We thought long and hard about who should take the number two spot for our 2013 Top 5 Brands list. Positions were actually switched around quite a few times, but we finally decided to put ANS Performance in at #3. A company that currently holds the number 1 spot on our top 10 pre-workouts list, and one that is certainly on the rise as we kick off another year.
If you can cast your mind back to this time last year, most of you may not have heard of ANS. At the time they carried three supplements, the thermogenic HIT, pump product Dilate, and muscle builder Fortitude. While they had built quite the following around those formulas, it was the coming of their pre-workout that eventually got everyone talking. To build some hype and get the attention they deserved, ANS Performance slowly started releasing ingredients for their future hit. One after another, the features were revealed along with their doses, in possibly one of the best supplement launches we have ever seen.
Instead of solely pushing their name through advertisers, marketing campaigns, or magazines placements. ANS gained momentum basically by just being honest. Very few companies in this industry could actually do what they did, detailing each and every dose of their pre-workout, and getting people interested with that information alone. The hype around the product, that after some time finally had it’s name unveiled as Ritual. Grew from almost zero, to competing for the most anticipated pre-workout of the year. Going up against some strongly promoted opponents with Gaspari Nutrition’s Superdrive, and Scivation’s delayed Psycho.
When Ritual was officially released, it was essentially all uphill from there. After our review proved that the supplement did in fact over deliver on it’s promise of being one of the most powerful pre-workouts ever developed. Word got out pretty quick, that you had to try this formula no matter the cost. Which as it turned out was not that much with retailers stocking the 45 serving product around the remarkably competitive price of $30. Countries all around the world followed suit, with distributors spreading the joy across the UK, Canada, and Australasia. Things were moving so fast, that by the time eager addicts outside of America got their hands on Ritual from their local store. Sales and specials were going off in the US including buy 2 get 1 offers, that helped make the already top performing pre-workout the most cost effective pre-workout.
As the months moved on ANS Performance continued to push their line lead by Ritual into more locations, and around the time of the Olympia announced some exciting news for their #1 supplement. The brand confirmed that they had a few variants in the works, two more flavors, wicked watermelon and peach mango twist, both of which are due to launch in the coming weeks, and a 30 serving tub size. For those that were only just discovering the product and all it’s power, the announcement only made the pre-workout more impressive, desirable, and competitive.
Around the time of the flavor and size confirmations, ANS also revealed that they were planning on spreading their presence into a couple more categories. No names were mentioned, however the brand did talk about the categories of the supplements, with a BCAA, complex creatine, and flavored fat burner. The last one on that list is of course the formula we have only just seen release, the pro thermogenic Diablo. While ANS Performance did use the same Ritual style build up for their electric lime weight loss product, it wasn’t as exciting or effective as the first time we saw it. But still good to see the brand sticking to what they do and staying honest.
Moving into the new year, we already know what ANS have in store for us all. Now that Diablo is available, making the rounds, and building on the brand’s strong reputation. A creatine formula and BCAA supplement are the remaining two that are if not on the way, then in the works for launch sometime soon. As mentioned earlier, not much can be said about the products other than their categories. Although after seeing ANS Performance basically set the bar for pre-workouts last year with Ritual, and prove that one honest supplement can make a difference. A creatine and a BCAA product may be all ANS need to leave a mark as big as they did in 2013, in 2014.
