Mizone

Type	Sports drink
Manufacturer	Frucor Suntory
Country of origin	New Zealand
Introduced	2000; 24 years ago (2000)
Website	frucorsuntory.com/mizone

Mizone, also known as Mizone Sports Water, is a formulated sports drink manufactured by Frucor Suntory, a Japanese-owned beverage company operating in Australasia. ^{[1] [2]} The main consumer targets are generally male athletes aged between 25 and 34, and likewise teenagers who are frequently active. ^[3] In China, the drink is known as Maidong (脉动). ^[4]

According to the company, the drink differs from its competitors due to its vitamin content (including four B vitamins ^[3]) and its mild fruit juice sweetening to assist in rehydration, in addition to having a sugar content of approximately just one-fifth of average soft drinks. ^{[1] [5]}

History

The flavoured sports water was launched by Frucor in New Zealand in October 2000. ^[6] In the first 9 weeks of its launch in New Zealand, Mizone accomplished 15% market share in petrol stations, which was a hortative sign for the water business. ^[6] In 2001, the drink was made available in Australia, with the slogan "where do you go". ^[3] In 2003, Frucor's parent company Danone released the drink in China, and Chinese company Robust Co Ltd adapted the product under the name 'Maidong', which means "pulse". The product began to be popular with those residing in urban areas. A year after its creation, 'Maidong' became the best-selling energy-drink and was named China's beverage of the year. In 2006, the drink had a strong start in Indonesia under the Mizone brand. ^[7]

In 2008, a study was conducted where eleven cyclists and triathletes competed against each other in experiment. It was found out that Mizone was absorbed up to 16% faster than other popular sports drinks like Powerade. ^[3] In 2014, due to the influx of new sports drinks and water brands, Mizone launched a new campaign with the slogan "More than Water" to represent the drink as the modern man's hydration and to have drinking plain water appear to be an outdated way to hydrate one's self. ^[8]

In China, Mizone's sales amount reached 9.8 billion yuan in 2015, with a market portion of about 90%. In 2016, Mizone's sales dropped by 30%, though Danone endeavored to reverse the declining performance of the drink. ^[3] In 2018, after the drink's declination in Australia, its brand was relaunched via a campaign that featured Australian cricketer and soccer player Ellyse Perry, with the slogan "find your zone". ^[9] As of 2023, Fructor Suntory has indefinitely ceased to distribute Mizone in Australia. ^[a] In October 2023, Mizone was revamped in China, after its underperformance in the country, by releasing Mizone Electrolyte +, a grapefruit-flavoured variant aimed for those who want to increase their electrolyte intake. ^[10]

Products

Mizone comes in 750mL transparent, somewhat curved, blue plastic bottles that have depressions made for fingers at the bottom half. The bottles feature a blue flip and flow lid that opens to a nozzle. The drink is found in large supermarkets such as IGA, Coles and Woolworths, despite it not being popular as other sports drink brands. Its logo is inscribed in bold blue with the letter ‘O’ being the emphasis, thereby giving it a masculine appearance that would not often attract females. In comparison to its competitors such as Gatorade and Powerade, Frucor charges a lower price for Mizone. ^[3] In Australia, a 800ml sipper bottle was available when the drink was first launched in 2001. ^[1]

In Australia, Mizone Active Water came in lime, blackcurrant, mandarin and raspberry, while the product in New Zealand was made up of lime, passionfruit, mandarin and crisp apple. Mizone Isopower was available only in New Zealand. The drink had two low-carb flavours, Raspberry Rush and Lemon Lime Charge, which are discontinued. Moreover, Mizone Isopower was New Zealand's first low-carb sports drink that featured the balance of four B vitamins and four electrolytes, which discontinued in the early 2010s. The last range was Mizone Rapid, launched in 2007 and discontinued in 2011. ^[3]

In 2016, Mizone Activ was launched in Indonesia, targeted to the sports community. ^[13] In 2017, Mizone expanded its product line in China, where it included two new flavours; cactus green orange and sea salt mango, including a new merchandise line titled "blazing energy," which is high in taurine and plant extracts. In 2019, also in China, Mizone introduced three new products; taurine, ginseng and fiber. ^[14]

In Australia and New Zealand, the drink comes in three flavours; lime, mandarin and crisp apple, as per the official website. ^[b] In Indonesia, the drink currently comes in cherry blossom, cranberry, starfruit and lychee lemon flavours. ^[15]

Ingredients

A blend of purified water and natural fruit flavours, Mizone features antioxidant, vitamins ( vitamin C, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12), electrolytes, vitamin B, carbohydrates ( glucose, fructose and sucrose), sodium chloride, citric acid, apple cider vinegar, in addition to variants and ranges of the drink that have come with flavours such as apple, blackcurrant, passionfruit, raspberry, mandarin, lemon/lime, strawberry and watermelon, throughout the course of its history. ^{[16] [17]} Furthermore, the drink does not contain artificial colours or preservatives and it has a third less sugar than other sport drinks. ^[18]

Advertising

After its launch in 2000, Frucor produced television advertisements of the product to sway consumers to purchase it, before the drink decreased in popularity by 2008. Because the target market are young athletes, the drink was endorsed by Olympic athletes of the 2000s, such as Steven Ferguson, Alison Shanks, Bevan Docherty and Mahe Drysdale, in addition to Frucor making sponsorship deals with them. The drink is effectively advertised for young people between 25 and 34 because athletes are generally found within that age group, and it is pertinent to their body types. Moreover, its low price is deliberately aimed at pulling in regular consumers. ^[3]

Commercials

Some notable television commercials about Mizone include:

• In 2002, an Australian television commercial featured a male jogger who gains super strength by jumping over a computer-generated gorge, before taking a sip of Mizone, with the opera music Messa da Requiem: I. Requiem & Kyrie by Giuseppe Verdi playing in the background. ^[19]
• In 2011, Danone launched 'Ur Flava' in Indonesia, partnering with Admax Network, with the aim to expand the brand beyond the beverage category and capture the young professional markets. ^[20]
• In 2012, a quirky, action-packed Chinese commercial titled "tilt" featured stuntmen from Shanghai walking in a tilted manner, before they turn upright after drinking Mizone. Directed by Australian filmmaker Husein Alicajic, a library set with bookshelves and wire rigs was constructed solely for the ad, so it would collapse like a row of dominoes. ^[21]
• In 2012, in association with Warner Music, Frucor made playlists to motivate athletes. ^[22] The campaign was called ‘Mizone Mitracks’, where it used the slogan "music, the last legal stimulant". ^[3]
• In a humorous 2014 Chinese advert, the "Tilting Man" character theme recurred to symbolize people being "out of state" when they do not drink Mizone. Integrating special effects imagery, the advert featured people in a city walking in a "tilted" fashion prior to drinking Mizone, in addition to buses and skyscrapers being canted as well. ^[4]
• In 2016, an Indonesian Mizone commercial featured the DNCE song Cake By The Ocean. ^[23]
• In an action-packed 2017 Chinese commercial titled "Catapult", a new tagline called "Mizone Forward" was proposed. Incorporating VFX imagery, the ad featured people of all walks of life being catapulted (by the drink) over city buildings. ^[4]
• A 2019 Chinese commercial titled "Tilted World" featured 14 shots that consisted of high resolution water splash elements and rotoscoping. The advert's message was that, by drinking Mizone, the person can turn their tilted body upright and return to their normal posture. ^[24]

References

Notes