Still-new London energy drink maker expanding into US markets

A London-based energy drink company is expanding into the United States months after launching in Canada.

Londoners Matt Stirling and Mike Pullam founded Exponent Energy Inc. in late April and will expand their line of energy drinks into US markets this month.

“We’re in the midst of opening a US office, and then, we’re going to have many employees working remotely, so it’s really exciting,” Pullam said.

Exponent Energy offers three kinds of plant-based, sugar-free energy drinks sold in more than 150 Canadian stores. The products are manufactured at Equals Brewing Co. in London.

South of the border, the drinks will be made in Utah and California, Pullam said.

“We just finished US production last week, and we are launching in California, Hawaii and Illinois in the next two weeks,” he said.

Exponent Energy markets itself as an alternative to mainstream brands that offer high-sugar, high-caffeine, and artificial, mass-marketed energy drinks. Its products, which include orange-tangerine, blueberry, and citrus blend flavors, come without all the sugar and synthetic ingredients, Stirling said.

“What was important to us was we thought, ‘Hey, let’s bring something to the market that is truly a cleaner drink.’ Everything we have is a clean nutrition panel,” he said.

The fusion energy drinks contain everything from pink Himalayan sea salt to coconut water and amino acids that provide essential nutrients. Even the caffeine is naturally sourced from green tea extract, added Stirling. “So there are no synthetic ingredients.”

Exponent is the culmination of two years of brainstorming and collaboration. Stirling, a former competitive bodybuilder and gym owner from Chatham, met Pullam, a business executive working in supply chain, after moving into his London neighborhood in 2019.

Both had backgrounds in fitness and became friends. The business partnership essentially developed during post-workout discussions, Pullam said.

“Matt put a sauna in his basement, so we’d always have ‘sauna talks,’” he said with a laugh. “We’d work out for an hour and then have business conversations.”

The two were convinced there was a demand for organic drinks that were healthy and tasted good.

“We realized what was out there just didn’t align with our lifestyles and what we wanted to see in an energy drink. We noticed that it wasn’t available on the market. There was a gap,” Pullam said.

“In short, we set out to disrupt the modern energy drink,” he said.

Exponent employs seven full-time staff and operates out of its London office at 104-320 Thames St.

Reception to their products so far has been “very promising,” Stirling said.

“Our partners are happy. Our sales (people) that work with our partners are happy. The retailers are repurchasing, so it’s been great,” he said.

Exponent partnered with a North American beverage incubator, LA Libations, that’s helped build notable brands such as Vitaminwater and Body Armor, and already has established five or six US distributors.

The business duo wouldn’t disclose specific figures about their sales – noting they’re waiting to collect more reliable data – but Pullam said: “They’ve been incrementally substantially growing week over week.”

As Exponent grows, London will remain the hub for operations, Pullam said.

“We’re looking forward to being able to expand in the London region with our employee base and other suppliers and things of that nature,” he said.

“That’s important to us, that we grow so that, in turn, we can give back to the community.”

More information about Exponent Energy can be found at www.drinkexponent.ca or on Instagram at @drinkexponent.

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