BANa Bottling CEO Benjamin Yoo developed an effective rehydration beverage unlike any currently on the market.

Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based BANa Bottling Co. is no ordinary beverage company. Just six months old, it is already giving the rehydration beverages of the world a run for their money because it was founded by someone who knows precisely how to treat severe dehydration cases – a board-certified family medicine physician who spent four years in a Georgia emergency room. Dr. Benjamin Yoo calls his product “an I.V. bag you can drink,” but that’s metaphorically speaking, of course.

“Working in the ER, I noticed a lot of people coming in for IV fluids ranging from kids to older people,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘Is there a drink out there where people can get rehydrated faster and better orally instead of getting an IV in the emergency room?’”

There wasn’t. So, Yoo decided to create one. “This product is very different from a lot of drinks out there, especially sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade or even Pedialite,” he notes. “A lot of vitamin waters have low sodium, but from a physician’s standpoint, you actually need sodium to rehydrate yourself.”

In fact, he adds, the Na in BANa stands for sodium and the label on the bottle has a picture of the periodic table to get the message across. The BA is short for banana pack, which is what medics call an IV bag that turns a yellow color when it’s been infused with certain vitamins used to treat severe dehydration cases.

Targeting Demographics
Yoo calls BANa “the next generation of hydration drinks.” However, “This is not an everyday drink; there’s a purpose for this drink,” he asserts. “If you are severely dehydrated, this will work very nicely for you. Education is a big part of our marketing strategy.”

Aside from sodium, BANa includes other electrolytes, such as potassium, chloride and biocarbonate, which, according to Yoo, are all essential for the normal function of cells and organs. 

The beverage comes in just one flavor, berry, but the company makes two variations, one with more sodium for adults and one with less sodium for kids, who get a special bottle that features a jolly cartoon monkey on the label.

The company is marketing its product to four groups of people: endurance and collegiate athletes; laborers; adults and children who are ill and not drinking enough fluids because of flu-like symptoms; and those folks who consumed too much alcohol the night before.

“Everyone gets dehydrated in one form or the other, and in those situations, you really need that salt at that time,” Yoo says, noting that there is no end to the people who could benefit from BANa.

Making the Dream a Reality
Because Yoo is a physician by trade and not a businessman, being the CEO and sole proprietor of a beverage company has its trials and tribulations.

“All of this is a learning curve for me,” he admits. “I’m a medical doctor; I don’t know much about the beverage business, but I’m learning quite a bit as far as what it takes.” Luckily, he says, “When I developed the concept, I found a close set of friends – who I call my eight associates – to help.

“They have been very good to me,” he says. “I think we’ve got a good product, we will keep going forward with this, and we will see.”

International Aspirations
“We’re going to do a couple more sponsorships leading up to the big food and beverage convention in Miami,” Yoo says. He’s referring to the 11th annual Americas Food and Beverage Trade Show and Conference 2008 that will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center from Sept. 24 to Sept. 26. “We’re trying to get the word out that this is a global drink – eventually,” he explains.

“We’re small right now, and it’s too early to think about something like that. But, going down there, I want to get national distributors, as well as other people at the convention, to recognize what our drink is about. I’m not sure if there are too many drinks like this in Third World countries, as well as South America and Europe, so we’d like to expand. People need to realize that there is a drink out there to help these countries, as well.”