ZEVIA - Natural Diet Soda

Margaret Bacon

Meet Margaret Bacon. Chances are you may already know her. If you call Zevia on the telephone (800.230.2221) during business hours (9-5 Pacific time), Margaret will answer personally or return your call if she’s already on one. If you send us an email, we always reply promptly — and usually you will hear from Margaret. Margaret loves ZEVIA® and, perhaps even more, she loves ZEVIA® customers.

This weekend, Margaret handed out ZEVIA® samples at a Whole Foods Market here in Seattle. All of us who work at ZEVIA® — from the founders (like me) to the lawyer to the operations manager to the sales force — spend some time in grocery stores sampling (also known as “doing demos”). We believe that we have to be with our customers to continue to make the ZEVIA® brand and experience the best for you. But of all of us, it’s Margaret who is first in line to answer any questions you have, send coupons or even samples in the mail, and make sure your ZEVIA® experience is greater than any beverage experience you’ve had.

Thank you for supporting ZEVIA®, and thank you Margaret for keeping our customers and fans close.

-Derek

We received big news. In the natural food channel, ZEVIA® Cola is now the #1 selling beverage item in the United States!

In March of 2009, a publicly traded beverage company that you might know released a statement touting itself as “The maker of the top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide”. It had every right to brag. The company had held the #1 spot for many years.

About a year ago, I wrote on this blog that “I anticipate that the other brand will yield its national title to ZEVIA® by 2010.” To some, this may have seemed like a lofty goal. The #1 item back then had almost four times the sales that ZEVIA® Cola did. But their soda, while excellent, is not ZEVIA®.

The rankings come from SPINS, which collects and reports actual retail purchase data from natural food stores across the country. Spins® to natural food products is like Nielson® to television, or Arbitron® to radio.

In each report, ZEVIA® is ranked among all beverages (about 2,000 of them) – and not just soda. As #1, ZEVIA® beats all other brands including not just soda but the teas, juices, and energy drinks that have much greater brand awareness than ZEVIA®.

We are very grateful for you trying ZEVIA®, coming back for more, blogging about Zevia, tweeting about it, and serving it to your friends and families. Thank you for making ZEVIA® Cola the #1 selling item in the country!

-Derek

ZEVIA is more than a refreshing zero calorie natural soda. It’s part of a lifestyle. We drink ZEVIA because we value health, want a premium beverage with only the best quality ingredients, and refuse to compromise the fizz and taste of a soda. ZEVIA feels good.

As the new kid in grocery stores, we hope consumer interest in the ZEVIA brand is as great as natural lifestyle beverage brands that have been on store shelves forever. According to compete.com – which gathers Internet traffic statistics – the ZEVIA web site enjoys twice the traffic than the Vitamin Water site, and four times the traffic than the Hansen’s Natural site. We really appreciate you visiting zevia.com, and hope you make the lifestyle choice that is Zevia.

-Derek

We launched ZEVIA in 2007 in Seattle. It took us many months to acquire our first 50 stores. The ZEVIA formula back then didn’t taste nearly as good as today’s ZEVIA and the packaging was very different. Since then, ZEVIA has made its way into about 4,000 stores nationwide, and will be entering Canada next month.

While it’s fun to reflect on how far the ZEVIA brand has come, we know that this is just the beginning. Before ZEVIA, you didn’t really have a choice: sugar on the one hand, or artificial chemicals on the other. And until ZEVIA is available everywhere, our mission is not over. Our goal is for all soda lovers to finally have the choice of a zero-calorie natural soda that tastes great, feels good, and is healthy and fun for the whole family.

We’re working extra hard in 2010 to get ZEVIA into more stores to make that happen. Thank you for your support.

-Derek

Better Libations is a leading online site that reviews healther drinks.

I love the way they describe their mission, so here it is:

“Welcome to Better Libations.  Our mission is to deliver frequent fresh reviews of “healthier” drinks, or as we’d like to call them, Drinks that probably won’t kill you.  Why?  Because we like you.  And we hate to see you die so young.”

