Team Bai Spotlight: Robert Watkins

June 24th, 2010 • Uncategorized

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

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

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.

Team Bai Spotlight: Walther Gaybor

June 8th, 2010 • Uncategorized

Name: Walther Gaybor

Position: Regional sales manager, New York City

Background: I previously worked as a manager for Coca-Cola North America, overseeing the New York and New Jersey markets. I am a graduate of Stony Brook University with a degree in biochemistry. I originally thought I might go into medicine before switching to the beverage sales industry.

Favorite things to do outside of work: I’m a family-oriented person. I also love to work out, and I stay active in a lot of different ways — including golf, kickboxing and some MMA (mixed martial arts).

Why Bai? For me, joining Bai was a great opportunity to become involved with an emerging company. I tasted the product and loved it. But most of all I liked the philosophy behind Bai. I want to grow in my career, and this was an opportunity to grow along with a business from the ground floor. I like to take the long road, the hard road and the high road — and, with Bai, that’s just what we’re doing!

‘Getting Bai’ in Italy

June 1st, 2010 • Uncategorized, antioxidants, coffee fruit

What could be a more glorious vacation than springtime in Italy? A good friend of ours sent back some photos from her recent trip, making us all jealous. At least I’m happy to know that she packed wisely, as you can see from her photo and her caption below.

“At Saint Peter’s Square. Waiting in line to get in for audience with the Pope. No time for coffee this a.m. Bai to the rescue!”

Not only did she get a nice antioxidant boost before her visit, she even kept a bottle on hand when she entered Saint Peter’s Basilica. So we can now say that people are “Getting Bai” in all kinds of ways around the globe, from running their daily morning errands at home to visiting some of the world’s most famous sites!

Here are some additional scenes from her Italian “Bai-cation” …

“Jamaica Blue Berry at the Colosseum”

“Inside the Colosseum”

“Costa Rica Clementine in Rome”

“Arrivederci Roma ..”