Warda Network and Alpha Republic

NEOH - Sweets for Digital Natives

Startups often feel like athletes. There are obstacles between start and finish, you experience sagging and don't even think about quitting. In these moments the strength of your own team and the support of a good sparring partner prove their worth. Both play a decisive role in the success story of a new sports bar: In teamwork with creative people, the NEOH inventors fight against sugar and sell millions of chocolate bars in the process.

Seven years ago, Manuel Zeller (CEO), Adel Hafizovic, Alexander Gänsdorfer and Patrick Kolomaznik started with their fitness bar on a long-distance run, which should take them around the world. Their vision: NEOH revolutionizes the energy bar market as a world brand. Their vision: "We want to free the candy shelf from sugar." The recipe they developed in countless trials and tastings in their shared kitchen is right: 1 gram of sugar, 28 percent protein and 92 kcal. But the sports bar is not only healthy, it also tastes really good, as evaluations, testimonials and above all the increasing sales figures show. In 2018, 4 million pieces in the chocolate and raspberry flavours were sold, in 2019 it should be about 7 million.

Fight Sugar

Alpha Republic received thrust at the beginning of 2018 by the appearance in the Puls 4 show "2 Minuten 2 Millionen". Since then, Heinrich Prokop, CEO of Gutschermühle, has supported the production and distribution of the Ottakring sports bar with his expertise in the food sector and an investment of 350,000 euros. In the summer of 2018, Eugen Prosquill took a stake in his friends' company and brought the team of his agency Warda Network on board.

A stroke of luck for the small company, as Alexander Gänsdorfer remarks in retrospect: "As a start-up, we had limited resources and saw our opportunity primarily in the digital field. For this we needed good content. At Warda Network there are many young creative people who have grown up with the new media. They have a sensorium for our young target group and the know-how for contemporary communication.

Together with the directing duo "The Factory", the creatives developed an image spot around the brand claim "Fight Sugar". The story stages NEOH as a turbo booster and shows everyday scenes and top sporting performances in rapid image sequences. "The film was shot at over ten locations. From surfers in France to BMX professional bikers and calisthenics athletes, various brand testimonials were filmed as they grew beyond themselves and finally overcame initial difficulties," says Alexander Wittich, Creative Account Manager of the creative agency.

© Stefan Joham

Milestones

At the beginning of 2019, the film was shown on TV, later followed by over 50 spots for various media in short and long versions. The creative industry effect? Positive feedback from many sides and the biggest increase in sales since the company was founded. "In the first month after the spot was broadcast, sales figures increased by 43 percent. We are in talks with several international food trading companies", Gänsdorfer summarizes the success in figures. In addition, white label products were launched in nine European markets.

The teams of Warda Network and Alpha Republic are closely and amicably intertwined not only through their participation. "It's a living process," says Gänsdorfer, "in which new ideas are constantly being generated, which we implement interactively and digitally."

© Stefan Joham

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