Business
Outlaw News: Pioneering transparency in energy drinks
Outlaw films Hiball Energy trip to India
By Megan Paulson Outlaw Partners COO
After flying 16,335 miles across the globe and driving 400 miles, Outlaw Partners’ Video Director Brian Niles got a firsthand look at what it takes to source and process organic caffeine.
This December, Niles traveled with Hiball Energy to Bangalore, India to film a short documentary on Hiball’s premium ingredient: organic caffeine.
Hiball’s founder Todd Berardi and Dan Craytor, director of sales, initiated the seven-day trip to see and experience the ingredients at their source.
A Thippanahalli coffee estate employee after her first taste of the Hiball Organic Black Cherry energy drink.
The caffeine used in all Hiball energy drinks is derived from fair trade, organic arabica coffee beans found in the countryside northwest of Bangalore. The adventure took the team to the Thippanahalli coffee estate in Chikmangalur, where they observed and documented the process of preparing organic arabica coffee beans.
The trip and documentation also marked a significant step in providing transparency in Hiball’s energy drink ingredients. Hiball pioneered “good energy” when it launched back in the mid-2000s – using only naturally occurring, organic, healthy ingredients of the highest quality.
“We traveled halfway around the world through 11 time zones in
These shade grown organic arabica coffee plants are only fertilized by the fallen leaves and debris from the overhanging forest canopy.
Craytor says that by going to the organic coffee farms – the source of its primary active ingredient, organic caffeine – allows consumers to connect the dots themselves. “It was an incredible experience to immerse ourselves in the organic farming community and witness the process,” he said.
For Outlaw, the trip was equally inspiring – from visiting the beautiful Indian countryside to meeting hard working, wonderful and hospitable people.
Outlaw Partners Video Director Brian Niles poses with a worker at the Thippanahalli Coffee Estate. PHOTO BY TODD BERARDI
For Berardi, the trip further validated Hiball’s mission of making the healthiest and most sustainable energy drinks on the planet.
“We are excited to bring this transparency to light as our organic and fair trade ingredients for energy are what makes Hiball unique, premium and efficacious – versus mainstream energy drinks that are artificial, synthetic and full of ingredients that don’t reside in nature,” said Berardi.
As the best-selling and fastest-growing natural energy drink in the U.S., Craytor says that Hiball has a responsibility to consumers above and beyond the typical energy drink brand.
“It’s time people had an energy drink they can feel good about,” he said. “Things are about to change!”
