Coco Fuzion 100 recently signed a partnership to become the Hydration Partner of one of Europe’s top esports organisations; Astralis.
This is yet another ‘cool’ partnership signed by the Danish team following arrangements with the likes of JACK&JONES and Audi. Whilst the coconut water brand isn’t a fish out of water in esports, it is a rarity in a space long dominated by energy drinks suppliers. We’ve seen other similar, healthier alternative hydration type partnerships emerge recently such as Unicorns of Love with Gerolsteiner, and Team Vitality with Volvic, but this is the first entrance of a coconut water producer.
We had a chat with Stephen Barton, CEO of C7 Brands Ltd, the parent company of Coco Fuzion.
Esports Insider: Why esports and why now?
Stephen Barton: Esports is the world’s fastest growing sport and with the number of people expected to tune in forecast to reach 500 million by 2020, we see a huge potential in the industry for a healthy alternative to sugary energy drinks.
At Coco Fuzion 100, we are looking to broaden the audience of coconut water and by collaborating with one of esports’ leading teams, we are encouraging a focus on healthy living and improved performance for the gaming industry.
ESI: Do you see Astralis as amongst the leading lights amongst esports orgs when it comes to signing ‘cool’ well-thought out partnerships? Yourselves, JACK&JONES, and Audi to name a few…
Stephen: Astralis has some incredible partnerships in place that help its players achieve optimal performance.
“We believe coconut water is the future of drinks within the esports community, and we hope our partnership with Astralis will help drive this message to a wide audience”
We think Coco Fuzion 100 is the perfect match for Astralis because of the mental and physical benefits that coconut water offers to esports players in terms of hydration and reaction times. In short, it’s not just about lifestyle, it’s about performance.
ESI: Esports is a chokablok with energy drinks as sponsors which is no surprise. Do you see teams looking to healthier alternatives such as yourselves as partners as teams look to stand out and, perhaps, improve esports’ image in the mainstream? In your own experience, was it an easy deal with Astralis?
Stephen: Astralis is one of the biggest names within the esports world. They’re also forward thinking when it comes to the health and performance benefits that coconut water offers compared to sugary energy drinks.
“Exercise, the right diet and a stable blood sugar count makes all the difference”
We believe coconut water is the future of drinks within the esports community, and we hope our partnership with Astralis will help drive this message to a wide audience.
ESI: We’ve seen some great ones recently from Pringles and Mercedes at ESL One Hamburg. Can you tell us what activations you have planned with Astralis?
Stephen: We are putting the finishing touches to a multi-million pound marketing plan to support our growth across all territories. Watch this space!
ESI: Light Lips Wine is another C7 brand. Have you considered bringing this into esports, and what are your thoughts on alcohol brands entering the space?
Stephen: For us, the timing of our decision to bring coconut water into the esports community is perfect and it will be the beverage we are focusing on. Both the coconut water market and esports industry are booming at the moment and this is a collaboration we feel has huge potential.
Consumption of coconut water helps maintain a razor-sharp focus for longer periods, which will help not only team Astralis improve their performance but this will have a knock-on effect with spectators and the aspiring stars of the future. Exercise, the right diet and a stable blood sugar count makes all the difference and with there being so many gamers under the age of 18 in the esports community, we want to encourage a healthy lifestyle from a younger age.