ZEVIA – Natural Diet Soda

Abigail, Derek, Jamie, Jeff, Jessica at Expo 2010

Team ZEVIA (here see Abigail, Derek, Jamie, Jeff and me) always gets excited to take our show on the road and that is exactly what we did earlier this month at Natural Products EXPO West, the worlds largest trade show for natural and organic products. This year there was a record attendance: 56,000 from across the country including new brands like ours and alumni natural brands that everyone has heard of. We got to meet our customers (stores and everyday ZEVIA drinkers!), as well as our team members from across the country who help us get ZEVIA onto the lips of the thristy!!

EXPO is also a delicious event, as we get serious samples of every new natural food product on the market. And if you’re curious, based on what I saw at the show, here’s my What’s HOT in Natural Foods report, based on what I saw, tasted, and touched at EXPO: Stevia (our magic herb is growing in popularity, and tasting oh so sweet), Gluten Free, Puffed products (not baked, not fried, but air puffed in all sorts of shapes and sizes), Coconut Water, Products fortified with every fortification out there, Chocolate with all kinds of stuff in it (chili, spices, nuts!), and about every kind of nut butter under the sun (with flax! with chocolate!).

Our booth was buzzin and here’s what we know: there’s a reason we’re the #1 selling natural beverage. In the sea of natural products, there is only ONE drink that satisfies the thirst for something refreshing, natural and pure and ZERO calories . . . ZEVIA

Chill & enjoy!

- Jessica

I love a good marathon .. and while you may or may not agree, I bet the 22,538 finishers of the Los Angeles Marathon this past weekend certainly agree!!  ZEVIA was so happy to be a part of it, giving out ice cold ZEVIA to thirsty runners, including these sporty student runners!!  Having spent several years chugging down artificially sweetened diet sodas after a healthy long run, I’m so pleased that now ZEVIA is available to runners who love soda (the runners reward!) but don’t want to guzzle calories or artificial chemicals.  Great Job LA Marathon Runners!!

Run … Chill & Enjoy!!

- Jessica

We receive lots of emails and phone calls every day from ZEVIA fans and people who are looking to try ZEVIA for the first time. One of the most frequent questions we receive is: When can we find ZEVIA in stores in Canada? Until now, Canadians who love ZEVIA had to order through our online store and pay for international shipping.

Well, I am very excited to announce that we have begun ZEVIA’s Canadian roll-out. ZEVIA is now available at every Whole Foods Market in Canada. We have partnered with The Madison Company to bring ZEVIA to stores across the maple leaf country. The Madison Company is in the business of improving the quality and longevity of life, and we are pleased that it is going to do just that through its distribution of ZEVIA.

If you would like to find ZEVIA at a store near you, please enter your postal code at the ZEVIA store locator.

-Derek

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