Root beer firm to move headquarters to Merritt 7
Ginger beer and root beer maker Reed’s chose Merritt 7 Corporate Park as the landing place for its crosscountry headquarters move to Norwalk, revealed earlier this summer.
Long based in Los Angeles, Reed’s is selling its historic plant there with plans to outsource soda production, and is moving to Connecticut to tap consumer products expertise in the New York City region.
Reed’s took a sublease on nearly 5,000 square feet of space at 201 Merritt 7 from prior tenant General Electric, with the building now housing the headquarters of Xerox and a regional office for Aon. In 2021, Reed’s gets another 4,000 square feet in a deal that runs through 2024, giving it room to expand.
Reed’s has sold more than 500 million bottles of “craft” soda as it describes its brews, with brands including Reed’s Ginger Brew, Virgil’s Root Beer and Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer.
Last year, Reed’s hired Val Stalowir as CEO in place of founder Chris Reed, who became part of beverage industry folklore after creating the company in 1989 in researching oldtime recipes at UCLA’s library.
Stalowir hired Iris Snyder as chief financial officer and Beth Brown to lead procurement of supplies, with both having worked earlier in their careers for Diageo, the liquor giant that has its North American head- quarters in Norwalk a short distance from Merritt 7.
Speaking in mid-August on a conference call with investment analysts, Stalowir said the company will have fewer than 20 people in Norwalk initially, with the office unlikely to have more than 30 people over time.
“I can see us ... being in the same space for many, many years to come,” Stalowir said. “We’re excited to be there — it’s got everything that we want in terms of convenience and on the (Metro-North) line ... It’s definitely more than we need today, but our plans are to grow into that over time.”