The rise of artisanal sodas over the past few decades has forever changed the food and beverage industry. It brought a new wave of fresh ideas, new startup companies, and unique formulations unforeseen in the market previously. It also ushered in an exciting era of ultra-creative and unexpected soda flavors, as small soda companies often experimented with new tastes in addition to classics like cola and root beer. Today, soda flavors go far beyond the traditional to sweet and savory and just about everything in between. The trend has brought a range of new delicious soda options for consumers while inspiring a few big soda brands to follow with their own interesting flavors. On the forefront is craft soda icon, Jones Soda, which has led the industry with its out-of-box thinking and ideas. With flavors like Turkey and Gravy Dinner, Hatch Chile Lime, and many others, the Seattle-based company is reimagining what soda can taste like. We connected with Jones Chief Marketing Officer Curt Thompson to learn more.
Jones Soda is known for its unique and creative soda flavors. What inspired the company to venture into creating such unconventional flavors?
Thompson: We believe that the Craft Soda universe should be full of flavor, not just full of Root Beer. Jones Soda started with unconventional flavors and, over time, also developed award-winning traditional flavors. But from the beginning, Jones has celebrated unusual soda flavors:
How do you come up with new flavor ideas? Can you share some of the most unusual or surprising flavors Jones Soda has introduced?
Thompson: We get thousands of requests for flavors from consumers annually through our website with flavor ideas. Many are great, and some are… very strange! Over the past 27+ years, we’ve brought over 150 flavors to life, including Salmon Mousse, Grass, and our infamous Turkey and Gravy. We do like to occasionally flex our flavor muscle with a very unconventional flavor, but we are firmly committed to bringing the most deliciously unexpected soda flavors: my personal favorite is this year’s Key Lime Pi flavor.
Craft soda has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. What do you think sets Jones Soda apart from other brands in this competitive market?
Thompson: We believe it’s because of 4 elements that are central to the Jones brand: our flavors, our consumer-submitted photos on the labels, our fortunes under every bottle cap, and that bottle caps can be turned back in for cool Jones Swag. No other soda brand (craft soda OR “big soda”) can do these things!
Many craft soda companies focus on using high-quality and natural ingredients. How does Jones Soda source its ingredients to maintain the quality and taste of its products?
Thompson: We’re committed to putting the highest quality ingredients into all of our products. Take Cane Sugar as an example: we could Easily change our formulation and use a less expensive, lesser quality sweetener, but we believe craft soda tastes best with real Cane Sugar.
The craft soda industry often appeals to consumers looking for alternatives to traditional mass-produced sodas. How does Jones Soda cater to this niche market while staying relevant to a broader audience?
Thompson: Our taste and breadth of flavors should appeal to any soda drinker from a broad perspective; we have many of the favorite flavors people are familiar with from traditional sodas. But if people really want to explore the brand completely, we invite them to choose a strange flavor and submit their picture to jonessoda.com, where we select the best pictures to be featured on our packaging; it’s like a constant photography competition built into every single time we bottle Jones Soda. It’s interesting to drink good soda, but the appeal really goes up when you can pick your own flavor and picture to go on the bottle and (possibly) see your creation on store shelves.
Can you share some insights into the consumer response to your creative flavors? Which flavors have been the most popular, and were there any surprises in terms of which flavors gained traction?
Thompson: We are always surprised and delighted by what people tell us about their favorite flavors and love for the brand. Every flavor seems to be a favorite for someone, and this is validated by the secondary market for rare Jones Soda flavors! But every month, we get letters from consumers professing their love for the brand, songs about Jones invitations to weddings, and even people showing off their Jones Soda tattoos; we’re flattered and honored that people’s love for Jones Soda is so strong.
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What can we expect from Jones Soda in the future? Are there any exciting new flavors or projects on the horizon?
Thompson: Yes, we have a ton of interesting innovations and partnerships planned for the future. We’re researching new product lines and (of course) new flavors, too. You’ll have to wait to see what the future brings, but we guarantee it will be bold, colorful, and flavorful too, just like Jones Soda itself.
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