From golfing and horseback riding to fishing, swimming, and more, Long Island has lots to offer as an outdoor sports destination. The region’s popularity for plein air activities inspired two New York City businessmen, Michael Kantrow and Brian Flatow, to create a new kind of hard seltzer: GameUp, a canned alcoholic sports drink.
Not only did Long Island help spark this fresh idea, but according to Kantrow and Flatow, advertising professionals who have worked with brands such as Michelob and Mike’s Hard Lemonade, the booming spiked seltzer industry finds its largest market on Long Island. Therefore, it was the first place the GameUp founders began marketing the product when it was released over the Fourth of July weekend this year.
“It’s more bold, refreshing, and fitting for the outdoor sports lifestyle,” Kantrow says. “We’ve had probably 15 to 20 tastings across Long Island, from mid-Island to the Hamptons and Montauk. Everyone who tastes it loves it, and it’s sold out in a number of stores.”
The duo admits in their sales pitch that “the world doesn’t need another hard seltzer,” Flatow says. They may be right – nearly every canned alcohol brand has jumped on the trend in just the past few years. Even restaurant brands, such as Hard Rock and SONIC, have their own spiked seltzers on the market. However, Kantrow and Flatow go on to say that GameUp is “not just a hard seltzer – it’s hard hydration.”
Each can of GameUp is pumped with electrolytes and has a 4.9% alcohol content and 110 calories. The drink comes in fruit punch, orange, lemon lime, and grape flavors.
Though there are other hard seltzers that contain electrolytes, such as Happy Dad, the GameUp makers say their drink has more flavor and is made with an electrolyte content for those outdoor post-game gatherings. To market it as such, Kantrow and Flatow have been making connections with sports and community organizations on Long Island, such as LI-Kick, a social sports league for adults.
“When you’re introducing a new brand to a place where there are tons of options, those personal connections are super important,” Kantrow says.
GameUp is available to order online or at select stores. To learn more, visit drinkgameup.com.
