N.B. man starts his own company to replace traditional energy drinks
Work Water came from Brody Hanson's desire to replace traditional energy drinks.
"It's a benefit and a curse to not knowing anything about the business you're going in, and that's where I'm at," said Brody Hanson, CEO of Work Water. "I'm starting from zero in terms of beverage experience."
He saw a market and made it work for him.
"Caffeine is the fuel of the working professional, and so I was one of those that would drink one or two energy drinks a day as an alternative to coffee, I didn't like coffee all that much," he said.
Hanson says he was turned off most off-the-shelf energy drinks, after a deep dive on their ingredient list.
"What's under the hood, I knew there had to be a better, healthier version of this that I could make, so I started mixing and making stuff for myself and once I talked about this to other people, I learned that there were more folks like me who wanted a healthier alternative," Hanson said.
And that's what the Fredericton native set out to create.
"They're no artificial sweeteners, no artificial preservatives, no sugar. What is in it? Stevia is the sweetener that we use, natural flavours, natural ingredients, natural caffeine extracted from green coffee beans, it's a clean label as the industry lingo I'm starting to learn would talk about," he said.
Hanson says the benefit of getting into a business you don't have a background in is getting to question how things are often done.
"Beverages don't ship direct to consumer, so I asked well why not, ok well they're heavy, it's hard to ship, but the landscape has changed; we sell online through our Shopify website," Hanson said.
There was another important aspect for Hanson when designing the beverage.
"The other problem with traditional energy drinks is they look like they're ready for you to compete in the X games, I mean, I'm 39 years old, I'm not looking to snowboard down a rocky mountain I'm looking to stay awake for this meeting, and so it doesn't work to bring out a can of brightly coloured, firework, unicorn, rainbows," he said.
Work Water, which Hanson says taste like -- quote -- "an elevated white popsicle," is already available in about 30 New Brunswick stores.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.