????并不是所有品牌都能有這么好的歸宿。瓊斯蘇打飲料公司（Jones Soda）是紅牛飲料（Red Bull）之外少數幾家保持獨立經營并不斷發展的飲料公司之一。其實，2007年到2010年之間，瓊斯蘇打公司境況慘淡、收入停滯。2010年領導層變革之后，公司成功改善了分銷策略。公司總裁及首席執行官比爾?梅森納表示，要訣就是要生產獨特的產品，而不只是使市場上再增添一種能量飲料或可樂而已。梅森納加入該公司時，跟隨他同時進入公司的是來自飲料公司Vitamin Water和SoBe的一批老員工，這兩家公司已被可口可樂和百事可樂收購。

????他們的目標是鞏固瓊斯蘇打飲料公司作為手工飲料企業的地位。該公司位于西雅圖，有兩大主營業務。MyJones是公司的單獨瓶裝個性化服務，消費者可通過公司網站上傳家庭照片及信息來定制飲料。梅森納表示，這項服務為公司貢獻了總收入的8%左右。（該公司每年還定期通過全國性分銷系統，銷售印有消費者提供的約15,000張個人家庭照片的產品。）盡管公司的零售業務還不發達，但公司的整體在線銷售額能夠支撐起品牌發展。梅森納預計，到2016年，公司年銷售額將從去年的2,000千萬美元增加至1億美元以上。他說：“飲料增值服務領域不適合可口可樂和百事可樂這種巨頭。”

????可口可樂和百事可樂在收購方面表現得相當積極。最近，他們又把目光投向了受熱捧的飲料產品椰子汁。2009年，可口可樂公司購買了Zico飲料公司20%的股權，收購價未透露。差不多在同一時間，O.N.E.椰子汁公司與百事公司簽署投資協議，希望利用百事的分銷體系資源。盡管有著業內巨頭的幫助，Zico公司在銷售額上仍居次位，O.N.E.排名第三。排在首位的卻是單槍匹馬、孤軍奮戰的Vita Coco公司。該公司僅與軟飲生產商Dr Pepper Snapple集團建立了合作關系，借用其分銷渠道。隨后，公司向麥當娜、黛咪?摩爾、馬修?麥康納、蕾哈娜等大牌明星尋求資本支持。該公司表示，收購仍然是一個可能的退出戰略，但現在還不是時候。公司共同創始人邁克爾?科爾班稱：“如果被大公司收購，就會喪失創業精神，而創業精神正是打造品牌的動力。”然而，對uFlavor公司來說，成功似乎沒有別的道路可供選擇。

????譯者：李玫曉/汪皓

????All brands haven't fared so well. Besides Red Bull, Jones Soda Co. (JSDA) is one of few firms that has managed stay independent and growing. Hopes for Jones Soda were actually pretty glum between 2007 and 2010, with revenue stagnating. After a leadership switch in 2010, the company managed to improve its distribution tactics. The key, says President and CEO of Jones Soda Co. Bill Meissner, is to make a unique product, not just another energy drink or cola. When Meissner joined Jones Soda, he also brought with him a team of ex-Vitamin Water and SoBe veterans -- both firms that were acquired by Coke or Pepsi.

????The goal was to strengthen Jones's position as a craft soda company. The Seattle-based company has two key businesses. MyJones, the its individual bottle personalization service, allows customers to order beverages with a home photo and message on the label through the company's website. It makes up about 8% of the company's total revenue, Meissner says. (Jones also rotates about 15,000 personal home photo submissions from its customers in regular national distribution each year.) While the company is still underdeveloped in retail, its overall online sales have managed to carry the brand. Meissner estimates Jones will make more than $100 million in sales by 2016, up from $20 million last year. "Premium soda just isn't a category big players like Coke and Pepsi can do well," Meissner says.

????Coke and Pepsi have been aggressive about acquisitions. Most recently, the companies have turned their sights to the latest beverage craze, coconut water. In 2009, Coke bought a 20% stake in Zico Beverages for an undisclosed amount. Around the same time, O.N.E. coconut water signed an investment agreement with Pepsi in exchange for use of the company's distribution arm. Despite the help of industry leaders, Zico is number two coconut water brand based on sales and O.N.E. is number three. The lone holdout? Vita Coco. Instead it partnered with the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) for distribution only. It then turned to stars like Madonna, Demi Moore, Matthew McConaughey, and Rihanna for capital. The company says acquisition is still a possible exit strategy -- just not yet. "When you're acquired by one of those big companies you lose a lot of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives and creates a brand," says co-founder Michael Kirban. For uFlavor, meanwhile, it seems like there aren't many different avenues to success.