MIAMI -- Fort Lauderdale, Fla., entrepreneur Ted Farnsworth's foray into the beverage business, selling energy and fruit drinks under such monikers as Yohimbe and Chinese Rocket Fuel, fizzled. He personally lost more than $1 million.

But the experience didn't leave Farnsworth with a bitter taste. Rather, it only drove him to give the business another shot.

This time, Farnsworth is staking everything on a beverage he's dubbed Purple -- a natural fruit drink that combines seven juices: blackberry, black currant, pomegranate, black cherry, purple plum, cranberry and the acai berry.

"I had to do it for myself," Farnsworth said of his new venture, Purple Beverage Co. "I had to see if a non-beverage guy can make a beverage work."

Purple only launched last May, but it has gotten some early traction -- as well as $3 million in financing.

Nutritional products retailer GNC and supermarket-chain Kroger agreed to carry Purple, Farnsworth said. One of New York's largest beverage distributors will deliver Purple to area retailers and restaurants. Purple Beverage has enlisted a consumer-products broker to get the drink in supermarkets and other stores nationwide.

Purple Beverage has achieved those milestones despite the beverage's steep price: a 10-oz. bottle initially retailed for about $4. The price has since been lowered to about $3 in some areas, but the drink continues to bring high profit margins, he said.

"Everybody in the beverage industry told me nobody's ever going to pay this price," Farnsworth said. But "we can't make it fast enough right now. It's a Starbucks society. If people think it's good for them, they're going to spend."

Purple falls into the burgeoning category of "functional " beverages aimed at consumers who want more than a drink that simply tastes good and refreshes, said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest, a trade publication. Beverages high in antioxidants, like Purple, have been touted for their purported health benefits.

While Sicher said he couldn't address Purple's prospects, he noted the beverage industry is highly competitive with hundreds of startups each year.

"Most don't make it," Sicher said. "They either don't have a point of differentiation or they can't get distribution or the owners don't have financial staying power. A few make it. Fewer still make it big time."

Purple's primary ingredient is acai berries, one of the reasons the drink costs so much. The tart fruit is found in the rain forests of Brazil and has the highest antioxidant level of any fruit, Farnsworth said.

Miami Research Associates, a clinical-research firm hired by Purple Beverage, concluded Purple is a "high antioxidant beverage" based on the beverage's ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) value, which measures the anti-oxidant capacities of different foods.

Purple touts itself as "The Most Powerful Antioxidant Beverage on the Planet."

"I couldn't vouch for that, per se, because I haven't tested every beverage on the market," said Douglas S. Kalman, nutrition and applied clinical research director at Miami Research. But "of all the foods that are in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's database, Purple tested in the top 25 percent (in ORAC value), which is impressive."

Kalman added that Miami Research anticipates conducting a human clinical trial of Purple to determine if it improves the health of those who consume it daily.

Purple Beverage marks the latest of many endeavors for Farnsworth, 45.

Farnsworth, who has spent his adult life in South Florida, ran valet parking stands for night clubs and restaurants. He later became a medical supply wholesaler. He hit it big when he and some partners founded the nation's first psychic hot line, the Psychic Discovery Network, featuring singer LaToya Jackson as spokeswoman.

In 1999, Farnsworth started Farmbid.com, an Internet portal and auction site. Not long after, it was caught in the dotcom debacle. "I lost tons of money," he said.

Interests in real estate ventures have fared better, he said. He declined to identify his partners, whom he described as "some of the biggest guys in Miami."

Farnsworth founded Xstream Beverage Network in 2001 with the idea of developing its own brand of beverages, including Yohimbe Energy Drink and Maui Juice. It later expanded into beverage distribution in an effort to generate money for the development of its line of drinks. But distribution proved to be a low-margin business.

In 2006, Xstream lost $26.5 million on just $284,000 in sales. The same year, Xstream sold one distribution operation and closed five others.

Others will distribute Purple, Farnsworth said.

Purple took about three months to craft. Having learned from Farmbid.com that timing is everything, Farnsworth said he moved quickly to get Purple on shelves. For example, he chose to use a stock bottle instead of a proprietary bottle that would have taken six months to create.

Farnsworth in December merged his Venture Beverage with a publicly traded company, Red Carpet Entertainment, to create Purple Beverage. Since it began trading Dec. 19, the stock has risen 35 percent from $1.70 to Friday's close of $2.30.

Also in December, the company raised $3 million in a private placement to fund the drink's rollout. It likely will seek additional financing later this year, he said.

Big Geyser, one of the largest independent distributors in New York that delivers Vitaminwater and Perrier, among other beverages, agreed to distribute Purple.

"This caught our attention because this isn't really a category that we have other items in," said Lewis Hershkowitz, Big Geyser's chief operating officer. He said Farnsworth has a "good understanding of what it takes to build a brand."

Meanwhile, California-based consumer-products broker Morgan & Sampson USA agreed to pitch retailers to carry Purple.

"It's the category as much as anything," said Chip Carter, Morgan & Sampson's CEO, on what he liked about Purple. The firm has worked with Costco and has seen the growth in popularity of high-antioxidant beverages.

Purple Beverage hasn't been in business long enough to produce meaningful financial results, but Farnsworth predicted the company would achieve $1 million in sales this year.

Farnsworth said he'll come up with an exit strategy at some point, but not yet.

"I'm enjoying this so much right now," he said. "It's kind of hard to describe. It's like a groundswell."

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