The 90s catalyzed a shakeup in the RTD landscape, with brands like Snapple and Red Bull emerging and quickly becoming hits.
While Snapple and Red Bull saw their fortunes continually rise, another brand, Clearly Canadian and its line of flavored sparkling water, couldn’t sustain the same momentum, eventually going bankrupt and being acquired by another entity. Clearly Canadian’s tribulations would be further compounded by a loss of distribution.
But the beverage never quite faded into extinction. In 2015, after being purchased by investor Robert Khan, Clearly Canadian jump-started its comeback by preselling cases and borrowing from the crowdsourcing playbook. Khan was banking on enough people like him who fondly remember the 90s mainstay and are only not purchasing it because they simply can’t find it at their local 7-Eleven.
