© courtesy of Zoa energy

Energy solution

Costco supplier ZOA offers a drink for active people

by dan jones

Energy and output go hand in hand. People turn to energy drinks to boost their get-up-and-go and mental focus. Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, along with entrepreneur and professional fitness coach Dave Rienzi, film producer and businesswoman Dany Garcia and investor John Shulman, had a clear vision of what a good energy drink should be as they worked toward developing their brand, ZOA Energy.

Rienzi says they had been thinking about the energy drink category for years but weren’t able to find products that had what they wanted, given their active lifestyles. After 18 months of formulating and testing with a team of specialists, they were happy with the beverage they’d created. The group lauched ZOA in March 2021.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
© Flannery Underwood

Active ingredients

Each 12-ounce can of ZOA Energy contains 160 milligrams of caffeine, along with 10 calories and 2 grams of carbohydrates. In comparison, an 8-ounce cup of coffee typically has between 80 and 100 milligrams of caffeine, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

“ZOA Energy is created with green tea leaves and green coffee beans,” Rienzi notes. “These natural forms of caffeine provide energy to fuel your day, and our formula offers zero sugar and 100% of your daily value of vitamin C.”

The beverage also contains an electrolyte formulation with magnesium, sodium and potassium.

“ZOA was founded by passionate people who believe in the power of positive energy, and the impact it can have on people when they harness it,” Garcia says.

What about the name?

“The word ZOA is a made-up word that is derived from the Polynesian word toa, which translates to warrior,” Johnson says. “As founders, we originally chose to call the brand TOA Energy, but in the eleventh hour, we realized we wanted an energy brand that served all consumers from A to Z, so TOA became ZOA.”

If numbers mean anything, the brand is catching on. “In our first full year, ZOA achieved incredible growth in retail sales, becoming a $100 million brand,” Shulman tells the Connection.

It all adds up to form a tasty drink made by high-performing individuals.