OK Energy stands out by ‘spurning traditional marketing’

Nied, a student at the University of Virginia, has revamped Coca-Cola's defunct 1990s OK Soda, into OK Energy aiming to resonate with Gen Z consumers.

Nied and his advisors, fellow University of Virginia students Jack Deutsch, Ali Rizwan and Maxwell Mitchell, leveraged OK Soda’s ironic messaging and neo-noir imagery for OK Energy targeting the Gen Z consumer. Despite the age gap between Gen X and Gen Z, Nied posited that there is little difference between the two, philosophically.

“[OK] soda was going for sort of a grungy, disillusioned young population that is … largely skeptical of the world around them. There was sort of an attitude of pessimism … there is not any other mood that could better describe how people are feeling right now at every single capacity: politically, socially and economically. … What [Gen X] were experiencing 30 years ago, is quite similar to what a lot of people are experiencing right now,” he said.

OK Energy’s messaging subverts the traditional energy drink branding of “everything is great,” with ironic puns for its flavor names like Meh-ango, Feelin’ Blue Raspberry and Passionless Fruit, Nied said.

“At the end of the day, [traditional] energy drinks have this conventional philosophy of ‘drink this and you will be fit and you will look great,’ … it hits on the same emotional cues … What we are doing is spurning traditional marketing of what a product should be,” he said.

Instead, OK Energy’s comedic branding is designed to attract the average consumer looking for authentic messaging with its slogan of “Don’t be yourself, just be OK,” Nied said.

From OK Soda to OK Energy

Coca-Cola’s OK Soda launched in 1993 for Gen X consumers as a sardonic response to the “over advertised” generation, Nied said. The soda was discontinued in 1995 due to the brand inability to meet its parent company’s 4% sales goal, limited distribution in small cities throughout the US and Canada and a formula that was advertised as and “tasted like carbonated tree sap,” Nied said.

When OK Soda's trademark patent expired in 1999, Nied, who was a second year student at the University of Virginia, purchased it in 2022 and remarket it as an RTD energy drink. As a Jefferson Scholar, Nied applied to exploratory funds that were available for entrepreneurial students, resulting in a $25,000 grant from the Jefferson Foundation that funded the first round of manufacturing.

A formulation that ‘one ups the competition’

While OK Energy’s branding sets itself apart in the crowded energy drink space, its formulation is similar to its competitors, with the exception of one additional milligram of caffeine for a total of 201 milligrams, Nied said.

“We are literally one upping the competition,” he added.

OK Energy to focus distribution on Virginia

OK Energy’s strategy is focused on reaching college students and small retailers in surrounding areas.

Currently, OK Energy is manufacturing 30,000 cans and distribution is concentrated in college campuses at the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University, and retailers in Hampton Roads, Va. area. The brand also will develop event activations with community organizations, including donating a portion of the profits to mental health organizations that support individuals who "may not feel OK," he added.