LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass., (August 17, 2017) When a long-time leader in beverage innovation like Ocean Spray sets its sights to revolutionize a category, fear of the unknown isn't an option. Its a welcomed challenge for a brand that prides itself on hard work, collaboration, and determination. Ocean Spray® Pact® Cranberry Infused Water is one of those challenges. And now after a multi-year build, one that is poised for a successful payoff!

A Breakthrough Proposition:

When it was launched three years ago, Pact® Water was truly the first functional water product to hit the shelf. Unlike other water products, Pact® Water offered far more than just flavor, refreshment and hydration, Pact® was a game changer, offering consumers unique cranberry health benefits. Fueled by the power of 50 cranberries in every bottle, Pact® Water provides the unique cleanse and purify benefits of the cranberry, making it even better than water alone[1]. Pour on the fact that Pact® Water is only 10 calories per serving, contains only 1 gram of sugar per serving, and is GMO free[2]; it was crystal clear that Pact® Water was truly a winner for consumers looking for a more meaningful refreshment option.

The Catalyst for Re-launch:

Being in business for almost 90 years, you learn a few things. Breakthrough innovations require substantial education, communication, testing and support. While no one knows the cranberry health and refreshment needs of the cranberry consumer quite like Ocean Spray, wading into the water aisle is a totally different arena with a unique consumer and shelf set that is more diverse than that of juice, where Ocean Spray is right at home.

Learning to Walk on Water:

The water consumer is all about lifestyle, refreshment and taste. Plain water can get boring fast and a water consumer's lifestyle is hardly that. Give them flavorful refreshment first and foremost, but make it good for them too. That's a bonus and where Pact® Water comes into play.

Goal number one was to visually enhance the packaging so that it clearly depicts cranberry and the water: clean, refreshing and crisp. The new bright white graphics and fresh fruit cues help communicate its refreshing taste.

While the majority in the category herald the title enhanced, Pact® Water is truly functional, being infused with cranberry health benefits.

The color of Pact® Water proved to be a barrier to trial. Water is clear or lightly colored. Pact® Water is red, inherent of the color of the compounds extracted from the cranberry that provide these health benefits, and it has been a bit confusing for the consumer to differentiate whether it was juice or water.

Ocean Spray took the learnings from its initial launch and combined them with their expertise in terms of what consumers are looking for from a cranberry health and refreshment perspective to strengthen communications and programming around this breakthrough product.

Setting Sail for New Channels

With some help, we were able to get our feet wet, so to speak, building awareness and trial within the water aisle. Now Ocean Spray® Pact® Water is riding a wave of success in the online retail landscape like Amazon.com, which provides a favorable platform to share more of the Pact® Water story, direct to consumers. Since the May 1^st re-launch sales have grown significantly by almost 50%. Pact® Water has seen positive momentum and favorable responses on Amazon.com with a 4+ star rating and a feature of their most popular flavor SKU Cranberry Blood Orange -- on Prime Day.

Another key strategy to building a new category is working with our customers and sharing key insights about this consumer to help retailers realize their best possible sales outcomes. Ocean Spray customizes programs for retailers, which time after time has proven successful for those who utilize the sales models designed for them, said Kevin Penwell, Vice President of Sales, North America. We've got some great programs designed to support this product and we're really excited to share them with our customers.

Making an Even Bigger Splash:

Ocean Spray is planning a splashy new re-launch of Pact® Water that crushes plain water with flavor and more! The new Pact® with Flavor campaign will launch this fall. To punctuate the good for you credentials of Pact® Water, we will continue to align the brand with properties and spokespeople who exemplify a healthy, active lifestyle.

This summer Ocean Spray has signed LPGA Pro, Brittany Altomare to help do just that. Brittany embodies that Pact® Water lifestyle.

I get bored pretty quickly with drinking water while playing or practicing for long periods of time. I've struggled to keep myself hydrated and even my caddie has tried getting me to drink more by mixing water with other sports drinks but it's always too sugary. Pact® Water is a great healthy substitute with many different flavor options that are sweetened with a natural sweetener! Besides golf I really enjoy being outdoors and being active so staying hydrated and healthy without having to drink plain water is perfect for me! said Brittany.

Brittany will don the Pact® Water logo on her tour shirt and golf bag and is already actively touting the brand to her followers.

About Ocean Spray

Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry and grapefruit growers in the United States, Canada and Chile who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. Formed in 1930, Ocean Spray is now the world's leading producer of cranberry juices, juice drinks and dried cranberries and is the best-selling brand in the North American bottled juice category. The cooperative's cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, good-for-you products in over 100 countries worldwide. With more than 2,000 employees and nearly 20 cranberry receiving and processing facilities, Ocean Spray is committed to managing our business in a way that respects our communities, employees and the environment. For more information visit: www.oceanspray.com or www.oceanspray.coop.

[1] Contains 80mg of Proanthocyanidins (PACs) from the juice of 50 cranberries; PACs are found in cranberries, not in water

[2] Does not contain genetically engineered ingredients.