By Paul Shrater
August 1, 2007

Foods and beverages that promote increased energy have become quite popular in recent times – just witness the recent acquisition of Vitaminwater by Coca-Cola for $4.2 billion. 

As travel sizes aren’t limited to just toiletries, this month we’re going to look at some of the latest and interesting items in the world of ingestible energy products for the person on-the-go:

1. Tang with Electrolytes

Many remember the Tang brand as the favorite of the pioneering astronauts of decades gone by, but Tang has come out with small powdered “Sport Fitness Drink Mix” packets made to pour into your water bottle.  While there are other similar products out there in the powdered-tube-to-add-to-your-water-bottle, Tang has incorporated electrolytes into their product, and they boast the item as a “low calorie and sugar free” beverage mix.  Recently, the national non-profit Soldiers’ Angels began shipping the Tang product to the troops in Iraq due to its electrolyte content.

2. 1st Step for Energy

Sometimes there are popular products that fly underneath the radar of the general public.  For the 1st Step for Energy product, the manufacturers are proud to point out that their product is used by hundreds of professional, collegiate, and Olympic teams.  The product comes in a travel version, a small .96oz drink mix pouch, in liquid form, that provides 71 vitamins and minerals.  The product is promoted with the slogan, “Life Demands Every Ounce of Energy.  So give it.” 

Q&A

Q: Why do travel sizes seem to cost so much compared to their regular sized counterparts?

A: The majority of the cost of a toiletry item is in its packaging and in its filling, not the material itself. 

The expense to fill a large bottle and a small bottle is virtually the same. 

The costs for the actual bottles, large and small, are quite close to each other. 

Additionally, the large manufacturers tend to produce a lot more of the large sizes than the travel sizes, allowing for a large cost savings based on the larger production runs they can do on their large sizes.

Thus, the costs to make a travel size versus a full size are very similar. 

To allow for a lower price for travel sizes, the profit margins end up being smaller, but they still aren’t able to be priced at a significant savings from their regular sized counterparts.

3. Chaser Packets

After running an aggressive commercial campaign, the Chaser product has become a household name.  Their “freedom from hangovers” natural dietary supplement claims that it “helps prevent headaches and other discomforts by absorbing harmful elements in beer, wine, and liquor.”  It wasn’t until recently that they launched the product in an individual packet, ready to have on your person at a moment’s notice when the need strikes.  While I can’t personally endorse its effectiveness, I have many friends that swear by it.