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Transcript of the Barry Cooper chat

Camera staff
Monday, February 19, 2007

DailyCamera.com hosted an online chat Monday, Feb. 19, with "Tea Master" and founder of Cooper Ice Tea Co., Barry Cooper. What follows is a transcript of the chat.

MODERATOR:Welcome to today's Business Plus chat with Barry Cooper, "Tea Master" and founder of Cooper Ice Tea Co.

MODERATOR:This chat forum is moderated. To submit your question or comment to the moderator, type the question in the field below this box. Then click the "Send to Moderator" button in the bottom right corner of the window.

MODERATOR:Please do not click the "SEND" button - your message will not be sent to the Speaker and Moderator.

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:Hi This is Barry Cooper at this end....I am ready to answer questions about BAZZA and Coopers Iced Brew Tea...and anything else you would like to ask me....

wallacea:How do you source teas?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:From all over the world...

MODERATOR:Do you travel all over the world to find them? What are some of your favorite destinations?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:Yes..I do travel a lot. i have a travel blog at www.coopertea.com and if you log on there and hit "Travel Blog" you will see that I am constantly on the road. I get back to Africa at least 3 times a year and I travel to Asia at least 3 times a year as well......

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:My favorite destination has to be Kenya, and a close second is Indonisia and Thailand and Sri Lanka...well come to think of it I like them all ...a lot!

averyg:What makes Bazza different from the dozens of other energy tea drinks out there?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:I use NO pharmaceutical Caffeine. All my energy comes from NATURAL green tea, and herbs such as Yerba Mate, Cola Nut and gurana seeds. I also do not us High Frutose Corn Syrup and my tea is ZERO CALS.

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:.....But make no mistake it is as powerful as the market leaders in terms of the energy it delivers. But you also get allthe GOOD things that are in Green Tea such as the polyphenaol EGCG

Ed Meacham:When will Bazza be available to the general public & where?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:It was launched four weeks ago by 7-11 and we are currently talking to as many distributers as we can to get our tea into general distributio. If you have a favorite store, ask the manager to carry BAZZA.

wallacea:What inspired you to come up with an energy tea drink?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:When we looked at the Energy Categoary and saw its explosive growth and looked at the products we found all these chemicals and Pharmeucutical Caffeine and sugras. Lots of caffeine and lots of sugar did not strike us as being good for anybody...... In talks with 7-11 we suggested a green energy tea based on real natural products and they loved the idea.....It took me two years to develop....we went into test and it was very successful. It has all the boost you need, has natural ingrediants,

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:65 mgs of anti oxidants, no cals, we made it taste GREAT, and we were very proud to have developed a new product and even a new category. Sorry for the long reply but I felt it was worth it..

chatter:Talk about competition and how a small firm can overcome the adversity of launching products in the shadow of giants such as Celestial

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:We can be David!! I check out the competition the whole time, yesterday I saw a new product that came in a small can, the contained TWO servings and had high Caffeine and Sugar. They suggested drinking half a can a day~!!!!!! I think once the public understand what BAZZA is all about the competition willbe chasing me....

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:Ihave been getting e-mails from around the country from rugby coaches members of the public who "GET IT" and thats what can be the most powerful weapon in our favor...the BUZZ that the general public can put out that here is a really good product in a tough category managed by the BIG BOYS....

averyg:What's it like being a living, breathing brand?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:ITS GREAT!!! Because its real. No-one outs their face or their name on something that they are not proud of. I am proud of what we have done but nobody is hiding in the bushes trying to take pics of me yet....

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:I meant to say "PUTS" their face not "OUTS" their face...typo!

MODERATOR:What are some tips for trying to market a brand new product in a highly-competitive market?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:I think you have to come up with something really unique. Something that truly stands alone for really good reasons and is not hype. It has to be authentic and real. Actually, just like BAZZA

wallacea:What kind of hurdles have you encountered ... being a small company ... in getting distribution and getting on store shelves?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:Well we have been very fortunate in having a great launch partner like 7-11 who saw the potential for a High Engery Green tea and backed it with a national launch. This has given us a wonderful platform to launch from. ........ becoming the sponsor for USA Rugby at the Club, Collegete and Internationl level also gives us tremendous reach into fit, health concious consumers.. this helps up getting on the shelves becuae we will become a name.. Without this recognition it is a hard, and potentia

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:....expensive task

MODERATOR:One final question - what's your favorite flavor of tea?

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:Acutally I like a couple of flavors. The High grown teas from Kenya East of the Rigty Valley are rich and strong..... The UVA teas from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) are very flavorfull and I like the second flush Darheelings toward the end of the second flush season. They get a nutty character that I like a lot.

SPEAKER_BarryCooper:Thank you for spemding part of Presidents day with me. If you want to follow up with more questions you can reach me via my website www.coopertea.com and www.bazzatea.com ....I am passionate about tea and love to chat about it...I welcome questions..

MODERATOR:Thank you for participating in today's chat! A full transcript of the conversation will be posted later today at www.dailycamera.com/chat