A new Scotts Valley partnership has aspirations of breaking into the national mainstream in a hurry, in the form of a nutrient-rich supplement drink tailored for golfers on the links.
Scotts Valley businessmen Aaron Hinde and Orion Melehan this week launched GolferAid, a one-of-a kind supplement to help improve a golfer’s game.
“We’re a focused, functional beverage focused on the sport of golf,” said Melehan.
GolferAid is meant to be drunk 15 minutes before a round and then again at the turn, after nine holes.
Hinde, a chiropractor, and Melehan, a financial planner, said they are proud of the all-natural ingredients used to prepare and flavor the drink. They formulated the recipe and flavor with guidance from a biochemist and a food scientist to ensure it would have a nutritional value specific to golf.
The drink is touted to help a golfer’s strength, focus, balance, endurance, dexterity and mental toughness.
Hinde and Melehan have high hopes of distributing the $4-per-can drink to 1,000 accounts in a year’s time, and they expect it will become a household name in the golf world.
“We’re confident this will help the pros’ games, and they will be asking us about it,” Hinde said.
They have several other partners, including Tim Clayman in business development and Erik Gundersen as creative director. Brent Welsh, a local teaching pro, is also on board.
The drink combines ingredients including glucosamine, vitamins and natural nectars. Instead of using sugar to sweeten it, as in many energy drinks and sport beverages, the team used blue agave, a natural sweetener that doesn’t cause a blood sugar spike and subsequent crash.
The duo has a marketing team that’s starting national distribution of the drink. The first round of distribution is placing refrigerators in pro shops at six local golf courses, including DeLaveaga Golf Course, San Jose Municipal Golf Course and Santa Teresa Golf Club.
As sales begin, distribution will increase, they said.
“We think the product speaks for itself,” Melehan said. “It’s a golf product that happens to be a food and beverage.”
Melehan and Hinde met at a Brook Knoll School auction last year and struck up a quick partnership. Both enjoy golf, and both have entrepreneurial spirits.
One day, before a round at Valley Gardens Golf Course in Scotts Valley, Hinde took some natural supplements to relieve some aches and pains, and the two developed the idea for a beverage to serve the same purpose.
“It’s the same as a golf glove,” Melehan said. “You can play without a glove, but you’re not going to play as well.”
For information: www.golferaid.com
