United Sodas of America’s Marisa Zupan on the new DTC beverage playbook

It’s not easy launching a new brand -- and even harder doing it during a pandemic. But that’s what United Sodas of America did. The startup soda company hit U.S. shelves in 2020 and has been growing ever since. Co-founder and CEO Marisa Zupan joined the Modern Retail Podcast and talked about the past year’s trials and tribulations. When United Sodas launched in May of 2020, many stay at home orders were still in place. As a result, the company focused mainly on building out its online presence. Moreover, the brand launched with 12 different flavors. “We went in with open eyes knowing that that was a heavy lift,” Zupan said. But, it was a necessary risk to take, in her eyes. “If we wanted to create this brand that was all about variety, then we knew that we needed to make a decision about the product,” she said. “And we went to the extreme and said, okay, we’re going to do 12.” The company also tried to make as much of an initial splash as possible. At launch, Zupan garnered a fair amount of press -- with write-ups in outlets such as Fortune and Fast Company -- and went heavy on digital ads. This strategy worked, she said. “To be honest, the demand for us outpaced and our velocities outpaced the stock that we had,” said Zupan. The brand also ran a large out-of-home campaign last summer. “By the time that push was over,” said Zupan, “we actually ended up exceeding our sales goals based on what we wanted to spend.” Now, the focus is on keeping the momentum. While United Sodas started as DTC only its now expanding to retail nationally. It has focused on getting into local stores in large cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas -- and is now working with broadline distribution partners to expand to retailers beyond those urban areas. Meanwhile, Zupan is thinking about ways to continue expanding both the company’s reach. That likely means increasing the SKU count beyond the 12 currently on the market. “We’ve been working behind the scenes on a product expansion that we’re really excited about for the next year,” Zupan said.