SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Alkaline Water Co., maker of Alkaline88 products, is expanding its reach in convenience stores by partnering with distributor Core-Mark and adding a new team member.
The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company will become part of Core-Mark’s Smart Stock program, which will add the bottled alkaline and flavored water products to an additional 11,000 U.S. c-stores.
“This is a huge win for us and marks significant progress toward our c-store strategy,” said Richard Wright, president and CEO of The Alkaline Water Co. “I am very proud of the fact that in less than a year, we have positioned our flagship brand, Alkaline88, to potentially be available in roughly 10% of the c-store market. We are excited to select Core-Mark as a partner and join its Smart Stock program, which is an exclusive marketing opportunity, offered across all Core-Mark U.S. divisions.”
Jim Venia, formerly the director of national accounts, West division, for Essentia, has joined the Alkaline88 team to accelerate its c-store strategy.
“I am excited to join the Alkaline88 team and help drive one of their major strategic priorities of gaining share in the c-store space,” said Venia, director of national sales, convenience stores and distributors for Alkaline88. “Over the years and at various competitors, I have always admired the Alkaline88 brand and how well it resonates with consumers and customers. With a growing portfolio of in-demand products, I am looking forward to helping drive this initiative for the company.”
South San Francisco, Calif.-based Core-Mark offers a variety of products, marketing programs and technologies to more than 44,000 customer locations in the United States and Canada through 32 distribution centers.
Core-Mark services traditional convenience retailers, grocers, drug, liquor and specialty stores, as well as other stores that carry convenience products. Its Smart Stock program delivers a full-service merchandising solution encompassing key categories in a c-store. The program includes weekly account services in which a merchandiser visits the store to order, rotate, date and price items to maintain store sets.
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