MEET JIM SCOTT

Job: CEO of In Zone Brands

Age: 51

Family: Married with three children

Lives: Sandy Springs

Education: Attended University of Georgia

Hobbies: Snake hunting and snow skiing

Favorite quote: "You're only as good as the people around you."

He hunts for snakes, skis and enjoys exercising. And he believes in having fun on the job, too.

After dropping out of the University of Georgia, Jim Scott and a fraternity brother founded Bulldog Movers on a shoestring. He did everything there from “schlepping furniture” to driving the trucks to doing the books.

After selling that company, which is still in business, Scott, 51, has stayed busy with a number of entrepreneurial endeavors, including companies like Big Steel Keg and Alpha Products, which he also sold.

In 1998, he co-founded In Zone Brands, a children’s beverage maker that has grown into a business that had revenue last year of $70 million. The company’s fruit beverages are sold in collectable containers featuring characters from Disney, DC Comics, Marvel and more.

Q: What ingredients do you use?

A: We use 100 percent fruit juice with no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup, no colors, flavors or preservatives. TummyTicklers is equal to three-quarters of a cup of fruit per serving, and BellyWashers is equal to one cup of fruit per serving. All meet the standards of the American Association of Pediatrics for portion size and nutrition requirements of the federal agencies regulating such things.

Q: Where do you distribute them?

A: Last year we sold 3 million cases, with 18 bottles per case. We have national distribution that includes about 50,000 convenience stores, grocery stores, WalMart, Toys'R'Us and drug store chains.

Q: What are your products?

A: TummyTickler Tots is 100 percent apple juice concentrate mixed with purified water for a 40 percent less sugar beverage for children ages 1 to 3. The 40 percent less sugar is in comparison to a product made totally from fruit juice. TummyTickler, for ages 3 to 6, is 100 percent apple juice. BellyWashers for ages 6 and up is 100 percent juice, including apple, pear and grape juices.

Q: How can you make the claim that your products are healthy?

A: 100 percent fruit juice is one way for children to receive a serving of fruit, and all of our products are in age-appropriate serving sizes. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association, four ounces of fruit juice equals one serving of fruit. Children 6 months to 6 years can have 4 to 6 ounces per day and children 7 and up can have eight to 12 ounces per day. Our serving sizes are in line with the recommendations.

Q: Have all of the beverages for kids been approved by the appropriate federal governmental agencies?

A: Yes. Our mission is to help children develop health habits early. Our fruit juices are coupled with a unique spill-proof toy top with their favorite characters, making drinking fun.

Q: How did you get into the juice business?

A: I learned the plastic molding business through Alpha Products, a company I founded earlier in my career. It was a thriving plastics container manufacturer that produced licensed cups and mugs. After selling this business in 1994, I combined knowledge of making drinkware with beverages, and In Zone Brands was created with one juice product and one license with Warner Brothers featuring Scooby Doo. Target was the first retailer to carry the products.

Q: How has the company evolved over the years. Was there a time when products were flavored drinks and mostly water?

A: At the onset of the company, In Zone sold only one size, 12 ounces, one flavor, fruit — punch-flavored water — and one character top with Scooby Doo. The company has evolved in many ways since 1998. Since 2005 we have focused on getting kids to drink healthy options with our 100 percent all-natural juice beverages in age-appropriate serving sizes. A majority of food and beverage trends are focused on better nutrition and In Zone anticipates making a big impact in healthy children's beverages.

Q: Your corporate offices are in Vinings, but where are the beverages made and packaged?

A: We have two factories, one in Orlando and the other in Beijing. We are a children's beverage company, not a juice company. Our mission is to use fun to nutritionally feed kids healthy products at every stage of their lives. The formulas are developed here in Atlanta by nutritionists, food technologists who know chemistry and nutrition.

Q: What is your biggest challenge?

A: The biggest challenge is finding the right people to work at In Zone. We have a highly entrepreneurial environment with high energy and look for people with a great deal of persistence, tenacity, flexibility and resourcefulness. With In Zone's growth projected to continue its double-digit trends, our focus right now is to build an organization that can manage that growth.

Q: Isn’t it tough competing against Coke and Pepsi?

A: I feel like I compete for shelf space with every beverage company. There's only so much space.

Q: How many scientists do you employ?

A: In Zone employs approximately 50 people, including food technologists to formulate our beverages. We don't publicly divulge specific employee numbers by responsibilities.

Q: What are your plans for 2013 and beyond?

A: We have just introduced a USDA certified organic 100 percent apple juice as part of the TummyTickler Tots for children ages 1 to 3. It will be sold in 4-ounce single servings with cartoon character tops. By the end of the year, In Zone will introduce additional organic flavors and new character tops as well.

Q: What do you think has been the key to your success?

A: I would have to say perseverance has been the key. An entrepreneur is only "done" when they quit, and I never quit.

Q: Tell me about snake hunting.

A: I'm the best snake hunter in Sandy Springs. I love to hunt snakes. Any snake. Most are poisonous. I shoot snakes. Last season I got 12.