Stacey's Report from the JDRF South Sound Walk for the Cure

"We had another very successful tasting event at the JDRF's South Sound Walk for a Cure. We started off meeting at 5:30am this morning . . . car pooling to Tacoma. We had: Junior, Annie, Scott, William and Myself in the Zevia truck and one car) . . . Our sampling booth was ready to go by 7:30am. They had 2800 participants plus another 1000 friends and family members. We passed out 60 cases of samples (which was the perfect amount) and each participant received a Zevia coupon in their goodie bags. We also passed out another 300 coupons at our booth. Most participants lived in the Tacoma- South Sound area so they were very familiar with Metropolitan Markets, Marlene's Market, Thriftway and of course PCC Natural Markets. Root Beer was a favorite . . . We had nice sunny weather at Point Defiance- Owen's Beach. The beach was only 20 foot away from our booth, we were able to view the beautiful Puget Sound the entire event. The most notable quality of this event was how polite these participants were!!"

Great job team -- we are so happy to be a part of these events with the Juvenille Diabetes Research Foundation!

- Jessica

ZEVIA is Hot in the Northeast

We just began east coast distribution a few weeks ago, and even I can’t believe how popular ZEVIA is there. Our east coast distributor (United Natural Foods) placed a fairly large purchase order for ZEVIA to begin with, and just two weeks later placed another large order. This means ZEVIA was sold into our initial stores, and then it was immediately SOLD THROUGH! These stores, in just a couple of weeks, are re-ordering ZEVIA – and we haven’t even done east coast promotion yet.

Kings Super Markets in New Jersey just started selling ZEVIA in its 26 stores this week. Stacey called a few of them to confirm ZEVIA is on the shelf, and the Fort Lee store is already sold out! Below is a photo of an employee who just stocked Zevia and put it on sale at Kings in Bedminster.

ZEVIA is a new phenomenon that most people don’t yet know. So, new customers are always discovering ZEVIA, and then they return to get more. When ZEVIA launches in new stores, our sales grow dramatically over the following months as this cycle runs its course. I couldn’t be more excited about this start on the east. Thank you my east coast friends for your support and for kicking the diet soda habit with ZEVIA!

-Derek

Something about Ingrid ...

As the saying goes, "it takes a village" . . . here at ZEVIA, we don't quite have a village, but we do have some amazing brand ambassadors and a sales force who introduce ZEVIA to new stores everyday. One of our favorites is Ingrid Thom, who has been with us since the very beginning. Ingrid works in the Southern California territory and visits the natural foods stores, giving them the low down on ZEVIA. Here are Ingrid and Stacey in Hawaii (Hawaii is part of Ingrid's territory), attending the Nature's Best Around the World in One Day Table Top Show in Waikiki. Nature's Best is one of our distributors and this show presented the best of Nature's Best's product offerings to stores from Hawaii, California and Nevada. So here's a big thank you to ALL of our sales team who hit the streets (and in this case, the beach) to make sure ZEVIA gets to the stores near YOU!

- Jessica

ZEVIA at University District Street Fair

This weekend, ZEVIA sponsored the University District Street Fair. We try to be in the community as much as we can. This event was particularly successful. Many street fair goers were already regular ZEVIA drinkers, and several were introduced to ZEVA for the first time.


Jeff Taylor, our national sales manager, led a great team that passed out 3200 samples on Saturday, using up about 70 cases of ZEVIA (that’s 1,680 cans!) On Sunday, we passed out about 2000 samples and went through about 60 cases (1,440 cans).


Jeff and the team ran out of product about 4:30 in the afternoon because more people than we anticipated wanted to enjoy their ZEVIA during this beautiful weekend in Seattle.

-Derek

ZEVIA in Hawaii

We sent Stacey Fujimura, our awesome account executive, to check on stores selling ZEVIA in Hawaii. We have events this week going on in Seattle, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Hawaii -- and poor Stacey was the one chosen to say Aloha to the islands.


Yesterday, she visited Down to Earth at Pearlridge, the very first Hawaii store to offer ZEVIA. The Pearlridge store sold out of 25 cases in 9 days after it placed its first ZEVIA order. Thanks to the quick success there, four additional Down to Earth locations ordered ZEVIA. They each sold out of their stock in less than two weeks. Hawaiians obviously love ZEVIA.


