In the competitive convenience drink market, a group of Cincinnati entrepreneurs have found a niche: rapid rehydration for adults.
Hoist is a new drink developed by four friends looking for a way to recover from a little too much fun after parties. At the same time they noticed that to rehydrate after hard games and workouts, a friend in the NFL would drink Pedialyte -- a drink to hydrate sick kids.
"We started using Pedialyte, and it really worked, but the taste was syrupy," said Hoist President Kelly Heekin.
The idea for Hoist was born.
Heekin, and his partners, including his entrepreneur brother Brett, visited a beverage chemist in Chicago that helped them develop something similar to a sports drink but with double the electrolytes of Gatorade to rehydrate people fast. The drink debuted in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky last October. Now it's being sold in about 850 locations, including convenience stores and at Walgreens in Columbus and Dayton as well.
Kelly Heekin, the only partner working full time for the company, is currently working to get the drinks into grocery stores, and recently made a deal with Remke/Bigg's stores. The drink is also sold on the Hoist website.
"We're really marketing right now, working on expansion into the market and gaining more sales. We definitely want a bigger footprint in the Midwest," Heekin said.
Hoist is sold in 12 oz. cans, and is manufactured by Pri-pak in Lawrenceburg, Ind. The company is gearing up for holiday sales, and in anticipation has ordered a production run of 200,000 cans.
Source: Kelly Heekin, Hoist
Writer: Feoshia Henderson