So What’s Vruit, Anyway?

“Papa was a veggie. Mama was a fruit.”

With that advertising slogan, a Michigan company is trying to sell health-conscious Americans on its new vegetable and fruit drink, Vruit. American Soy Products Inc. is hoping Vruit will usher in the next big trend in American beverages: good-for-you drinks.

That category is being studied aggressively by the big beverage companies as well, says Tom Pirko, president of the industry consulting firm Bevmark Inc.

“The potential for beverages that are authentically good for you is almost unlimited,” he said. “Everybody’s thinking about it. These little guys are trying it out, but eventually the big guys will come in.”

Breaking a new product into this hyper-competitive business isn’t easy for a small company that lacks the marketing clout of Coca-Cola Co., Pepsico Inc. and the other beverage behemoths.

So American Soy is expanding Vruit into supermarkets one city at a time, promoting it mostly through in-store tastings and stocking it in the produce department rather than the crowded juice aisle.