I have not consumed a traditional soda in ten years. Will the United Soda of America pop that pattern?
The fizz just went out of the experience for me, especially as I tried to avoid all of the sugar and mystery ingredients. As the former VP of Marketing at Cheerwine many years ago, I’m just not into the category anymore.
Now, this was not always the case.
There was a time I enjoyed a Coke, Pepsi, or Cheerwine. But the pop and sizzle just left me flat. (Cheerwine is a regional soft drink brand and the oldest, continuously owned- soft drink company in America)
But today, I live in a world of healthy, organic, crunchy-granola-esque products. There is no room for soft drinks, sugary cereals, or high fructose corn syrup in anything. Today I’m drinking flavored, no-calorie seltzer or sparkling water from San Pelligrino to Perrier or La Croix.
The United Soda of America
So the mission of The United Soda of America is a big one. How to get of consumers who left the category to pop back?
The USA is based in New York and launching twelve new out-of-the-box/can flavor like White Coconut, Sour Blueberry, Young Mango, Strawberry Basil, and Cherry Pop – each with 30 calories and no artificial flavors. But they are sodas, not sparkling water, and they aren’t running from the category. Their CEO, Marisa Zupan, in a recent Fast Company article, commented:
“The marketplace is so crowded right now with alternatives to soda, right?” says founder and CEO Marisa Zupan. “They position themselves as such. ‘We are a seltzer, a tonic or a hint of whatever.’ To differentiate ourselves, we knew that wasn’t what we needed. We wanted to go straight for soda. Everyone’s running away from the drink. We had to go straight for soda.”
Soda Sizzle
As a former branding expert with Pepsi, Coke, Diageo and Pernod Ricard, Zupan brings some scintillation to her new soda. She worked with Alex Center, the designer who worked on Smartwater, Powerade, and Vitaminwater.
And to further separate from the soda crowd, they felt they needed a deep bench of flavors and a look that was unlike anything else in the aisle. Once they chose the name, they knew they had to go bold, different, and colorful.
According to Zupan, the team brainstormed more than one-hundred ideas and sorted them into color and flavor patterns. And a matte finish for the cans was chosen to look and feel different in the consumer’s hand truly.
A Different Business Model – Digital First
Another critical aspect of their business model is to combine direct-to-consumer and select retailers. Like Kara Goldin from HINT, they knew that a direct relationship with their consumer would help them stand apart from big soda, and they can learn from their customers without filtered information.
Their DTC will leverage Fed-Ex in all fifty states through a 12 can sampler case or variety pack, along with a subscription service. And like Dirty Lemon, this innovative model might be the secret to their success.
Is the United Soda of America for a new generation?
Time will tell if success for the USA will overflow or go POP!
Need help making your brand POP?
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Photo courtesy of United Soda of Amerca
