Press Release

Hydration Tastes Better with a Little Caffeine

Cleveland Ohio, September 5, 2013

            Although just kicking off the 2013 school year, the entrepreneurship class is already in full stride in their relationship with Avitae Caffeinated Water. To start the project, the class had a Skype interview with director of marketing at Avitae, Tapan Shah. As Shah explained, Avitae is “an innovative concept,” with 45 or 90mg of caffeine giving the consumer “the healthy hydration you need with the caffeine lift you want.”

            The class attacked the challenge to find a solution for Avitae’s poor sales in convenience stores. To determine the poor profit margins at the convenience locations, the class broke up into four determined teams: the Breakfast Club, Eat Grit, Dream Catchers, and PAX. Each team formulated hypotheses to meet the challenge. Several areas were troubling, such as “low education of the health benefits of caffeine, distributor skepticism, and poor packaging.” To test each hypothesis the teams hit the streets, interviewing strangers with survey questions. The Greis Center’s terrific University Circle location allowed the class to walk out the front door and interview CWRU students and health specialist from University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic.

            As the relationship progresses between the class and Avitae, the class will continue to diligently work to provide a solution for the innovative company. For more information about the class and the partnership, visit our blog ENT 1.0: http://hawkenentrepreneurs.org/.