With revenue and interest growing steadily for Celsius Holdings, Inc.’s Celsius fitness energy drinks under the leadership of President and CEO John Fieldly, it’s clear that consumers have embraced the brand and its mantra, “Live Fit.”
Fieldly didn’t initially set his sights on the CEO position but did want to build a company and team to take on the energy category and create a brand consumers love.
The Boca Raton resident points out that the hardest part of his job, though, is managing people.
“Passionate people and partners are what build great companies, and with all of the unique, passionate, great personalities, it sometimes creates challenges,” Fieldly says. “But, at the end of the day, we are one team — and as one united team, we can be massively successful.”
Fieldly explains that Celsius aspires people to live a healthy, active lifestyle and that the company’s growth has been monumental since it was founded in 2004.
“Revenues reached $154 million in the second quarter of 2022, as opposed to $7.7 million for the year when I started (as CEO in 2018),” he says. “We announced in August 2022 that we partnered with Pepsico to be their national distribution partner and global partner; over a $560,000 million investment and over an 8% share owner.”
The fitness energy drinks are formulated with healthier ingredients like ginger, guarana, green tea and seven essential vitamins and come in more than 15 sparkling and non-sparkling flavors. They contain no artificial preservatives or flavors, aspartame or high-fructose corn syrup, are low in sodium and are certified gluten-free, kosher and non-GMO.
Although Fieldly’s favorite Celsius drink is Sparkling Orange (one of the original flavors), he admits that the team’s new flavor innovations like Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade and Arctic Vibe (Sparkling Frozen Berry Edition) make it difficult for him to choose.
What has led to the transformation of Celsius as one of the fastest growing energy companies, sold in 162,000 locations nationwide, as well as worldwide?
“We evolved from the original strategy of the negative calorie drink and are now capitalizing on three of the fastest trends in food and beverage,” Fieldly points out. “First, we’re better for you but don’t sacrifice flavor; second, Celsius delivers on more function with clinically proven fat-burning and metabolism acceleration and third, Celsius is all about fitness (it was born in gyms and health clubs), and with fitness being a megatrend, we have mass appeal.”