Moxieland (above) is the giant plant where Moxie was produced in the first half of the 20th century.

- Moxie Product News-

plus "Cornucopia Corner" and other Moxie company news.

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Good news for Moxie Lovers in Florida!

Dateline Dec. 8, 2010: Cornucopia announces that in addition to availability in Sweetbay Supermarkets, Moxie will now be distributed throughout the state of Florida by Florida Micro Beverage Distributors, 10219 General Drive, Orlando FL 32824, 407-965-5718.

www.floridamicrobev.com 

Moxie Product "family"

(Note: this section will be revised when new "BOY" treatment is finalized)

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. This is the new "Cokeification" of the packaging of several brands bottled by CCNNE in Londonderry NH.

Coca-Cola HQ in Atlanta decided that the Coca-Cola 2 liter bottles nationwide should now look more like Coca-Cola bottles with an "easy-to-grip" feature.

To accommodate, and to contain costs, CCNNE is now using the same style of 2 liter bottles for all the brands they produce, including Canada Dry, Sunkist, Dr. Pepper, and, of course, Moxie.

12-PACK BOXES (above) of 12oz cans now have the new "swirl" logo as do bottles (left). Cans have vertical/no-boy logos. 

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER! Just try it. Half and half. Cold. As shown (diet only...no other combination tried). Most thirst-quenching and refreshing, according to your Grand Poobah. Comments welcome.

NEW ENERGY DRINK FLAVORS recently introduced:

New Thunder and Explosion to complement the "old" Citrus. New flavors have no carbs and are carbonated (Citrus at the moment does have carbs and is not carbonated).

New Cornucopia Product: Olde New England SELTZER..."Bubbled by Moxie"...in three new flavors.

Sorta kinda as a reincarnation of an older Moxie concept (see below)

25 year old short-lived Monarch-endorsed Louisiana Product: Moxie SELTZER...in seven flavors.

8 oz cans (above) which were first packaged in 6-packs are now available in 8-packs instead...More Moxie for No More Money!

MODERN MOXIEMOBILE (left) hybrid SUV now in use by Cornucopia to make the Moxie name visible along the road. Note new treatment of Moxie logo (in the "swirl") along with a new slogan "The Soda With Roots". Click HERE and scroll down to the end of the page for close-up of current "swirl" logo!

There is an old phrase, with ownership comes pride.  Cornucopia Beverages likes to believe over the past eighteen months, we have take pride in the promotion and brand building behind Moxie.  While the brand has been in existence for over a century, we are doing our best to rejuvenate, reenergize and reinvigorate.

First, we would like to lie to rest any concerns that there was a change in the formula or flavoring.  It is our belief that the taste of Moxie is the cornerstone of the brand; and we have no intentions of playing or altering with the taste.  We need to make certain that the consumer knows it can find a consistent product at all times.  There is a brand equity built around the taste and something we do not want to erode.

Obviously, there have been some obvious visible changes – namely the packaging.  The decision to change the design was not one taken lightly.  Over the past ten years, like in all industries, there have been extensive advances in the packaging and graphics industry.  As such, after performing extensive in-market research, we found that the old packaging was easily lost in expansive soft drink aisle.  We needed to create something new to draw out the brand.  The old packaging was a destination – only those who were looking for the brand would find it.  The final design was selected after reviewing dozens of options.  And while, the immediate impression may seem to be a huge deviation, the core brand elements remain the same.  The bright orange background and billboard are still there, plus the bold blue Moxie lettering remained.  From early results, it appears as though the new packaging is drawing new consumers.  Obviously, if we find that the graphic change is not working, we are agile and nimble enough to make a change.

Besides the packaging change, we have gone ahead and developed more traditional marketing materials.  Across the New England , we went ahead and performed some sampling events over the summer, handing out over 10,000 samples.  The majority of these events were small and quick in scope.  We just wanted to get the product in the hands of people who had never tried the product; we believe that once they try it, they will come back!  As the summer winds to an end, so will the sampling program because it will be difficult to find the crowds to hit the people in an hour or less.  But we look forward to continuing this concept moving forward.

The Moxie Horsemobiles were famous back in the day, and we have brought the concept into the 21^st century.  As some may have seen, we took a Ford Escape Hybrid and created a new Moxie Mobile.  While it may not have the same charm and charisma, we have kept the roots the same, just updating with technology.  We think it is important to note that we did choose to use a hybrid vehicle to promote corporate social responsibility.  The new Moxie Mobile had done extensive traveling since its creation in June – over 6500 miles across New England !

