ABOUT MINI-GREEN ENERGY
The Mini-Green Energy Story
Before the first box of Mini-Green Energy was ever sold (yes, it used to come in a small, cardboard box), and even before there was an idea for a convenient, healthy, energy product, there was just a gift of expensive green tea.
I had spent most of my career in a completely different business, and the last couple of years I was flying 100,000 miles a year. At the end of one business trip, one of my business partners gave me a gift of expensive green tea. I've always liked green tea - unsweetened, no sugar, iced or hot... nothing but the tea. I had never thought about something like expensive green tea vs. average green tea. It was always just green tea to me.
And so I had this expensive green tea, but it wasn't like a light bulb suddenly went off. At that point I was just drinking the tea. I would throw the tea leaves into a cup and add boiling water. Very exciting stuff. But my wife and I had a one-year old son, I was working long hours, trying to fit workouts in after everyone had gone to sleep, and caffeine was an absolute necessity. Then, one day when I'd finished the tea, I took the leaves from the bottom of the cup and packed them in my cheek like a big wad of tobacco. I got a hit of green tea flavor and a nice energy boost from the caffeine. On the flip side, I also got little pieces of green tea in my teeth. Not a big problem if you're home in front of the TV, working out in your basement, or at home on your laptop, but most other places green tea leaves in your teeth is not a great look.
At that point, I wasn't thinking about quitting my current job (just as my wife was pregnant with our second child) and embarking on an entrepreneurial adventure. I wasn't that crazy... yet. I just liked the flavor and energy boost. And green tea has no calories and nothing artificial.
I had started to think, though, about the ways that my friends and I had been getting our caffeine. Many of the products tasted bad, were unhealthy, or bragged about how big a jolt of caffeine they could put into one shot. The goal of those products seemed to be to give you a big jolt and then you have to follow it up with another energy shot every couple of hours or you'd be asleep at your desk, on the weight bench, in your tree stand, or at the wheel.
And to make matters worse, when we found an energy product that tasted pretty good, it was usually a beverage and there are just many times you don't want to drink another 16 ounces, like if you're in the car or doing just about anything where it is inconvenient to stop and hit the restroom. And there were definitely places where a spilled beverage, or carrying around unopened 16oz cans for an energy boost later in the day, wasn't ideal.
But to me, the pieces of tea leaf in your mouth was a problem; and I didn't have an immediate solution to that until one day when I was online and was reading something about the great Texas Longhorn and Houston Oiler running back, Earl Campbell. I remembered those Skoal commercials he did that ended with him walking after the girl on the beach and saying "Skoal, brother" and for some reason my mind went immediately to the Skoal Bandit pouches. I'm sure someone smarter than me would have figured it all out sooner, but it occurred to me that maybe I could use the same machines for a green tea product that companies had been using for years to put tobacco in pouches. Green tea. Energy boost. And no loose leaf in your mouth.
From that point momentum started to build and the people I talked to about it thought it sounded like a cool idea. But I needed to get past the "idea" stage and get the pouches into people's hands and mouths and see what they thought because that, as they say, is where the rubber hits the road. But it did feel like things were starting to fall into place.
So with an abundance of confidence, I created my first test batch of Mini-Green Energy pouches. They were green tea and a few other ingredients but the pouches essentially tasted just like green tea. I tested them with 20 people and... no one liked them. Well, almost no one. If I kept going in that direction I was going to have a very small, but loyal, customer-base of one person... me.
What I discovered was that people loved the idea of a USDA Certified Organic, 0 Calories energy product made from green tea, but they just wanted it in different flavors so they could find the flavor they loved best, or switch from one to the other for variety.
I liked that people would have the option of putting a pouch inside their cheek, or dropping two pouches into a bottle of water (for people who did want to have an energy "drink," staying hydrated with Mini-Green Energy in water was still a lot healthier than other alternatives) but they also wanted a flavor other than straight green tea and some sweetness (but not too much). And we ended up with Spearmint, Cinnamon, Mixed Berry, Citrus and Chocolate - and still kept them Organic and 0 Calories. And let me tell you, THAT took a lot of work.
The other thing I decided I wanted to do with Mini-Green Energy was make sure each pouch wasn't so much caffeine that it gives you the jitters or you experience a crash as the energy wears off. I made Mini-Green Energy so that each pouch offers as much caffeine as a small cup of coffee. It's enough to give you a boost, or you can use 2 pouches at once, or 3 or 4 pouches over a couple of hours, for even more energy.
The important thing is your energy level is in your hands and no one is competing to see how over-caffeinated they can get you.
I hope you'll give Mini-Green Energy a try. Between the options of dropping a couple of pouches in a water bottle, and putting a pouch between cheek and gum, I feel sure you'll enjoy the great flavors and the energy boost. Mini-Green Energy can be used any time, anywhere and for people who are collegiate, Olympic or professional athletes, I made sure that Mini-Green Energy is in compliance with the NCAA, WADA, MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL.
Thank you for your time, and I hope you'll give Mini-Green Energy a try.
Daniel Victor
Founder & CEO