The last time PepsiCo overhauled its Gatorade strategy, Indra Nooyi was chairman and CEO. Back in 2009, amid the Great Recession, Nooyi attributed a slump in Gatorade sales to the fact that couch potato consumers, who “didn’t really have a right to exist in the Gatorade world,” had turned to other beverages, including tap water. The brand’s solution at the time was...

Daniel Blake knows a little something about rising again. Three years ago, he took a leave of absence from Anheuser-Busch InBev after the conservative backlash against a Bud Light brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Blake oversaw the marketer primarily responsible for the campaign. Many Bud Light distributors were angered as well as they lost almost a third of their sales during the controversy, after consumers boycotted the beer. Blake and his subordinate eventually left the company. Today, Blake is eight months into the US launch of his energy drink brand, PHX Hydration Energy. "I believe things happen for a reason," he said of the end of his Anheuser-Busch career. "And it's not the event itself that defines you — it's your response." Blake is founder and GM of One 11 Brands, which markets PHX (pronounced Phoenix). Following a three-market roll-out last year, PHX is expanding to 14 states this quarter. Blake has enlisted Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy, a media personality and influencer known for pushing back against political correctness. Blake entered a US energy drink market dominated by three powerful competitors — Monster Beverage, Red Bull, and Celsius Holdings. Even more daunting, PHX is one of many challengers looking to carve out space in a crowded but growing category. US energy drink volume grew almost +10% at retail last year as dollar sales jumped +12%, as shown in the Green Sheet with this story. What Blake has going for him is distribution within the very Budweiser beer network that was at the center of his exit from AB InBev. Bud distributors have a track record of helping to build fast-growing energy drink brands such as Monster, Celsius, Alani Nu, Bang, and Ghost that would eventually leave for distribution partnerships or transactions with Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper. Those beer networks are now eager to replace the lost brands. In a recent interview — which has been condensed and edited for clarity — BD's Duane Stanford started by asking Blake how he plans to differentiate PHX?