Fourth-year student Evan Nied, majoring in Government and completing McIntire’s Entrepreneurship Minor, is blending nostalgia with innovation through his startup, OK Energy, a beverage company inspired by the quirky and ironic marketing of the discontinued soda brand OK Soda from the early ’90s. Recognizing the growing demand for energy drinks among young consumers, Nied purchased the brand’s trademark and turned his vision into reality. We recently spoke with Nied to learn more about his new startup:
What inspired you to start this business?
I was scrolling through Wikipedia, and I discovered this discontinued soda brand from the early 90s called OK Soda. It was ironic: Instead of having slogans, it had manifestos. And it was it was a totally failed product from its inception. But I felt that it would work so perfectly for Gen Zers, who love that sort of ironic meta-marketing. Coca-Cola totally discarded the trademark and its rights, so I purchased the trademark from the public domain, and then I reached out to some beverage executives and chatted with them about recommendations with restarting a soda brand. And they told me not to start a soda brand because no one drinks soda anymore.
But energy drinks have great market share and growth because young people love energy drinks. I felt that young, quirky people would be perfect for the beverage, and I’m surrounded by my core demographic: college students who drink energy drinks. So I decided to start what became OK Energy.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced as an entrepreneur?
The biggest challenges I have faced have been in regards to co-packing and manufacturing of the product. It has taken me almost two years to find manufacturers that are able to create the product to our specifications. This has caused significant delays to our launch and been the biggest difficulty so far.
What have been the best or most memorable moments or achievements thus far?
Seeing the product initially be manufactured in the Wisconsin facility where we ran our first round of cans. I also enjoyed taking over the lease of the old Pi Kappa Alpha frat house and will be turning it into the “OK House” as a massive promotional vessel for the product. We will host OK Parties, where you invite your most OK friend as a plus one.
