Auction of energy drink gets the bidders fizzing
A Masterton man who is selling what he believes could be the last can of Black V is hoping for a comeback for the discontinued drink.
Chris Clement listed the can on Trade Me with a $1 reserve and had 66 bids yesterday, taking the bidding to $255.
‘‘I’ve been blown away by the positivity,’’ he said.
He would donate half the money to Gumboot Friday.
Clements has had the can for 21⁄ years, after his partner bought it for him as a gift. ‘‘I loved it and said it’s the only energy drink I’d ever drink again.’’
The drink was dubbed the ‘‘black horse’’ by V Energy and has a double hit of taurine with a strong coffee flavour.
It was dropped from the range more than nine years ago and replaced by V Graphite, which was dropped two years later.
Clements, and other commenters in the Q&A section of the listing, hoped the attention the auction was getting could help the resurgence of the Black V and bring the can back to shelves.
‘‘You either love it or you hate it. But looking at the traction this auction has got maybe V Energy will hear the call and bring it back,’’ Clements said.
Other products brought back to life through consumer power included the popular Fruju Tropical Snow, Tip Top Dessertalicious Ice Cream and Snifters, which were redesigned in the shape of Pineapple Lumps.
V Energy’s manufacturer, Frucor Suntory, was approached for comment.
Managing director of First Retail Group Chris Wilkinson said nostalgia was a driving force in the consumer psyche as people harked back to childhood memories. ‘‘That’s been driving demand for products and experiences that were once cherished and popular – taking people back in time,’’ he said.
Brands had recognised and leveraged the phenomenon strategically, such as bringing back products for a limited time.
‘‘The limited-time nature and potential scarcity of this drives demand and can make the products coveted purchases.’’
Clements said people had called for him to donate all of the proceeds, but he was a single parent raising three children working part-time and ‘‘struggling like a lot of Kiwis just to get the bills done’’.
The auction closes this morning.