The drink that’s “Not for Dudes!” Damzl Fuel from Damzl, Inc., Seal Beach, CA, stands out on West Coast store shelves in a four-can multipack wrapped with a sleek, “pretty-in-pink” sleeve with racy silver and black graphics. The sugar-free, low-sodium energy drink was developed by Damzl to complement its line of extreme-sports apparel for women.
The Damzl logo, gravure-printed front and center on the shimmering PETG shrink sleeve from Ameri-Seal (www.ameri-seal.com), consists of a stylized silver “D,” topped by a silver tiara and surrounded by a sprocket graphic that also bears the product name in silver and pink letters. The logo, created by Damzl founders Heather Birdwell and her late sister Holly Gorrell, with help from a graphic designer, have become one of the company’s “most powerful attributes,” relates Birdwell. “We are trying to show that we stand for women in off-roading; there is a hard and a soft edge to the design.”
The beverage’s slim, 12-oz cans were supplied by Rexam (www.rexam.com). Birdwell says they provide a refreshing—but not overwhelming—portion size. Product flavor suggests the cherry/lemon-lime taste profile of a Shirley Temple. “And what girl doesn’t like that!” Birdwell asks.
Buzz around drink supports sales of other products
The drinks are sold in a range of grocery, convenience, and liquor stores throughout Southern California and on the company’s Web site. For retail, four-packs are shrink-bundled with film, for a less-expensive alternative to a paperboard-carton six-pack. The film also allows the multipack to be more easily stored in the refrigerator and doesn’t get wet and soggy and fall apart like a paperboard carton, Birdwell adds.
