BioSteel is celebrating the latest in a string of big sports sponsorships with a limited time Blue Jays tie-in.

The sports drink had been quiet about signing on as the team’s exclusive sports drink, officially announcing it only earlier this month after a season of “BioSteel baths” to celebrate big wins.

Blue Cherry is a new limited-edition flavour that comes with Blue Jays-themed packaging. The new beverage is available at Empire-owned stores including Sobeys, Needs, Boni-Soir, Voisin and IGA Quebec, through the end of the season.

According to John Celenza, co-founder of BioSteel, Sobeys has been a supportive retail partner and that it continues to work together to mutually grow its businesses.

He tells strategy that point-of-sale materials such as the door decal, road sign and shipper header shopper assets below will be appearing in Sobeys banner stores over the coming weeks and months. Prominent messaging includes better-for-you attributes that have driver the rest of BioSteel’s products, like clean and healthy hydration.

“Callouts on the packaging include that it’s eco-friendly, as the drink comes in a recyclable Tetra Pak with a plant-based cap, as well as the fact that it’s zero sugar,” Celenza says. “Both callouts are key differentiators for BioSteel.”

The partnership with the Blue Jays is BioSteel’s first with an MLB team. The company, which has built its brand over the years with athlete partnerships, has been moving into higher-profile team- and league-level sponsorships. This summer, it was announced BioSteel would be replacing Gatorade as a sponsor of the NHL, something it similarly leaned into with a 7-Eleven limited-time exclusive, Blue Frost.

“The Blue Jays LTO, Blue Cherry, builds on the success of that launch, albeit with a different retail partner,” Celenza says. “We’re always leveraging learnings from our activations to apply to future programs.”

According to Celenza, BioSteel products are mass appeal, from world class athletes to health and environmentally conscious buyers. With new flavours and retail partnerships like this, he says its products continue to evolve and gain popularity across many demographics, and that as a brand it is embracing new consumers of all ages.

The new Blue Cherry flavour will also be supported by Blue Jays’ All-Star pitcher Alek Manoah, who signed an endorsement deal with the brand earlier this summer.

All programming and artwork is built and designed by BioSteel’s internal teams.