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Longtime Mark Anthony Brands ops vet Tony Vieira finally is launching his own brand, an energy entry called Mocean (as in "motion") that draws upon his Filipino roots with ingredient bill that includes Asian shrub shiso but conspicuously omits that energy mainstay taurine. The 12-oz sleek-can line is set for its production debut in early Oct for initial availability via DTC and initial retail push into Boston area, where Tony is based, and in Southern Calif, where his son and biz partner Christian is located. It's entering what he describes as "Peter Pan" energy market that never grew up, given its penchant for candy flavors and artificial ingredients, with ingredient bill dominated by naturally occurring herbs rather than pharma names. Core idea is to offer a brand that "makes adulting easier," he told us today. Tho Vieira has long worked on major brands like Mike's Hard Lemonade and White Claw, he'll let market feedback guide him in expansion, initially self-distributing to get direct feel for brand's reception. Tho some shoppers may take a beat to comprehend Mocean brand name, Vieira freely acknowledges it was forced on him by lack of more accessible trademarks in crowded category, tho he'll demystify it via sleek graphics reminiscent of a wave and slogans like "A body in Mocean stays in motion." (Formula does contain sea salt, he noted too.) He described his 13 years at Mark Anthony Brands as highly fruitful ones working for founder, Anthony von Mandl, who's creatively disruptive to the core, but said he felt time had come to finally do his own thing as a family undertaking. Earlier in career he'd worked at Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors and its various predecessor cos.Drawing in part on homemade elixirs his late Filipino mother used to make, Mocean contains moderate caffeine dosage of 130 mg sourced from organic green tea - meaning consumers can drink 3 without exceeding gov't's recommended limit - along with shiso, ashwagandha, echinacea, elderberry, ginseng, vitamins C and B12 and zinc. Shiso, an herb in mint family, is believed to help with digestion and combating inflammation. Vieira believes the formula should readily find an audience for Mocean in Asia when right time comes. Sweetening is via Reb-M stevia and modicum of juice, bringing each flavor in at 10-15 calories. Fruit-forward inaugural flavor range is Mandarin, Blueberry Pom, Strawberry Guava and White Peach. Items will be priced at parity to Red Bull, he said.With its clean ingredient bill, Mocean must be tunnel-pasteurized, initially at Nobl Beverage in Seabrook, NH. As for the absence of taurine, Vieira said he's betting that study published in Nature journal this past spring that tied that amino acid to diseases like leukemia may turn some shoppers off from ingredient. Tony said he'll pursue certification by NSF.As noted, Tony's undertaking effort with his son Christian, 37, who got idea when his wife was about to give birth to their first child 5 years ago and, looking for a lift, found himself appalled by childish nature of energy drinks on sale in hospital gift shop with their candy flavors and artificial ingredients. So count this as another collab between bev vet and son, as with No Cap Soda line launched last year by energy vet Sam Wilson and his son Vinny. While Tony brings years of formulation and copacking experience, Christian provides the marketing and branding skills, drawing on years as actor and video producer who's created branded content for clients like Electronic Arts, Chevrolet and Nestle. Both of them are handling sales for now but they're about to bring on a sales specialist in better-for-you arena. Website should go live shortly at DrinkMocean.Energy.

NEW PRODUCTS: Longtime Mark Anthony Exec Vieira Rides Energy Wave with Mocean, Using Shiso Asian Shrub but No Taurine

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