Exhibit
99.1
True Drinks Provides Management Update
IRVINE,
CA – (September 26, 2017) - True Drinks Holdings, Inc. (OTC
PINK: TRUU), makers of
AquaBall® Naturally Flavored Water, the healthiest
children's beverage on the market and
Bazi® All Natural Energy drink, today provided an
update for the year ending December 31, 2017.
Over
the past 15 months, True Drinks has made significant improvements
to its products, its management team, and its operating systems.
Included among these changes are the switch in contract
manufacturers to Niagara Bottling which lowered our packing costs,
the change to a hot-fill production line which allowed us to remove
preservatives from our product, the addition of a new sales team
with years of experience at Kraft Foods, and the recruitment of a
new CEO with demonstrated success heading food and foodservice
companies. As a result, revenue has increased over 250% in the
first half of 2017 compared to the comparable period last
year.
Sales
thus far in Q3 have been considerably weaker than expected. From
conversations with retailers and distributors, it appears that
revenue attributable to the children’s beverage category was
weaker than expected during the summer months. Nielsen data
confirms this weakness. As a result, although AquaBall® velocity had
risen throughout the year through July, Nielsen did report a slight
decline in our velocity in August. We believe that the lower
velocity is due to category weakness, as reported by our
distributors and retailers. The result is that our distribution
partners and retailers have more inventory than expected and have
limited reorders of AquaBall® until their
inventories are reduced. Due to uncertainty with regard to when
these issues will resolve, we are withdrawing our previous guidance
for the full year 2017.
AquaBall®
continues to be the most disruptive product in the children’s
beverage category as the first zero sugar beverage for children,
and management does not believe that the recent softness will
continue once our distribution partners sell through current
inventory. In addition, we remain optimistic that our recently
launched brand awareness campaign in the New England test market,
which includes a product sampling effort, wrapping trucks in
AquaBall® graphics, and
limited geo-targeted advertising, will yield significant data
allowing management to direct our marketing efforts in our largest
markets to better differentiate AquaBall® from its
competitors. And while we have experienced delays with one of the
largest food service providers that we are working with to place
AquaBall® in schools, we
are equally optimistic that this effort will soon yield results
that will propel revenue going forward.
Sales
of Bazi®, on the other
hand, have risen. This is primarily attributed to a new partnership
we entered into with Mohawk Group that has opened up a new sales
channel on Amazon. Thus far, our sales on Amazon have more than
doubled our previous monthly sales of Bazi®. Management is
also analyzing data as to how we can leverage Mohawk Group’s
efforts for AquaBall® sales on
Amazon.
An
aggressive initiative of True Drinks is product innovation and
development. We are currently working on a plan to introduce line
extensions next year. We believe that we possess the unique ability
to be nimble and responsive to what consumers are searching for in
“better-for-you” beverage offerings. Our assumptions
were supported by a recent focus group study we conducted. AquaBall
remains a “lighthouse” brand that mothers are looking
for. Excessive sugar consumption remains the most pressing concern
of mothers.
Increasing
shareholder value remains a top priority of our Board and
management, and we are disappointed to share this news. However,
our management team is determined to capitalize on the
opportunities presented by our brand, the accomplishments of the
past year, and the opportunities ahead of us as we close out 2017.
Over the next several months, we intend to continue to provide
updates for our shareholders, which can be accessed through our
website located at www.truedrinks.com,
or by reviewing our filings located at www.sec.gov.
About True Drinks
True Drinks Holdings, Inc., the holding company for True Drinks,
Inc., is a healthy beverage provider. Its flagship product is
AquaBall® Naturally Flavored Water a healthy alternative to
the other products in the children’s beverage market. True
Drinks has licensing agreements with Disney and Marvel for use of
their characters on bottles of AquaBall. AquaBall is a naturally
flavored, vitamin-enhanced, zero-calorie, preservative-free,
dye-free, sugar-free alternative to juice and soda. AquaBall is
currently available in four flavors: fruit punch, grape, strawberry
lemonade and berry. Their target consumers: kids, young adults, and
their guardians, are attracted to the product by the entertainment
and media characters on the bottle and continue to consume the
beverage because of its healthy benefits and great taste. For more
information, please visit www.aquaballdrink.com
and www.truedrinks.com.
Investor information can be found at www.truedrinks.com/investor-relations/.
Proudly made in the USA.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "if," "should" and
"will" and similar expressions as they relate to True Drinks, Inc.
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. True
Drinks, Inc. may from time to time update these publicly announced
projections, but it is not obligated to do so. Any projections of
future results of operations or the anticipated benefits of the
merger and other aspects of the proposed merger should not be
construed in any manner as a guarantee that such results or other
events will in fact occur. These projections are subject to change
and could differ materially from final reported results. For a
discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" in
True Drink's report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and its other filings under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the dates on which they are made.
Contact:
Investor Relations
True
Drinks, Inc.
4
Executive Circle, Ste. 280
Irvine,
CA 92614
ir@truedrinks.com
949-203-3500