CANADIANS ENERGIZE INNOVATION

Founded in 2009, Bomb Energy Drink has skyrocketed on the forefront of the beverage industry, and with energy drinks in particular. Started in Hamilton, Ontario, the beloved drink is purely produced and manufactured on Canadian soil, and is now available across most of Canada, Dominican Republic, and also in the United States.

Bomb has been gaining such momentum that the company appeared on the hit Canadian show, Dragons’ Den. Bomb Energy Drink would initially be turned down for an investment opportunity, but was again featured a year later with an updated segment with just how well the company has taken off, without the help of a venture capitalist’s investment. With such success, the company has partnered with two separate CFL teams to be the official drink sponsor. These teams include The Ottawa Redblacks, and even the home town of Bomb – The Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

James Cocks, started his career in the beverage and alcohol industry. He worked in this industry for 6 years before discovering Bomb Energy Drink, and becoming a managing partner of the company. James explains how the drink was first available as a BIB (bag-in-box) product, where bars and restaurants alike would serve Bomb instead of Red Bull, and people loved it! When people asked for Bomb’s competitors with their alcohol, these Bars and Restaurants would serve Bomb, and people would never question it. This allowed the owners at Bomb to see the opportunity at hand, and decided to release the drink in 250ml cans, and they have never looked back.

3 Questions with James…

1. What makes an innovative culture? How do you create a culture of innovation?

When we first started, we had only five people working at Bomb. But now, we are much bigger. We look to hire like-minded individuals that have the same core values and drive that the company was started with. When talking about our consumers, we want to know what they are thinking and what they want from us. We look at all of the feedback we get from our social media followers we call the Bomb Nation, and look to put what the consumers are saying into action. We want to flip these ideas onto our consumers to give them what they want. Also, everybody in the office, no matter what the title, brings their ideas to the table, and nothing is shut down. Someone may come to the table with 1000 ideas, and just that one might be a huge breakthrough for us.

2. Do you have specific rituals for re-setting your team to be creative? How does your team generate new ideas?

To reset ourselves, we try and place ourselves in environments outside of work. This includes places like a round of golf, or better yet, a restaurant or bar that our product would essentially be sold out of. When we get together, ideas start spit-balling. The bad ideas naturally get away from us, but the good suggestions spark more from other people. We are like a family here at Bomb Energy Drink.

3. Looking to the future how is Bomb going to be a leader in innovation?

First things first, we know we didn’t invent the energy drink category. But one thing is for sure, we’ve brought this market to Canadian soil and the environment it relishes. We pride ourselves on being a Canadian energy drink that is able to deliver a premium product without having to break the bank. We’ve taken the two worlds and combined them. One thing we are really excited about is the Bomb 6-pack that is on its way to the shelves. What’s more Canadian than a 6-pack? We saw what people wanted, and we delivered. We are extremely connected to our followers at @thebombnation. We like to see our company as approachable, and the fact that we will listen to whatever our consumers are saying.

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[Via: TrendReports]