REED’S FEELS THE FIZZ OF RENEWAL
Soda company pours efforts into innovation to secure its future
With new ginger wellness shot bottles hitting shelves next month, the “craft” soda company Reed’s has a new, concentrated burst of innovation as it enters its second full year based in Connecticut, after moving its headquarters to Norwalk from Los Angeles.
It is only the latest jolt for the company under CEO Val Stalowir, beginning with the introduction last year of zerosugar flavors of its Virgil’s root beer and Reed’s ginger beer.
That was followed this year by the Moscow Mule readytodrink cocktail sold in cans, Reed’s first foray into alcohol. Stalowir is now positioning Reed’s for a hempbased beverage, once the Food & Drug Administration clarifies rules for the category. And he suggests additional new product ideas are bubbling in the background, without divulging details.
Under Chris Reed, who created the company in 1989, Reed’s gained an early cult following in taking on CocaCola, PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes and Canada Dry, first with its ginger beer and then with its purchase a decade later of Virgil’s and its line of root beer.
But in attempting to capitalize still further on that early name recognition, Reed attempted to branch his company into other lines of soft drinks, including those bottled for sale under other company’s labels, struggling with production issues and denting profits over time.
With losses growing, Reed’s directors named as board chair John Bello, who gained industry fame building up the South Beach Beverage Co. and selling SoBe to PepsiCo. Bello chose Stalowir as CEO to lead a turnaround of Reed’s.
“Reed’s ... is a company that has had its ups and downs,” stated Mitchell Scott, who