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http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=10485&page=76

Unleashing the warrior in us all
Posted: Wednesday, Mar 2nd, 2011
BY: Vicki Schuster

Shogun Energy, manufactured and marketed by a Brookings-based beverage company, hit shelves in January 2010. The drink has taken off so well that the company just went public last month. Shawn Knapp is the company’s chief executive officer.

• Brookings home of new energy drink that’s about to go global

An energy drink made in Brookings is going to “unleash the warrior” in all of us.

Shogun Energy hit the shelves in January 2010, and it took off like a rocket. It’s now being distributed in a seven-state area, and 70,000 cans of the regular and sugar-free versions are being sold monthly.

In fact, the company is doing so well that it took its stock public Jan. 1, chiefly to raise funds so the corporation can move its products to a worldwide stage.

The idea for Shogun came about several years ago when someone approached Cody Knapp, son of Shogun Energy president and CEO Shawn Knapp, about distributing a similar product. Like his father, the younger Knapp is an entrepreneur, and he had wanted to get involved in the growing energy drink market.

That company didn’t last, but the Knapps liked the concept so much “we decided to create our own,” says Shawn.

The Knapps are well-known businessmen in the community. Shawn is a native of the Volga and Brookings areas, a contractor who continues to operate Shawn’s Custom Homes as well as other enterprises. Son Cody, who continues his involvement with Shogun Energy, is the owner of Laser It Engraving, a laser cutting and etching business that produces banners, signs and other promotional items.

The Brookings men took their work seriously, testing all the products on the market and researching the components that went into a quality energy drink. Ultimately, Knapp and his crew flew to New Jersey where a pharmaceutical lab helped them combat a problem they felt plagued many other energy drinks: a bitter aftertaste.

After some tweaking, the Knapps settled on a formula for what the company now boasts is the “best energy drink on the planet.”

The new, unnamed beverage was ready to be put to the test. It was unveiled in several markets where it was well received, and the drink won best taste honors at a major show in Las Vegas in November 2009.

Since then, the “samurai sauce” has been going like gangbusters.

What’s in a name?

The beverage’s name came about as the company started doing sponsorships with mixed martial arts fighters.

“They kind of helped us come up with Shogun,” says Shawn. He says it seemed fitting to name it after a Japanese chief military commander, because the warrior title is also associated with both the product’s attributes and the company’s goals.

Now that the Knapps had a labeled product with the desired taste, the company started testing the market, going places where people were having a lot of fun. Samples of the drink were given out at events big and small – the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, rodeos, concerts. Regionally, Shogun has been featured at go-kart races, wrestling matches, various college venues, motorcar racing and even at some charitable events.

Shawn says he never knew the task at hand could be so fun, yet so challenging at the same time. “It’s not easy to get into some places, because most stores have exclusive contracts with other beverage companies like Coke, Pepsi and Red Bull. But we have been very creative, and we penetrated a tough market in a short period of time.”

Good for many reasons

Although the logo and the name are exotic, company officials want it known that the product is centered in the Midwest and manufactured in the United States. The can contains an American flag, and a line along the side of the nutrition label says it’s manufactured and distributed out of Brookings.

“People who have seen us in Sturgis, or California, or Colorado, say to us, ‘You’re making it in Brookings?’ It’s like they’re shocked,” says Shawn.

Knapp and his employees gather the ingredients here and ship them to a Cold Spring, Minn., bottler. Cans for the product are manufactured in Indiana and New Jersey.

Not only is Shogun a pick-me-up beverage manufactured and distributed locally, but according to its advertisements, it’s really good for you. The drink is designed to “feed your inner warrior” with its key ingredients. This is what Shogun offers consumers, Knapp says:

n Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12: These play an important role in energy, such as the buildup and breakdown of carbohydrates, fat and protein; B vitamins support mental and physical performance.

n Taurine: This amino acid acts as an antioxidant.

n Caffeine: This stimulant helps improve alertness and concentration.

n Panax ginseng extract: This herb helps fight fatigue and improves immune system function.

n L-Carnitine: This helps the body convert fatty acids into energy.

Shogun is advertised to boost physical performance and improve alertness, energizing the body and focusing the mind.

Another bonus is the price, which is competitive. “We believe in offering the best-tasting product for the best-possible price,” says Knapp. The beverage sells for about 40 cents less than other energy drinks. An 8.4-ounce can retails for about $1.99 and a 16-ounce can is about $2.39.

Hitting the road

Knapp says he loves the fact that Shogun was born in Brookings and is doing well in the Midwest, but the region’s population is limiting sales. In the coming weeks, the company will be pushing to get product into metropolitan areas such as Denver, where he says the product is already doing “incredibly well.”

Just this week the company lined up four new national distributors, among them the McLane Company and Core-Mark, two of the largest players in the retail foods business.

Part of the Brookings company’s marketing takes a “grassroots approach,” with the product hitting the road with some well-known local and national celebrities.

Shogun will have its logo wrapped around the tour buses of Brookings illusionist Reza and Nashville recording artist Michelle Murray. (In both those cases, a trailer full of product will be in tow, and company reps will be setting up daily displays and promotions.)

The sponsorship of Murray’s tour alone should gain the company exposure to more than 6 million people.

Knapp says he’ll also place promotional spots during TV shows such as “Ellen” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Big things in the works

The Shogun team is eyeing international markets, as well, with the product already on shelves in Canada. Samples of the drink have also been sent to China, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand.

That international effort is why the Knapps took their corporation public and continue to seek investors in their enterprise: the venture requires a lot of capital to get it distributed nationally and internationally.

Shawn says that by the end of the this year, though, Shogun will be sold in half the United States.

Not only is the company looking to have a presence in the global retail market, but its team is hoping to compete on a grand scale with similar products in bars – such beverages, like Monster Energy Drink and Red Bull, are becoming popular drink mixers.

Because the market has been so responsive, Knapp and his team are already making plans to introducing another beverage, hopefully by third or fourth quarter 2011.

In the corner of Knapp’s Front Street office in west Brookings is a small fridge with an unmarked bottle containing a new, yet-to-be named drink.

“We’ve got it to taste like what we wanted, and now it’s just finding a name and a market for it,” says Shawn.

Another new product

Just this week, however, the company announced another new product: a five-hour energy booster they’re calling Shotgun. Playing with the hunting tradition of the company’s South Dakota home, the Brookings marketers are packaging Shotgun in – what else? – a shotgun shell. (“Shotgun” was a natural extension of Shogun.)

Developing a new drink here in the heartland of America is, “The most fun thing we’ve ever done,” says Knapp.

“It’s challenging, because there are a lot of powerful people out there that want to prevent people like us from making it. But we think with the right branding and the right product, we can be very successful.”

“After all,” he adds, “we’re only a year and a few months old.”

Shogun can be purchased at 11 locations in Brookings, three places in Volga, and two outlets in Elkton, just to name a few.

To find out if it is available in or near your community or to check out special events the company has coming up, go to www.shogunenergy.com.

Contact Vicki Schuster at [e-mail].