These two brands want to fix your hangover with a drink

In a party-dominated city known for imbibing and getting drunk — and a movie called "The Hangover" — two anti-hangover drink brands are vying for supremacy in Las Vegas.

There's the hometown-based Never Too Hungover, owned by the Maloof family of Las Vegas, the former NBA Sacramento Kings owners who have invested "a few million dollars" in a growing business that remedies the prevalent drinking behavior in Las Vegas.

Never Too Hungover is duking it out with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Resqwater, which, like the Maloofs' brand, is sold in hundreds of hotels, nightclubs, convenience stores and liquor shops in the Las Vegas market.

Sales for Never Too Hungover and Resqwater in 2015 have increased drastically over 2014 numbers, as both brands plan big expansions. A 3.5-ounce shot of Never Too Hungover sells for $3.99, while an eight-ounce bottle of Resqwater sells for the same retail price.

The anti-hangover drink category is considered a niche category euphemistically called, "Hangover Prevention." Other brands in the category include NoHo, Hangover Joe's, Forgiven and GTox.

Donna Hood Crecca, senior director at Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food and beverage research and consulting company, said another trend is using products such as Pedialyte as a hangover recovery method. People who have been drinking alcohol have also been known to gulp Gatorade products or just water to short-circuit a hangover.

"Having covered the adult beverage industry for quite some time, I've seen these types of products pop up now and then over the years. The recent trend toward functional beverages has given rise to more hangover-recovery and prevention products, and social media is fueling consumer awareness," Crecca said.

"Party-goers are always looking for that silver bullet to prevent or cure a hangover," she said. "The best method is consuming quality products, in moderation, and hydrating throughout the evening."

In praise of the milk thistle

Never Too Hungover and Resqwater tout their products' ingredients, such as milk thistle, which serves as both as an inflammatory and antioxidant to detoxify the body.

Sales of Never Too Hungover are up 90 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, while the number of retail locations in five states selling the anti-hangover potion is expected to increase from 5,700 stores to 8,200 stores in the last two months of 2015, said Gavin Maloof, vice chairman of Maloof Cos., which owns Never Too Hungover.

The Maloof family purchased majority ownership of Never Too Hungover at the start of 2014 from Parrish Whitaker, who developed the drink after his family doctor prescribed it to help his sister and his father nine years ago after his father donated a kidney to Parrish's lupus-suffering sister.

Southern Wine and Spirits distributes Never Too Hungover to 550 locations in Las Vegas to locations such as Lee's Discount Liquor, MGM Resorts International properties, convenience stores and nightclubs.

Maloof said Never Too Hungover is moving into other retailers in the Western U.S. such as Kroger, HEB, Tom Thumb, BevMo!, and Albertsons. It will also be sold in Circle K convenience stores in Texas, he said. Never Too Hungover is available in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California and nationally in GNC stores. About 1.5 million bottles have been sold since the launch 1½ years ago.

Never Too Hungover distribution in Las Vegas started in July 2014, with a one-month snapshot of October 2014 to October 2015 showing sales increasing 400 percent in Las Vegas for that one particular month.

"Little babies can drink it or pregnant women can drink it," said Maloof, who, along with brothers Joe and George, are also minority owners of the potential National Hockey League team in Las Vegas. The Maloofs are working with majority owner Bill Foley on trying to get NHL approval for a NHL team by February.

Fixing the smell

Maloof said The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was Never Too Hungover's first account in Las Vegas, but his family improved the drink's taste and smell and re-branded it with red and white colors and logo design.

"It didn't smell or taste well," Maloof said. "I thought if we can make it smell better and make it taste better, we might have something here. People don't want hangovers. So we re-packaged it ... The brand is growing and the category is growing."

Never Too Hungover faces stiff competition in the Las Vegas market. Resqwater, distributed by Nevada Beverage in Las Vegas, is also carving out a sizable share of the anti-hangover drink market.

With an impressive distribution presence in Las Vegas, Resqwater is in thousands of hotel rooms in Las Vegas and many nightclubs on the Strip.

Overall, Resqwater is sold in more than 1,000 locations in seven states — Nevada, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.

Sales increased by more than 100 percent from 2014 and the company projects bigger growth in 2016, said Troy Michels, Resqwater CEO and minority owner. David Schuman is majority owner.

Resqwater is sold at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, all MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment properties, and about 10,000 hotel room minibars and at nightclubs.

"We will increase focus on existing markets and start expanding across the country. We also see online sales as a key growth driver not only here in the U.S., but internationally. Also, look to see us add active lifestyle accounts (gyms and spas like the Aspen Club and Spa in Colorado) due to the inherent benefits of our formula," Michels said.

"We have people who drink us for muscle recovery following exercise," he added.

Maloof said Never Too Hungover and Resqwater are expanding the category in Las Vegas.

"Resqwater is our number one competitor," Maloof said. "We welcome the competition. It keeps you on your toes."

Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel