MMA legends, the brothers Minotauro and Minotouro, have signed a licensing agreement for the Minotauro Energy Drink brand with Minalba Brasil, which will be responsible for manufacturing and distributing the product in the Northeast region.
Minalba Brasil, a food and beverage company owned by the Edson Queiroz Group (GEQ), and former UFC and Pride fighters Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, or Minotauro, and Antônio Rogério Nogueira, or Minotouro, have officially announced a partnership for the licensing of Minotauro Energy Drink, a product already sold in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which will now also be produced and distributed by Minalba Brasil in the North and Northeast.
For the MMA fighters, the deal helps strengthen and expand the energy drink brand launched by the brothers in 2011, by marketing the product in a strategic region in terms of consumption. This would be a major sales boost for a brand that, last year alone, sold around one million liters of the energy drink per month, the equivalent of 85,000 bales with six two-liter containers each. Closing this deal is a seal of quality for our energy drink, as well as a great opportunity to expand our product across the country, given Minalba Brasil’s enormous distribution power,” says the fighter.
For Minalba Brasil, the leader in the Brazilian mineral water market, which owns the Minalba, Indaiá, Petrópolis, São Lourenço, Natural do Horizonte and Pureza Vital brands, as well as having the concession for the national distribution of the global premium brands Perrier, S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, and which is also present in other beverage segments through the Indaiá Refri, Citrus and Night Power energy drink brands, the partnership with the MMA brothers’ brand is an important reinforcement for its operations in the energy drink segment. “Minalba Brasil has a robust portfolio of beverages, especially in the mineral water sector, and franchising partner brands enables us to increase our revenue in other beverage categories. The Minotauro brand is a great entry point for Minalba Brasil to strengthen its position in a segment that is growing by 11.3% a year in Brazil,” says Aélio Silveira, Managing Director of Minalba Brasil.
Minotauro Energy Drink has 50% less sugar than its competitors. A range of four new flavors is also being developed, in addition to the traditional and zero flavors already sold on the market. The idea is to incorporate fruit flavors into the energy drinks and prepare the ground for their arrival in the Northeast with options such as lemon, Sicilian lemon, watermelon and coconut. “We are very happy to be able to take our product to the Northeast, the region where I was born. It’s a dream come true for me,” said Minotauro.
Sports marketing should boost the energy drink market in Brazil
Minotauro says that the growth of the sports marketing sector and the popularization of fighting in the country will be beneficial for the energy drinks market. It’s no wonder that many companies in the industry have sponsored extreme sports and fighting athletes.
According to the former fighter, Minotauro Energy Drink intends to sponsor athletes again in the future. There have, for example, already been sponsorships for fighters such as kickboxer Aline Pereira, sister of UFC champion Alex Poatan Pereira, and Juliana Velasquez, an MMA fighter who competes in Bellator.
“Brazil is a world power in sport and sponsorship is an opportunity to strengthen the image and relationship between consumers and athletes. The first time I went to Japan to fight, in 1999, I went into a convenience store and there were several of the fighters’ own products on the shelves, with their faces on the packaging. I was amazed by that and wished that one day we would reach that level here. I think we’re on the right track,” he said.
About Minalba Brasil
Minalba Brasil is the food and beverage division of the Edson Queiroz Group (GEQ), one of the largest business conglomerates in the country, which is present at the most diverse moments in the lives of Brazilians through a diversified portfolio of brands and products from a variety of segments, ideal for all occasions of consumption. The company owns the brands Indaiá, Minalba, São Lourenço, Petrópolis, Natural do Horizonte, Refri, Citrus and the energy drink Night Power. It also licenses the Grapette and Nestlé Pureza Vital brands and has the concession to distribute the global premium brands Perrier, S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.