Shadow Beverages, GNC enter ready-to-drink beverage market

For more than 75 years, GNC, a specialty retailer of nutritional products, has been helping people “Live Well” by offering health and wellness supplements ranging from vitamins to diet and sports nutrition products. With its licensee partner, Shadow Beverages LLC, GNC has now entered the ready-to-drink beverage category in new markets with an extensive range of Nutritional Waters, Sport Nutrition, and Protein Nutrition Beverages. Supplying the Extra-Lok V 38-mm OD, compression-molded polypropylene caps for the new line of GNC Advanced Nutrition Beverages is Closure Systems Intl.

The GNC beverage line includes “XP”/Extreme Performance drinks, targeted toward intense performance athletes, and “Active” drinks, formulated to meet the hydration and metabolic needs of more mainstream active consumers. The GNC Nutritional Waters, Sport Nutrition, and Protein Nutrition Beverages are packaged in 14- and 20-oz PET bottles from Graham Packaging. The “XP” beverage bottles have black labels and black closures, while the “Active” bottles use white labels and clear closures. 

CSI’s lightweight cap was chosen over alternative closure options due to its premium look, consumer safety features, and optimal sealing and application performance.  Equally important were the technical expertise and customer services CSI provided, according to Allen Warner, director of supply chain for Shadow Beverages.

"At each step, CSI provided unmatched technical service and on-time delivery. For us, the decision was easy,” says Warner. “CSI exceeded our expectations by meeting extremely tight project timelines. With CSI’s guidance, we enjoyed a smooth, trouble-free bottling start-up.” Distribution of the new line of GNC beverages, currently consisting of 14 SKU’s, has begun through various U.S. channels.