BE Innovations, the company behind sports nutrition brand ZYM, is celebrating its 5th anniversary. Founded five years ago by cyclist and endurance athlete Brian Koff, ZYM is positioned as ‘a better way for athletes to carry electrolyte sports drinks than filling plastic baggies with powder.’
Inspired by a European product that was unavailable in the US – a simple tablet that dissolved in water – Koff started BE Innovations to develop and market his own such product.
Today, ZYM Endurance, Catapult and Rival portable electrolyte drinks are widely used across the endurance sport and active lifestyle communities. According to BE Innovations, ZYM is ‘challenging established brands such as Gatorade, Accelerade and Powerade in the highly competitive world of endurance athlete nutrition.’
BE Innovations, the company, has also been a success, demonstrating strong growth every year, ‘with distribution in thousands of cycling, running and sporting goods stores, including mass market big box retailers.’ According to the company, growth in 2011 soared 200% over 2010.
Koff, a 38-year-old Chicago native, is uniquely qualified to take on this very competitive business category. He earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Visual Communication from Northern Illinois University and has had 10 years of experience in package design and branding, with companies such as General Mills, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo.
All three of ZYM’s portable sports drinks have ‘bubbled with success’:
- ZYM Endurance is a blend of electrolytes and B vitamins that is ‘effective against fatigue, muscle burn and dehydration’. Its lemon-lime flavour is subtle and fresh tasting; and ZYM Endurance ‘promotes fresh legs, natural energy and higher endurance’.
- ZYM Catapult is fused with 100mg of natural guaraná caffeine, creating’ a supercharged version’ of ZYM Endurance. The berry flavoured ZYM Catapult adds B12 vitamins to the mix, giving athletes a jolt of energy while fighting off dehydration, fatigue and muscle pain.
- ZYM Rival features a refreshing orange flavour, the natural sweetener Stevia, electrolytes and vitamins. ZYM Rival is packed with essential electrolytes to maintain superior hydration for sustained athletic performance.
Each ZYM tablet combines convenience and portability with ‘you-can-feel-the-difference performance’. Once a ZYM tablet is dropped into 16-20oz of water it dissolves quickly, ready to drink. As the company points out, ZYM tabs have no sugar, are less than seven calories, and are easily carried in a cycling jersey, a runner’s waist belt, small pack or pocket.