As always, there is a continuous push of ideas behind the scenes… some that will happen and some that will stay on the back burner.  But, we can assure you that we are always looking of ways to grow and drive Moxie to new heights and levels!

The first eighteen months has been filled with growth and excitement and hopefully the trend and momentum will continue.

Respectfully,

Larry Lordi, President, CCNNE

Justin Conroy, Moxie Brand Manager,  Cornucopia Beverages (div. of CCNNE)  

- July, 2009 -

Cornucopia battles brand "dilution"!

Dateline April 2009: Over the years, "moxie" has become generic, not unlike "thermos", "kleenex", and "frigidaire" (see LOGO story). When Cornucopia acquired the rights to Moxie from Monarch (see below) they soon found that firming up a unique brand identity was like trying to build a wall with silly putty...it just kept slip-sliding away. So many things were using "moxie" as brand names (many with Monarch's "approval") that their shotguns started coming out, and their corporate lawyers started getting rich.

One example happened a few months ago with MOXIE JAVA and we expect others will follow. NFeN will try to keep you abreast of developments along this front as we become aware of them. It is apparent that they must be diverting Cornucopia's precious resources from promotional and other activities which would serve to rapidly "grow" the Moxie brand as we are sure they would prefer to be doing! (update 8/09...we have heard that the issue was settled in negotiation...stay tuned).

Moxie Management meets with NEMC!

Dateline: July, 2007 - Justin Conroy (left and below), Moxie brand manager met with a group of very interested NEMC members (below) and provided much anticipated insight into the recent acquisition of the Moxie brand from Monarch (see next story).

Justin emphasized the fact that Cornucopia has every intention to continue to serve and expand its present customer base, while "growing" the Moxie brand by increasing regional brand awareness, providing more widespread geographic availability, and by developing appropriate advertising campaigns and other promotional activity.

He also revealed what an arduous process it was to acquire the brand and go through the learning curve of what it takes to own it.

Trademarks, franchise agreements, historical data, territorial arrangements, packaging, bar codes, internal policies and procedures, dealing with government agencies, financial considerations, etc, etc....a field day for lawyers and bean counters! Makes us glad we only have to drink the stuff!

One of the reasons that Moxie is not more available is that very strong marketing agreements exist between major producers (like Coca-Cola), bottlers, distributors, and big customers (supermarket chains, oil companies, etc) which preclude putting "small" products like Moxie on the shelf. Over time, Cornucopia hopes to take what action it can to reduce these situations and make Moxie more "visible" to potential customers (to which we say, "Hurray!"). 

According to Justin Conroy, new Moxie brand manager, this acquisition makes a lot of sense. As a Monarch-franchised bottler, CCNNE had been producing 75% of the world's supply of Moxie anyhow. "Cornucopia", added CCNNE president Larry Lordi, "is committed to see the Moxie brand grow and flourish. You will be hearing a lot from us soon!" 

Moxie is back in New England!

Dateline:  April, 2007 - The rights to the Moxie brand have been acquired from the Monarch Beverages Company (of Atlanta, Georgia) by Cornucopia Beverages, a division of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England, headquartered in Bedford, New Hampshire.

Moxie ownership background: In 1884, Dr. Augustin Thompson started producing his patented "Moxie Nerve Food" tonic in the form of a carbonated beverage from a small plant in Lowell, Mass. In the early 20th century, operations moved to Boston, eventually to a huge showcase facility known as Moxieland (see above). In the 1920's Moxie outsold Coca-Cola nationwide, but by mid-century its popularity had waned substantially, with only New England remaining as a significant  marketplace. The Moxie Company then downsized itself and moved its operations to a "Moxie Laboratory" in suburban Needham Heights. In the mid-1960's, The Moxie Company was dissolved, and all rights to Moxie were sold to what became the Monarch Beverages Company of Atlanta, Georgia (much to the consternation of many proud and hearty New Englanders).

(Now don't get the idea that Moxie is now owned by its old competitor Coca-Cola out of Atlanta Georgia. No way, folks. CCNNE is owned by Kirin Beer of Japan!)

Dateline July, 2005:

NEMC visitation to CCNNE bottling plant in Londonderry NH, July 2005.  Past president Garland Lea (see archives) is 4th from the left.

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