Good Idea brings functional beverage delivery format to blood sugar management

By Mary Ellen Shoup

- Last updated on GMT

Good Idea is based on research showing that a blend of five specific amino acids could reduce the post-meal blood sugar spike substantially, the company claims.
Good Idea is based on research showing that a blend of five specific amino acids could reduce the post-meal blood sugar spike substantially, the company claims.
Good Idea, a liquid dietary supplement positioned as a ready-to-drink flavored sparkling water, is targeting the roughly 30 million diabetic and 90 million pre-diabetic Americans (according to the CDC) in need of a blood sugar management tool that fits into their regular diets.

Good Idea contains a proprietary blend of five amino acids and chromium that have been shown to effectively reduce blood sugar levels, according to research​, consisting of nine clinical trials in total which were conducted by Good Idea Inc´s Swedish parent company Aventure AB and the Food for Health Science Center at Lund University in southern Sweden.

“It’s clear that they (amino acids) improve a very quick insulin release and they may be triggering other aspects of the metabolic process itself,”​ CEO Björn Öste told NutraIngredients-USA.

“We’ve added chromium which helps improve the insulin sensitivity – the body can issue less insulin to achieve the same job which is often the opposite that happens to diabetics.”

The carbonated liquid dietary supplement is intended to be consumed before and during a meal when blood sugar levels tend to ebb and flow the most. The product can help reduce blood sugar levels by 20% to 30%, Öste claimed.

Positioned as a sparkling water

Öste who had previously headed up Oatly​, an international plant-based milk alternative brand, said it was crucial for Good Idea to also draw a mainstream audience.

“If you’re going to go out with a functional product and you target the people that really need it, you alienate the larger mass market,”​ Öste said.

“You really need to position a product that has mass market appeal but also delivers the true functionality to the people that really need it.”

The company identified sparkling water as the most promising delivery method for Good Idea as the trend of unsweetened carbonated drinks is bubbling up in the US market in an era when consumers continue to ditch soda for healthier alternatives. According to Euromonitor International, the sparkling water category grew by 70% from 2011 to 2016 and is projected to hit a market value of $3.1 billion by 2022.

“We have the belief that ultimately people don’t want to take pills – if you’re going to make lifestyle changes you need to give them a form that they naturally relate to,” ​Öste noted.

"[We thought about] the most common denominator people consume with a meal – we quickly zoomed in on waters."

Packaged in aluminum cans and stocked in the refrigerated beverage cooler of retail stores in Northern California for an SRP of $2.90 to $2.99 per can, the company aims to be placed next to other sparkling waters and ready-to-drink beverages at traditional retail.

Good Idea is available in two SKUs, orange mango and lemon line, with a third flavor on the way. The company intends to be in 1,000 stores by the end of year, Öste added.

‘Owning the corporate lunchroom’

A key channel for Good Idea is through corporate wellness providers that are increasingly in demand in the US – corporate wellness is nearly an $8 billion industry with annual growth projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% annually though 2021, according to an IBISWorld Industry Report​.

These programs range from free to reduced cost products on company campuses to incentive-based scoring systems that guide employees’ wellness choices, according to Öste.

“We want to own the corporate lunchroom [in this space],” ​he said.

“We’re too early in this to have any opinion of what system works better than others, but it’s amazing to me to see how many of these projects there are, how serious they are, and how well appreciated they seem to be.”

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