Barry Wilson is about to get a reputation as the National Sales Manager from HELL, but he couldn’t be happier. ‘It was the capabilities of the company that attracted me’, he says. ‘I went to the factory and it was incredible, state of the art and with a huge storage capacity. They not only produce a wide range of drinks, they produce the cans, too. It’s the highest level of vertical integration.’
So let’s start with a bit of background to the business. You may never have heard of it, but HELL BEVERAGES is one of the fastest growing FMCG businesses in the world, as its explosive export expansion and growing global popularity demonstrates. The 100% Hungarian energy drink brand was founded in 2006 and by 2010, it was market leader in Hungary. Hell has now become a key player internationally, exporting to more than 50 countries. In addition to its homeland, Hell is market leader in Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina; Slovakia, Croatia, Greece and Cyprus.
‘The success of HELL ENERGY is due to its excellent quality, good value for money, wide availability and world-class marketing communication activities’, Barry says. ‘The company is a unique player in both the energy drink and RTD coffee sectors; it’s the only one in the world that can claim to have a market-leading, established brand in several countries. Backed by our own ultramodern filling factory and our aluminium beverage can factory, you can see how we have a unique, global perspective of the industry and its consumers.
‘My job is to drive our success in the UK marketplace’, Barry says. ‘We have a full van sales team, supported by five depots across the UK and we’ve already become a big seller amongst the country’s eastern European communities. You’ll find us in many UK supermarkets in the World Food aisle, although our ambitions are now much broader than that, as we look to replicate the brand awareness we’ve seen in other markets.’
HELL has targeted the vending sector as having huge potential for its mid-tier priced energy drink and RTS coffee products, which Barry says assuredly ‘represent premium quality at an accessible price.’ Vendex is their first foray into the vending community at large. ‘Yes, this is our first vending show, our first engagement with the sector’, he admits, adding enigmatically: ‘Having said that; in response to demand, one vending operator is already buying HELL Energy drinks through our Warrington depot.’
‘I’d like to take this opportunity to invite operators to visit our stand at Vendex, to see and better still to taste what we have to offer’, says Barry.
- You’ll find Barry Wilson and the team from HELL Beverages UK on Stand 11 at Vendex North
- Going to Vendex North? Pre-register HERE, it’ll save you time on the day…
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