How craft sodas are shaking up the soft drinks market, from Kim Kardashian drinking Poppi, to BTS inspiring Sanzo

According to Data Bridge Market Research, the global craft soda market was worth US$687 million in 2022 – a figure expected to rise to more than US$1 billion by 2030.

The research company reports that consumers are turning to craft sodas as a healthier option, bridging the divide between traditional soft drinks and sparkling water. On top of that, they address the trend, among Gen Zers especially, for more non-alcoholic drink options. It should be said, though, that they also work well as mixers: after all, why have a rum and coke when these new sodas can bring an extra touch of sophistication?

Sanzo is one such soft drink, launched in 2019 by Sandro Roco, a Filipino-American from Queens, New York, and described as “the first Asian-inspired sparkling water”. Roco’s path to the craft soda industry is an unusual one, with previous careers in nuclear engineering and investment banking before he joined a fashion start-up in 2018.

“My office at that apparel start-up had a huge fridge with free snacks and such. We were previously a Diet Coke office and then that summer everything started flipping to La Croix and Bubly [both flavoured sparkling waters]. There would be five different brands, but all the same lemon-lime and grapefruit flavours. I just felt like, ‘Is there not room for more depth here than just these standard flavours?’ And that’s how the journey started,” Roco told food and dining site Eater.

At the time, Crazy Rich Asians was No 1 at the box office and K-pop boy band BTS were taking the US by storm in its first tour of the country.

“With what I was seeing in the world around me, I felt there was an opportunity to introduce flavours that were not on grocery shelves at all. Where was the BTS or the Crazy Rich Asians of the grocery aisle? So I launched Sanzo out of my 500 sq ft apartment in Queens, starting with three flavours,” he recalls.

Those first flavours were calamansi, mango and lychee, with Roco adding yuzu and pomelo later.

Music producer and DJ Steve Aoki loved Sanzo so much he invested in the company, as did Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu.

Another soda focusing on Asian flavours is San Francisco-based Kimino offering sparkling juices and fruit-flavoured sparkling water.

Started in 2017, the brand prides itself on following the Japanese philosophy of kanso, or simplicity, using only what is necessary by hand-picking seasonal fruits and mixing the juices with water sourced from the Hyogo mountains in southern Honshu.

Yuzu was the first fruit Kimino bottled, followed by ume (from the apricot family), mikan (Japanese mandarin) and ringo apples.

Bon Appétit’s “Highly Recommend” column raved about Kimino Ume as a drink that starts off sweet and then brings a tart savouriness enlivened with bubbles, while Imbibe Magazine made Kimino Yuzu a “drink of the week” and suggested it is a splash of gin away from a premade Tom Collins.

Then there’s Poppi, the prebiotic drink brand that bought a 60-second commercial promoting itself as the soft drink of the future during this year’s Super Bowl – a commercial watched by some 29 million households.

The company has enjoyed a stratospheric rise since it launched its first product in 2020 and its 12 flavours are now found in over 120 major retailers across the US – including Target, 7-Eleven, Costco, Kroger and Whole Foods – although it is now facing a class-action lawsuit filed by a consumer who says its products don’t improve gut health as much as their marketing suggests.

Co-founder Allison Ellsworth talks about how she discovered apple cider vinegar when looking for something to alleviate health problems she was experiencing at the time.

“I worked in oil and gas research. I was on the road for almost seven years, living in hotels, and I started having some health problems … nothing major, just my stomach was always hurting. And I couldn’t really figure out what was going on. So I started going to the doctor’s and they kept giving me medication that almost made me feel worse,” she recalled on Today Food.

“I kept reading about apple cider vinegar [which has prebiotics and probiotics that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria]. So I drank it every single day for about two weeks. And I felt so much better. I was like, ‘How can I make a better-for-you soda?’”

Ellsworth experimented and then started selling the resulting concoction in mason jars at a local farmer’s market in Dallas. Her first break came when a buyer for a grocery store bought some, but the drink received national exposure when Ellsworth and her husband Stephen went on Shark Tank to pitch it. There, one of the sharks, Rohan Oza, gave them funding to grow their business and named it Poppi, a play on soda pop.

Kim Kardashian is clearly a fan too, spotted partying with Poppi drinks with her sister and besties at her sister’s themed “Khloewood” birthday bash in June.

Another soft drink brand, Avec, was started in 2020 by Denetrias “Dee” Charlemagne and Alex Doman, who met at Columbia Business School.

Doman believed mixers on the market were bland – they were either soda water splashed with a little fruit juice, or saccharine cocktails.

“Every other category had innovations, from plant-based milks to Beyond Meat to Halo Top [ice cream with fewer calories],” explained Charlemagne in an interview with non-alcoholic drinks retailer and wholesaler Boisson. “There were ‘better-for-you’ versions of everything. Yet with mixers, it was just stale.”

They came up with Avec, which is low in sugar and comes in flavours like jalapeño and blood orange, yuzu and lime, grapefruit and pomelo, spiced mango and passion fruit, ginger, and hibiscus and pomegranate.

The drinks can be enjoyed straight or spiked with alcohol for elevated cocktails. Serving suggestions include mixing prosecco with Avec Grapefruit & Pomelo for a delicious mimosa, or adding Avec Yuzu & Lime to rum and agave for an ebullient mojito.

These are just a few of the soft drink brands out there, so this summer when you’re feeling the heat, look out for them at your local shops – your taste buds will thank you.