A Naples-based team has pushed the power button on “athletic fuel” with lofty goals to expand a new sports drink designed for rehydrating and recharging people.

Go-To Sport athletic fuel is the truest sports drink available, said Craig Brogna, founder, CEO and chief creative officer of Go-To Sport. “This is a true sports drink unlike others out there,” he said. “It contains herbs, vitamins, electrolytes, a ton of antioxidants and it’s all made with real ingredients. No artificial sweeteners, flavors or dyes. There’s more fruit juice in this product than any product pretty much out there on the market.”

The first three flavors — berry, lemonade and orange-mango — are made with 57% to 68% fruit juice, depending on each flavor. “When you drink this sports drink, it’s very, very flavorful and you can separate the flavors when you taste it,” Brogna said. “For instance, when you drink the orange-mango, you can taste the orange and then you can taste the mango and you can separate the flavors because of the real ingredients that we’re using, the real fruit juice.”

Getting to this point has been a long journey for Brogna. “Basically, this started seven years ago,” he said. “I’ve always been very athletic. I’ve always been involved in sports. At the time, there was only Gatorade really and a couple of others but these products really are not good for you. They are not sports drinks.” 

Eschewing the sugar, artificial flavors and dyes that are common in energy drinks, Brogna set out to create a real sports drink that can benefit an athlete by replenishing vitamins and nutrients lost from sweating and exertion. “This is a quality drink for the sports industry,” he said about Go-To Sport.

Because Brogna had specific goals, it took him a good deal of time, money and hard knocks to create the business and product he wanted. “This has been seven years in the making. It has been a huge roller coaster ride for me,” he said, noting that he has had numerous starts and stops by aligning with the wrong people or companies. “It’s not a cheap venture to take on.”

The local team is self-distributing the product, which is manufactured and bottled at Nutrition Laboratories Inc. in Clearwater. The first shipment was picked up just a week ago.

“Right now, we’re just starting small in Naples, but we want to be diversified where we sell it. I’d like to get into the top convenience stores like Wawa, 7-Eleven, supermarkets, gyms and big-box stores,” he said. “Currently, we are in 11 stores.”

The product already is available at locations such as Oakes Farm Market, Rose Food Mart, Key Food supermarket and a few area 7-Eleven convenience stores. The suggested retail price for a 12-ounce bottle is $2.99 to $3.79. Radno will have a demo, sampling and kickoff of the product 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Wynn’s Market in Naples and 6 to 9 a.m. Monday at the 7-Eleven at Creekside on Immokalee Road in North Naples.

“The feedback has been very, very positive,” Radno said. “For instance, one gentleman this morning tasted the lemonade and he said, ‘It tastes like lemonade. It’s not watered down. There’re no chemicals.’ They are responding to the quality of the product.”

The logo for Go-To Sport includes a rendering of a power button. “That symbol represents power as in power on,” Brogna said. “I like this because, to me, it’s a universal symbol that everybody knows and can understand and relate to specifically.”

Brogna’s goal is to build on Go-To Sport with other healthier drinks and eventually become a national or even international company. “We are starting out with the sports drink but the goal is to expand on the Go-To brand with teas, healthy sodas, even energy drinks,” he said. “I want to give people a healthier variety of beverages.”

To that end, the local team hopes to attract investors to help the company grow and reach those goals. “What we’re looking to do is raise capital to grow the brand,” Radno said. “The most important thing is to have funds for the production.” 

For more information go to go2sportnow.com.