Stacey reports that “it seems that the customers of Down to Earth were looking for an alternative to Splenda and aspartame. Their number one seller is Orange. I will be introducing them to Ginger Root Beer during my visits today and hopefully within 3 weeks, Ginger Root Beer will be hitting the Islands.”


After a busy day visiting stores, Stacey and ZEVIA Natural Cola lounged on the beach at Waikiki. It must be tough being the hot ZEVIA sales rep that Stacey is.

-Derek

ZEVIA Delivered To Your Arizona Home

Boxed Greens delivers organic fruits and vegetables to Phoenix area homes. We are thrilled that Boxed Greens has added ZEVIA to its menu. If you’re in Arizona you can get ZEVIA at the Boxed Greens headquarters or delivered to your front door. If you’re an existing Boxed Greens customer, the ZEVIA is already on its way. Boxed Greens is now running a promotion where every customer gets a sample of ZEVIA in the box. Ian Winscom, the Creative Business Development manager Boxed Greens reports that they “have had alot of people come in just for the Zevia!”

We're introducing ZEVIA at new stores across the country every day. If it's not yet where you shop, please request it. If you're in Arizona, check out Boxed Greens and get ZEVIA delivered together with the best quality organic produce.

-Derek

Blogging About The Blogs

We were very excited and anxious to get this blog up and running, and everyday are excited to bring you as much news as we can about ZEVIA and things we care about. So you can imagine our excitement when we, ZEVIA, are picked up and written about on other blogs!

I attribute our recent success to you, the ZEVIA fan. We are seeing lots of blog posts touting the benefits of ZEVIA, which leads to blog readers trying ZEVIA and telling their friends, which leads to more blog entries and more people trying and loving ZEVIA.

Yesterday, Andrea, who writes the Rookie Cookery, reviewed ZEVIA Natural Ginger Root Beer. Her family performed a taste test and they were “unanimous in their positive review of the new ginger root flavor of Zevia”. Andrea’s blog covers healthy and ethical living.

We also saw blog reviews in the past few weeks by Health Nut Wannabe (“Then along came Zevia the natural alternative to diet sodas . . . I am so excited to say that I tried all 4 Zevia flavors (cola, lemon lime, orange and root beer) and am over the moon! I love it and cannot wait to get more (keep in mind that I am not affiliated with Zevia)"); That’s Fit (“I gave up regularly downing diet soda months ago. But I miss fizzy pop. Wouldn't it be great to have a natural alternative not sweetened with a chemical from a lab? Enter Zevia.”); LeafyGreen.info (“I first read about Zevia from Hungry Girl and she liked it, so maybe you will too. Don’t trust our word; pick up a can for yourself.”); FitFare (“The taste is relatively clean, with very little aftertaste. In fact, I’d have to say that this is one of the best things about [Zevia]. There is little to no aftertaste. Two minutes after taking a sip, I couldn’t tell I’d had any.”)

Jimmy Moore, author of the popular Livin' La Vida Low Carb blog, gave away ZEVIA as a prize; and Hungry Girl promoted ZEVIA on her Yahoo! blog.

Thank you for your support! We designed ZEVIA because there was no choice if you want natural without calories. We are so excited to bring ZEVIA to you, and grateful you’re spreading the word.

-Derek

ZEVIA at Bristol Farms in Los Angeles!

I grew up in Westlake Village, California. After co-founding ZEVIA in Seattle, one of my short term goals was to see ZEVIA in the best markets in Southern California.

Bristol Farms is probably the nicest grocery store in the Los Angeles area, and there is one in my home town. It touts “extraordinary food, extraordinary service” and it delivers.

Now, Bristol Farms is even more extraordinary. It’s one of the first stores in the L.A. area to offer ZEVIA! It’s also the first store in the country where you can get the new delicious Ginger Root Beer ZEVIA. We just launched Ginger Root Beer, it's my favorite flavor, and you can find it only at Bristol Farms.

The photo above was taken by my friend, Kit, just hours after ZEVIA hit the shelf at the West Hollywood Bristol Farms. This is very exciting. ZEVIA at Bristol Farms. Wow!

-Derek