Kobe Bryant, admittedly thinking about his post-basketball business career, has invested heavily in sports drink BodyArmor. Per a press release:
Premium sports drink BODYARMOR, today announced that basketball superstar Kobe Bryant has made a significant investment in the company and will become the number three investor, behind co-founders Mike Repole and Lance Collins.
With his investment, Bryant will become an influential partner and board member in the beverage start-up and will work closely with Repole and Collins to continue to build the growing brand. Both Repole and
Collins have already achieved beverage industry success both having sold their beverage companies, separately, to The Coca-Cola Company in 2007. Repole sold glaceau vitaminwater and smartwater for $4.1 billion and Collins sold Fuze and NOS for $250 million.
Bryant first discovered BODYARMOR last summer during his rehab training and then, after contacting and connecting with Repole, he became interested in getting involved.
“I’ve had a long successful career in basketball, one I’m excited to continue, but I also am planning for a long and successful career as an entrepreneur, “said Bryant. “BODYARMOR is a brand that I wanted to be a part of in a big way. Today’s athletes understand how nutrition impacts performance – and there’s nothing that compares to BODYARMOR, which is why I chose to invest and become a partner.”
“I was already a fan of BODYARMOR but after a few conversations with Mike I knew I wanted to be more than just a consumer. There is no other product like BODYARMOR in the market,” he added.
Bryant will be involved in all facets of the business, including product development, innovation, marketing, expansion markets and overall growth strategy for the company. Bryant has been collaborating with the executive team for several months on marketing initiatives, innovation and roll-out of the recently launched BODYARMOR flavors.
“Kobe brings with him a relentless drive to win, and after our conversations I realized his passion and intensity is not just on the court – it’s in everything he does,” said Repole. “I’d rather be on his team than compete against him and his insight as an elite athlete will be invaluable to BODYARMOR.”
“Today’s athletes are demanding an upgraded sports drink – and BODYARMOR is better than outdated, traditional sports drinks in every way,” said Repole. “BODYARMOR provides the premium nutrition and superior hydration that athletes need to perform at their best – and no one knows more about performing at their best than Kobe,” said Repole.
BODYARMOR has two and a half times the electrolytes of sports drinks, vitamins, and coconut water and is low in sodium and high in potassium and has become the drink of choice for hundreds of professional athletes and thousands of amateur athletes nationwide. BODYARMOR boasts and impressive roster of top, young talent who have chosen to partner with the brand, including Andrew Luck, Mike Trout, James Harden, LeSean McCoy, Buster Posey, Kevin Love and Rob Gronkowski.
