CHICAGO - No, it's not liquid Viagra, but it will keep you up through the day.
It's Playboy Energy Drink, and Playboy Enterprises Inc. has debuted it in Boston, with plans to roll it out next month in Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
"We are taking a strategic distribution approach," said Playboy VP of licensing Sarah Haney. "We will have nationwide coverage by the end of the year."
This item follows Playboy-branded chocolates and mints, and Haney called it "a natural fit."
"Playboy is really about delivering a lifestyle to its customer," Haney said, "and part of that image is fun and parties, and energy drinks capture that."
Playboy Energy Drink is being produced and distributed by Play Beverages LLC and CirTran Beverage Corp., in regular and sugar-free versions. It contains energy-boosting agents ginseng and guarana extract.
With a profit margin of 50 percent or more and $3 billion a year in revenue, the energy drink market could be a boon for Playboy, which reported a fiscal decline in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Adult companies HellHouse Media and Arrow Productions have also launched energy drinks called Pure Pain and Deep Throat, respectively.
Said Michael Bellas, CEO of Beverage Marketing Corp. in New York, "You have to be unique and different, and they are. They are Playboy."
