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He may be a 10-year Budweiser vet but Daniel Blake is wearing his humble hat as he tries his hand at launching his own brand, PHX Energy, from incubation firm he's launched called One 11. The 12-oz sleek can line has hit shelves in just 3 markets this summer and, while he says feedback has been exceptional in initial weeks, he's not getting ahead of himself. It's too early to talk about what 2026 market expansion will look like, he said. Meanwhile, One 11 team is hard at work developing new brands that might play in other growth segments in bevs. PHX, recall, was launched with Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy as partner, in Mass, where Portnoy's from, and NY, base of his podcast empire. Bud wholesaler Quality Beverage is partner in Mass and Molson Coors house Manhattan Beer in NY. (Third market is Ohio, mainly because brand drew interest from Bud house Heidelberg with whom Blake has enjoyed fruitful relationship.) Tho Portnoy, who consumes the drink on his podcast, brings any number of story lines of his own, Blake's got one too that he hasn't hesitated to lean into: he notoriously was one of the fall guys for Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light fiasco stemming from endorsement by transgender personality Dylan Mulvaney (BBI, Jul 14). PHX is his effort to rise from the ashes of that marketing disaster, phoenix-like, and he's embraced it in storytelling he spins about responding to adversity with courage and commitment, which he views as a universal challenge that consumers will relate to. His company, One 11, has personal meaning but also should be more broadly apprehensible as being about new beginnings and self-improvement, he told us last Fri.PHX Energy is the first brand to emerge from One 11, which is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla, and employs a dozen, but there will be more. Blake said his team is exploring fertile segments from functional soda to protein to alc-alternatives. It made sense to start with energy as a large and growing segment where consumers are gravitating to more functionality. That functional stack includes hydration (with 700 mg electrolytes, 3X that of Gatorade) plus immunity support (via 8 key vitamins) and a better energy experience (via 200 mg of caffeine from green tea augmented by focus-enhancing L-theanine). Blake declined to detail how the effort is being financed except to assure, "We have great resources behind us." Among members of the team are 14-yr Red Bull vet Matt Snyder running sales and 8-yr A-B vet McKinley Stephens running marketing. Natl acct dir AJ Quahliero is former Giant Eagle buyer who had coupla solid runs at Red Bull too. Their skill set comprises co's "secret sauce," Daniel enthused.The NY launch via Manhattan Beer occurred off-cycle in Jul, so the initial focus has been indy c-stores and some local grocers, with a c-store chain to be announced as partner soon, he hopes. In Heidelberg's Ohio and Kentucky territory, PHX is just entering 100+ Kroger locations. All told, PHX is in about 1,000 outlets so far across the 3 markets. Pricing in c-stores and other impulse channels is $3.39, a slight premium to Celsius at a time of price and margin compression in market. Unprompted feedback from consumers has been that PHX provides a much better energy experience, he reported, and that it's superior tasting to rivals via fruity flavor lineup that includes likes of Peach, Blueberry Lemonade and Watermelon Lime. That plus the backing of Portnoy should help the brand break thru in cluttered segment, he believes.Still, for all the strong initial feedback, he's determined to take it a step at a time, not overextending brand next year. His preference, distributor-wise, generally will be the Bud network, not just because of his strong ties but because of its long history successfully incubating energy drinks like Monster, Bang, Celsius and C4. "We&#39;ll listen to the market" for guidance on expansion, he resolved.

STRATEGY: Bud Light Vet Blake, Honchoing PHX Energy, Will Take It a Market at a Time; Hydration/Energy Blend

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