By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Committee Chairman

Customers across the USA are raving about the energy drink PepPod these days.

One PepPod user describes it as a great product for people needing a nice pick me up. Another one, in an on-line review, trumpets PepPod as a super product without all the sugar. "It made me very alert and energized for hours," a third customer wrote.

National Collegiate Table Tennis Association leaders are also singing the praises of PepPod this fall. The NCTTA is welcoming the Colorado-based company as one of the organization’s newest Championship sponsors. The NCTTA oversees more than 150 college table tennis teams in the USA and Canada.

PepPod is a small, individually packaged effervescent tablet that combines over 75 vitamins and minerals with 80 mg of caffeine – about the same amount contained in a cup of coffee. The instructions are simple: Just dissolve a tablet in a cup of water, and it’s ready to drink.

For active collegiate table tennis players who are constantly burning energy and need a little boost, PepPod is a product that will, no doubt, provide a lift, company leaders say. It’s a product that appeals to active people no matter what sport they play.

"PepPod is both sourced and produced in the USA and made with only top quality ingredients which is one of the ways we stand out," says company executive Weston Trapp. "People are regularly trading in energy drinks, coffee and other vitamin supplements for PepPod after trying it once."

Skip the french press or the brew at your neighborhood coffee shop one day, and give PepPod a shot.

"PepPod really just makes you feel and function better for whatever you do," Trapp says.

Employees at the Colorado-based company already have a love affair with table tennis. The new agreement being hammered out with NCTTA officials just takes things to a whole new level.

"Everyone in our office plays table tennis," Trapp says.

It’s a lively Olympic sport, he says, that appeals to many people all over the world.

PepPod leaders reached out to loads of people at companies and clubs engaged in table tennis competition. The company even created their own fun social table tennis game called Table Tennis KungFU (go to ttkungfu.com).

In addition, PepPod has busted its tail sponsoring and engaging with traditional table tennis clubs in Colorado. The company reached out to Sky High Table Tennis in the Mile High City of Denver, and is also sponsoring the new Colorado University Table Tennis Club.

In a nutshell, PepPod employees are simply crazy about table tennis. Their passion for the game is felt at NCTTA headquarters.

"We believe the company’s new connection to the NCTTA is the start of a solid partnership we predict will continue for years," says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo. "We welcome PepPod aboard to our list of all-star sponsors."

Using PepPod a few times won’t transform a brand new table tennis player into a champion overnight.

Trapp, who was a longtime morning coffee drinker, now gets his days started with PepPod. It’s a product that, when dissolved in water, has a citrus tang flavor to it.

Weston Trapp recently played in his first USATT tournament and reports that he finished second to last. But he’s not giving up on table tennis. Weston will put paddle firmly in hand and use the old-fashioned approach to get better. "Needless to say, I’m practicing as much as possible."

For more information on PepPod, go to PepPod.com or contact Weston Trapp at weston@peppod.com