Business

By Marisa Beahm, Loveland Reporter-Herald
LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) ― Wes Brasher was managing the nonalcoholic beverage business for 7-Eleven Inc. in Dallas when he decided to make a lifestyle change. After relocating to Loveland 5 1/2 years ago, he not only changed his and his family's lifestyle, but he is helping other people change theirs.

Brasher, who started a beverage consulting business in Colorado, is one of the founders of mix1, a Boulder-based protein and antioxidant drink that is a convenient beverage for busy people who want to eat healthfully.

Brasher teamed with Greg Stroh, co-founder of natural fruit juice maker Izze Beverage Co., and health expert James Rouse to create mix1, which has been in the works since October 2005, Brasher said.

After Pepsi bought Izze in September 2006, Stroh paired with Rouse -- also known as "Dr. James," who hosts weekly health segments for Denver's NBC affiliate and for Los Angeles' CBS affiliate -- to pursue a new beverage.

Rouse, who has a doctorate in naturopathic medicine, developed the formula for mix1.

Brasher came into the business to coordinate manufacturing, packaging and the supply chain. Brasher met Stroh after he worked as a consultant for Izze.

"At that point, there were three guys with an idea," Brasher said. "Fortunately, we had some industry experience and contacts. The success of Izze gave us some credibility."

After a challenging development process, they finalized mix1, which contains more than 23 vitamins and minerals and is available in 11-ounce bottles in four flavors: mango, blueberry-vanilla, lime and mixed berry.

The creamy drink, which costs $2 a bottle, competes with such drinks as juice smoothies from Odwalla and Naked and Muscle Milk and Ensure.

"Dr. James and his philosophies of nutrition leave no room for compromise when it comes to the quality of ingredients we use," Brasher said.

After it launched in Colorado, it was sold at Whole Foods, regional King Soopers and City Market stores.

It took only about four months before Whole Foods began distributing it nationally, Brasher said. Now, mix1 is coordinating national distribution with Kroger Co., which owned about 2,500 supermarkets nationwide as of 2006, according to the company's Web site.

Later this month, mix1 will be available nationally at Kroger stores Ralphs, King Soopers and City Market, Brasher said.

The beverage's quick growth has been "unbelievably impressive," said Heather Willison, the public relations representative for mix1 at SNAP! Public Relations.

"Everybody really believes in what they're doing," Willison said. "You can tell there's just a lot of heart in it as well. It's a superior, high-quality product."

When mix1 debuted, Brasher went to the Whole Foods store in Fort Collins and gave out free samples to spark sales. Now Jay Montez, the associate grocery team leader at the Fort Collins Whole Foods, said the drink outsells the competitors' protein drinks "hands down."

"It sells really great. Wes did a great job pushing it," Montez said. "It's really popular, because it's filling and filling with good things. It's a really good product."

Starting in August 2007, mix1 partnered with American Eagle Distributing of Loveland in its nonalcoholic beverage set. However, the partnership recently ended.

Now, United National Foods of Denver distributes the product.

Mix1 was selling so fast in 2007 that Brasher had to tell the sales team to "pull back on the reins." In 2008, he looks forward to letting the sales teams go at their own pace.

"We've spent the better part of 2007 scaling up product to keep up with demand," he said.

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