ANYTHING? WHATEVER? HE'S GOT THE ANSWERS

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Creator of new-concept beverages was fed up with wishy-washy replies
people gave when asked what they wanted to drink

johnson tan

44, MD of Out of the Box, and the man behind 'Anything' and 'Whatever'
beverages

HE WAS neither born with a silver spoon in his mouth, nor did he have the
privilege of completing his primary school education. That is the story of
Mr Johnson Tan (picture), the man behind the "Anything" and "Whatever"
beverages that have just hit the stores.

This self-proclaimed risk-taker lives by the motto that "the most
important thing is to never say die"; this coming after he bounced back
from seeing his first business venture - a digital-enhancement firm -
flop.

But his attempt at entering the soft drink market has not been without its
hiccups. Just three days after the advertising campaign was launched last
month, vandals destroyed the displays and stole the aluminium cans that
decorated them, resulting in losses of $50,000.

In this wide-ranging interview, this married father of three gives Daphne
Chuah (daphne@mediacorp.com.sg) a behind-the-scenes look at how his
mystery beverages were conceptualised, and why he believes Singaporeans
will be willing to fork out their hard-earned money - even though they
have no idea what flavour they may get.

Who came up with this unique beverage concept?

If you've had big gatherings at home, it can be a real headache when it
comes to asking the guests what they would like to drink. They would
always reply: "Anything" or "Whatever" - maybe just to make life easier
for the host.

One day, some friends came visiting, and I asked them what they would like
to drink. Their replies were as expected.

So I said to them that, if they continued, I was really going to come up
with beverages called "Anything" and "Whatever". On that same day during
lunch, I asked my partners what they wanted to drink, and they said:
"Anything." That was the final straw.

I then told them about my idea, but they thought I was joking and simply
laughed it off. But right after we returned to the office, I called for a
meeting and told everyone that we were going to undertake a big project.

I explained that we were going to come up with beverages called "Anything"
and "Whatever".

And they still did not believe I was serious; they didn't think the idea
would work.

What makes you certain that customers will pay for a drink, not knowing
what flavour they are getting? What if they don't like the taste?

Firstly, I think curiosity pushes people to buy and try. I once saw a news
bulletin about how a shopping centre in Japan conducts this annual special
where they pack a lot of stuff into a bag and customers just pay a
specific amount for it, without knowing what is inside.

Surprisingly, a long queue formed outside the shopping centre even before
it opened. So, I think my drinks will generate curiosity the same way.

We have also conducted a lot of research, and results have shown that the
flavours we have chosen are the most popular, and that many people don't
have specific preferences when it comes to soft drinks. Of course, I
wouldn't say that everyone likes every flavour, but I'm sure a majority
wouldn't mind.

Soft drinks are what people drink everyday. There are currently over 70
types of beverages available. Many times, when we go to a coffeeshop, we
usually don't know what we want to drink.

It may not be that we don't know how to choose, but rather that we don't
need to choose.

Singaporeans are known to rave about new products, but when the fads die
down, many shops selling those goods struggle to make ends meet. How will
you ensure that your beverages do not lose their novelty?

It depends on how you create your brand name.

When people buy a beverage, how they choose is often unrelated to the
flavour. Of course, the flavour has to be good. But we will probably work
more on developing the brand instead. What we are doing is a concept
drink, and this is an idea that no one has thought of.

We will not be complacent and keep it that way, however. We are doing
research and will make some adjustments to the taste to cater to more
customers.

Let's talk about the advertising campaign that had to be pulled due to
vandals and thieves. Do you see it as a costly venture that went wrong, or
was the publicity garnered worth it?

Believe it or not, within a few hours of the campaign launch, most of the
cans were either dented or had their flaps opened, and some displays were
even completely gone! That was when we all knew it was definitely going to
be a huge problem.

As the situation worsened over the next two days, we gave up and decided
to pull the displays.

Even today, I am still not sure if it's more positive or negative for us.
But looking at the first month's sales, whatever happened did not turn out
too badly.

We sold 3.5 million cans of drinks, surpassing our initial target of 2.4
million.

Were there any concerns or criticism when the idea for such drinks was
first bandied about?

There were many people who tried to talk me out of doing it because they
thought it wouldn't be easy for me to penetrate the soft drink market,
which is dominated by the "big boys".

I have no prior experience in beverages, so they were worried my
investment would go to waste. But once I set my mind on doing something, I
never look back. If I believe I can work something out, and that it could
be a success, I will go all out.

The most important thing is to never say die.

Along the way, people may say things to put you down, so just suck it up
and work hard to prove them wrong.

I want Singaporeans to travel to other countries and see my product on the
shelves there, and feel a sense of pride that this is from Singapore.