Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
Steve Earnhart and David Schuman. DEPARTMENT HEADER Although the brand encourages drinkers to end their night with a bottle of ResQwater as a preventative measure, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of its soothing effects the next day if you need to: As a liquid, ResQwater is absorbed through the lining of the stomach, resulting in relief within 30 minutes. It is this fast-acting next-day effect that Earnhart hopes to transi- tion to business success for on-premise accounts, and he uses the Freakonomics of Las Vegas to explain how ResQwater can get people out of bed and back into the bar: “Imagine Vegas without a hangover,” he says. “Accounts lose customers when people are in Vegas and drink too much, because they go back to their rooms, and—oops, they never get out of bed the next day. But imagine a bottle of ResQwater at every bottle service, or in the minibar. If you wake up without a hangover, you get back out, you hit the dance floor, you go to the pool. Nobody makes money if everybody’s hiding under the sheets!” It is this theory that Earnhart hopes will propel ResQwater into future markets, a lifeline not only to over-consumed-consumers, but also to accounts that want to send their late-night crowd out with fond memories that will keep them coming back for more. At a handful of bars in Old Town Scottsdale, ResQwater is the first stop after last call, and Earnhart has found that it’s an easy sell for bartenders and consumers alike. “Will people be thinking of their hangover tomorrow when they’re leaving the bar?” he asks. “This is a bit of an unknown right now, but we’re betting yes. The sky’s the limit.” CEO Steve Earnhart explains the science behind ResQwater as the brand’s President, David Schuman and BevMo! Scottsdale Manager Jim Henry look on, while BevMo! Wine Specialist Mike Muncal checks out the proof on the label. august 201 1 / the tasting panel / 73