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Gym Weed brand will be headed to next month's NACS c-store extravaganza in Chicago in substantially changed guise from brand's inaugural appearance last year. New sucralose-free formulation should enable brand to crack natural channel for first time while revamped graphics seek to definitively banish consumers' confusion over "weed" in name that once signaled presence of CBD that's since been dropped from drinks in favor of ashwagandha as key adaptogenic ingredient. "Drink your weeds," package graphics command, referring to functional bill of 300 mg of ashwagandha along with lion's mane mushrooms, L-theanine and caffeine that serve to make Gym Weed "the athletic focus drink," per new positioning statement. With velocity growing as much as 40% at some retailers since revamped line began to bleed into market in summer, sales team is hopeful brand finally will be able to enlist heftier list of conventional and natural retailers that can serve as anchors to fill DSD voids. Amazon biz has also jumped, they said. Gym Weed, of course, is line launched by Pickett family that earlier pioneered protein shake segment with Muscle Milk, which has long been owned by Pepsi. The Picketts also operate well-regarded Flavor Insights firm that's believed to be behind some of new wave of sparkling protein bevs that have created a stir in market, tho it doesn't disclose its clients. Flavor Insights counts Gym Weed as a client but the two operate independently.At time the Picketts launched Gym Weed there was lotta buzz about CBD benefits to athletes and expectation that regs would loosen up. That never happened and, like most CBD players, Gym Weed segued to offering non-infused items, albeit with the cannabis reference still welded into the brand name. That's made for tricky pivot but brand has managed to hold onto key DSD partners like John Lenore in San Diego and Honickman Group's Pepsi NY while building base in retailers like QuikTrip and Walgreens. Still, a more decisive pivot was required, and we got update on thinking behind it yesterday from Pickett family member Nikki Brown, who served as CMO at Muscle Milk operator CytoSport for 17 years and runs Flavor Insights, and her prexy and former CytoSport marketing colleague Shane McCassy. They plan to be working NACS show floor in Chicago in less than a month, Oct 15-17.As Nikki reminded, brand only launched in mid-2023, meaning it had absorbed a year of market feedback when decisions on packaging and formula changes were being made last year. That feedback told them they needed to better articulate what's in the liquid, particularly because of "weed" in the name. Now ingredients in functional stack are prominently listed on front panel, which was previously dominated by vertical rendering of Gym Weed brand name. (See before & after images below.) "Drink your weeds" edict, in plural, is intended to counter any impression it's a cannabis bev. As for on-pack positioning as "the athletic focus drink," that's intended to reach base of consumers who, even if they don't play at college or pro level, like to think of themselves as athletes, as McCassy noted.The heavy adaptogen content also prompted some consumers to presume the product was all-natural, making presence of sucralose as sweetener jarring to some. So that's been swapped out now for combo of stevia, monk fruit and white grape juice, which allows brand to go out as containing zero added sugar, even if total sugar bill now is 3 g. It also opened door to natural channel that Brown and McCassy believe should be natural home for brand. (Among major chains, Whole Foods won't allow in any sucralose-sweetened bevs while Sprouts makes exception for Celsius. Indeed, Gym Weed has entered coupla Sprouts stores in San Diego via DSD partner Lenore and performed well there, McCassy said.) Not least, brand sports "informed choice" designation, assurance to athletes that 3d-party testing has demonstrated that Gym Weed doesn't contain any banned substances. That's important, particularly given brand's big presence on college campuses, via extensive ambassador program as well as NIL deal with Julian "JuJu" Lewis, freshman QB at Boulder who's been making waves.With product proposition now where it needs to be, Gym Weed is ready to resume its recruitment of key retailers and the DSD partners to support them, under leadership of Marty Jay Zirofsky. (Raleigh-based Zirofsky used to handle eastern half of US while his longtime new-age colleague John Blair handled west, but Blair moved on a few months ago and Zirofsky now has broader oversight.) On conventional side, brand entered QuikTrip stores in Georgia in early summer and next month enters likes of Kroger in Atlanta, Sedano's in Florida and Harris Teeter. In NY, where Pepsi NY distributes brand, Shop Rite is about to come aboard, joining key chain partners like Duane Reade/Walgreens and Chestnut Market. Among DSD additions has been Bev Talk, new distributor launched in past year by pair of former Red Bull execs (BBI, Apr 15). As for natural side, where Gym Weed hasn't played so far in meaningful way, it brought on Green Spoon in late spring via broker's Take Root accelerator program. As retailers move into 2026 planning, Gym Weed is in discussions with about 100 prospective partners now, Shane said.So far, effort has been funded mainly by individual investors and some family offices and co will be seeking some further growth capital to support 2026 opportunity, Nikki said. After that, co will need to assess whether it's content to continue growing organically or may be inclined to talk to potential strategic partners.

STRATEGY: Gym Weed Adopts Refined Guise as 'Athletic Focus Drink' with Sucralose Dropped, Non-CBD Identity Clarified; 'Drink Your Weeds' Flags Ashwagandha, Lion's Mane Ingredients

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