previous blog, and below I have copied some some examples of my recent exchanges with our customers, which address questions that many people often ask.
As David Letterman would say, remember, these are actual letters from actual customers.
Q: I love your beverage Bai-5. I buy 10 bottles each time, and stock up at work for my lunches. For the past few months, I’ve been adding nutritional supplements to my diet and was wondering what type of antioxidant is in the drink. I buy your product at Marazzo’s shopping center in N.J.
I told my coworkers about it and now they are starting to drink it as well. So far, everyone likes the taste.
Please let me know which antioxidant is in the drink because I want to make sure I balance out against the supplements I take. Thanks.
A: Wow, we really appreciate your business!
The antioxidants that are present in Bai are all derived from the fruit of the coffee. Polyphenols are natural plant antioxidants that are abundant in coffee fruit. The fruit is also rich in chlorogenic acid, Caffeic acid, ferulic acid and quinic acid, all of which are potent antioxidants.
I hope this helps and please feel free to contact us with any other questions and/or comments.
Q: I was introduced to Bai5 today at the Crossroads Coffee House in Cross Plains, Wisconsin, and loved it! My question is: In that Bai5 drinks get their big antioxidant boost from the fruit of the coffee berry, is there caffeine in them? And if so, how much? Will be awaiting word. Thanks, Marcia.
A: Marcia, Good question. We use coffee fruit for its antioxidant goodness, not its caffeine content.
Coffee fruit is rich in polyphenols such as caffeic acid, ferulic acid and chlorogenic acids. These antioxidants make it one of nature’s secret superfruit. Each bottle of Bai contains 70mg of all-natural caffeine (similar to a mild cup of coffee or a cup of green tea). A majority of that caffeine (59mg) comes from white tea extract and the balance comes from coffee fruit (11mg.). The boost that you will get from Bai is a more balanced boost, similar to a cup of green tea, without the jitters or back-end crash.
Hope this helps and thank you for your interest in Bai. We appreciate your business.
If you have any questions about Bai, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog or on our Facebook page, or e-mail info@drinkbai.com.
