Not gonna lie… this marketing move was genius

How Celsius Went From A Failing Brand To A Your Favorite Celebrity’s Favorite Drink 

Let’s play a game.

Read the next sentence and fill in the blank:

“Don’t talk to me before I’ve had my ________.”

If you’re like most people, you probably thought of coffee first.

If you’re like my friend Adam, you probably thought of a White Monster.

And if you’re a 20-something who spends too much time in the gym, you probably said Celsius.

Celsius has seemingly come out of nowhere. They went from being a total unknown to taking over every shelf and social media feed.

What seems like an overnight success story has actually been a decade in the making with twists, turns, and plenty of bumps along the way.

This is the story of how Celsius went from being delisted from the Nasdaq to being worth over $6 BILLION DOLLARS (and making an enemy out of Flo Rida in the process).

The year is 2004 and diet culture is OUT OF CONTROL.Back then, everyone was obsessed with quick fixes. Low-calorie, low-fat, 0 sugar. If it didn’t fit in those boxes, it was OUT.

This was the height of the dieting craze, and everyone was searching for the next big thing to help them shed pounds fast.

And, 1 man thought he had it. 

His name was Steve Haley, a serial entrepreneur who had already dipped his toes into a few business ventures outside of the CPG world. I hate when people call themselves serial entrepreneurs, but it’s okay if someone else calls you that I think. 

Steve saw an opportunity in caffeine where it could be Marketed as a fat-burning, weight-loss miracle due to its ability to suppress appetite. 

Basically, the OG Ozempic.
Where Red Bull had won the party and clubbing scene and Monster was dominating the extreme sports world, Haley saw an untapped niche in the gym. 

His idea was GREAT.

His execution? Not so much. For 1, they took 5 WHOLE YEARS to get to market. 

By the time they FINALLY launched, Coke had launched a competitor, Enviga, been taken to court over it for dubious health claims, and had shut it down.

But here’s where Celsius got smart. Unlike Enviga, which positioned itself as a “weight-loss soda” and landed in legal trouble, Celsius Marketed itself as a dietary supplement, not a food product. 

This subtle distinction allowed them to avoid the same regulatory challenges while making the same claims.

But even though they avoided the courts (for now), the idea of a weight loss soda put a bad taste in consumer mouths (figuratively).

Plus, they also went public and through the conversations I’ve had with public company CEOs, running earnings calls is NOT something you want to be doing when you’re trying to run a startup.While they had an awesome team with alums from GNC and a great product, the Marketing was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t winning any awards.

You can tell if you look at the packaging. 

My eyes hurt. (via The Inforum)

Bold, clashing colors. No visual hierarchy. TOO MUCH INFO.

TBH, it looked like something you’d find in a dollar store aisle next to the expired candy and novelty cigarette lighters. 

In CPG, brand is EVERYTHING and Celsius’s brand screamed “amateur hour.”

When you’re trying to sell a health product, that’s the worst thing you can be yelling. After launching in 2009 the brand suffered $7.5 MILLION DOLLARS in losses. It only got worse from there. In 2010, they began to cut costs through layoffs, ending agreements with distributors and cutting the Marketing budget (which makes no sense, but I may be biased).

In 2011 they were finally able tobreak even, but it was too little too late.

They were delisted from the NASDAQ.For the OG team, this was the end of the line. 

But like any good underdog story, this isn’t where it ended.In 2012, Celsius got a lifeline and was acquired by a man by the name of Carl DeSantis. 

The swag is INSANE.(via Carl Angus Desantis Foundation)

Carl was a DOG. Prior to Celsius, Carl started, built, and SOLD the LARGEST vitamin company in the world, Sundown Vitamins, out of his garage. 

He knew the ins and the outs of the health and wellness space like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly how to scale a brand to dominate.

So with Carl’s acquisition, he cleaned house, placing new talent in every seat.

At CEO, Gerry David, a turnaround expert. Along with him, he brought along a guy named John Fieldly, a corporate finance KILLER. 

Together, they were the Jordan and Pippen of brand redemption. They had the expertise, the connections, and most importantly, the HUNGER to make Celsius a household name.

This would be a SLAM DUNK.

The dream team got to work.

1st things 1st, fix the can.