Better Libations just ranked Zevia Natural Twist the #1 Healthy Drink of 2009.  Be sure to check it out  and many thanks to Better Libations and keep up the good work!

Here is an excerpt:

Zevia – Natural Twist

WiseGuise: Zevia was kind enough to send us a large amount of beverages after Danithius’ first reviews, and after they re-formulated their products. Our reactions were generally quite positive; we both have become advocates of stevia use, and enjoy seeing it in more products. This particular entry was my personal favorite, and I made quick work of my supply.

Danithius: Zevia was a part of a huge change in the beverage industry this year, namely the reinstatement of stevia as a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) ingredient by the FDA. (The reason it got banned in the first place is still quite sketchy). The crazy part is, Zevia was operating under the radar as a stevia-sweetened soda even before that happened! They were able to do it by marketing themselves as a “dietary supplement”. Ha! I reviewed a couple of their flavors in those days, but I was not impressed with them at all. But when the news of stevia’s GRAS status hit, Zevia really took the bull by the horns and made the most of the new opportunity. They completely redesigned their flavors and their overall label design. And when this was done, they contacted us at BL to let us know about the makeover, and even sent us a sample pack of the new flavors. We were so impressed with the improvement that we gave all of their flavors a 4.0 or higher – two even scored a perfect 5.0! (Natural Cola for me, Natural Twist for WiseGuise). Zevia has proven they have both a feisty spirit and the good business sense to capitalize on a golden opportunity. They have been steadfastly advocating stevia use for years, believing in its potential as a healthy alternative sweetener. Kudos for sticking to your guns, Zevia! (Stevia really does have a torrid history, look it up sometime if you haven’t already!)

-Ian

Kasey Keller & Zevia Root Beer

Here in Seattle, the Seattle Sounders FC major league soccer team is a big deal. Everybody is excited about pro soccer, and that the Sounders will have more nationalized television games in 2010 than any other team.

Kasey Keller is the Sounders’ goaltender and an American soccer legend. Kasey discovered Zevia at the grand opening party for the new Eastside Subaru. He couldn’t help but to drink lots of Zevia Ginger Root Beer while signing autographs. The whole town is a Kasey Keller fan, and we are thrilled that Kasey is now a big Zevia fan.

-Derek

Keeping with our tradition of introducing new flavors each year, we are excited to bring you Dr. Zevia. Just what the doctor ordered: all natural, zero calories, with the perfect blend of natural ingredients including real cherry essence, cola nut extract and a delicious infusion of nutmeg, clove, and natural spices. The taste of Dr. Zevia might remind you of that “other doctor” you once loved. Dr. Zevia is naturally caffeinated with coffee and naturally sweetened with stevia.

We made our first Dr. Zevia cans on Friday (pictured above). And on Tuesday, we will have our first can of finished Dr. Zevia. We’ve sampled Dr. Zevia from the lab, but Zevia always tastes better from the can. I can’t wait!

-Derek

If you are in a Whole Foods, stop by the cold case and pick up a cold one.  If  you don’t see us chillin’ there, make sure you ask that they stock us cold, so everyone can try.  Look at these pretties chillin in Naples, FL.

Meanwhile, Baton Rouge ZEVIA fan Gabe showed us how elegantly ZEVIA Twist can be served on ice and enjoyed.

Chill (on ice, or pick up in your cold case) & Enjoy!

- Jes

Hey, do any of you ZEVIA fans out there watch the show RULES OF ENGAGEMENT on CBS?  If so, you probably recognize “Jennifer” (played by actress Bianca Kajlich), and you certainly recognize our very own ZEVIA Ginger Ale.  She clearly looks refreshed!  Catch RULES OF ENGAGEMENT this spring on CBS, and you might spot your favorite ZEVIA flavor!

Chill & Enjoy!

- Jessica