They ditched the garish colors and chaotic design, replacing it with a clean, bold look that screamed “energy” without looking like it was trying too hard.

The new design was sleek, modern, and told you everything you needed to know in one glance: this wasn’t your average energy drink.

This was the drink for people who took their health SERIOUSLY.

Ahhh, much better. (via Beverage Industry)

PUT IT IN PRACTICE Your brand’s design isn’t just decoration. It’s your first sales pitch. Here’s what you can do right now: 1️⃣. Pull up your website or product packaging and look at it like a first-time visitor. No context, no assumptions. 2️⃣. Write down in one sentence what your brand is about based purely on the visuals. Does it match what you actually sell?   3️⃣. Ask 3 people outside your industry to do the same. If their answers are unclear or inconsistent, it’s time for a design refresh. Your branding should tell your story instantly. If people have to guess, you’re losing them before they even start.

Next, they had to get that can in the hands of customers.

This was a 2 pronged issue: they needed to generate demand, and then fulfill that demand.

To generate demand, they seeded the product with celebs so they could get coverage in magazines like People and Us Weekly.

Adam Levine liked it.
Howie Mandell liked it. 
Even the Kardashians liked it.
But 1 celebrity LOVED it.

Enter Flo Rida. 

Welcome to MY HOUSE (via YouTube)

Flo Rida saw the vision and wanted to go all in.

He got in touch with the Celsius team and worked out a deal that anytime the company hit a sales target, he would get stock options and bonuses.

He became the face of the brand and it was a GAME-CHANGER. With his massive following, he helped propel the brand from niche gym supplement to mainstream energy drink.

So the demand was there, now to fulfill it.

Instead of relying on distributors to push their product into retail, Celsius went straight to the consumer. They doubled down on e-commerce, with a particularly strong focus on Amazon, where they made a massive splash.

This move paid off BIG TIME. Today, Celsius stands as the best-selling drink on Amazon.

For Gerry, the job was done. The dying brand was turned into a national icon and it was time to wait for the next opportunity.

In 2017, Gerry left the business, and John was installed as CEO. That same year, Celsius got relisted on the Nasdaq and has been chugging along ever since.

Except for one issue.
They never paid Flo Rida.

In 2021, Flo Rida took Celsius to court over unpaid royalties tied to his partnership with the brand. The rapper claimed that he was owed MILLIONS for his promotion and that he was a key part of their rise.

The courts agreed and Celsius had to pay Flo Rida $83 MILLION.For most brands, this would be a killer. For Celsius, it was a bump in the road. They had built such an unstoppable momentum that even a multi-million-dollar lawsuit couldn’t derail them. The brand had become too embedded in the fitness and wellness culture to be shaken by a single setback.

They recovered and kept their eyes on the prize.

So much so, that a couple weeks ago, Celsius acquired Alani Nu, their next biggest competitor in the health-energy market, for $1.8 BILLION.

This was a TOTAL power play. With Monster Energy’s acquisition and relaunch of Bang Energy, the market is heating up and the two brands are on a collision course. I’ll leave it to you: Who’s going to take the crown?

MARKETING CHEAT SHEET (WHAT TO LEARN FROM THIS GUIDE):

1️⃣. Find an Untapped Niche and Own It:  Celsius didn’t try to go head-to-head with Red Bull or Monster. Instead, they carved out their own lane by targeting fitness enthusiasts who wanted an energy boost without the sugar crash. This hyper-focused positioning gave them a clear differentiation in a crowded market and allowed them to build a loyal community before expanding into the mainstream.

2️⃣. Brand Perception is Everything: Celsius had a solid product, but their early branding made them look like a sketchy supplement you’d find in a clearance bin. Once they cleaned up their look, everything changed. A great product with bad branding stays overlooked. A decent product with great branding gets a shot. If your marketing isn’t working, your brand might be the problem.

3️⃣. Marketing Alone Won’t Save a Bad Business Model: Celsius struggled for years because they burned through cash without a strong strategy. They went public too early, cut their marketing budget at the worst time, and lacked clear direction. When Carl DeSantis took over, he brought in a team that knew how to run a business, not just a marketing campaign. No matter how good your marketing is, if the business fundamentals are weak, it won’t matter.

MEME OF THE WEEK