For his second act, Alexander Doman has partnered with Ben Stiller to launch what he believes will bring soda lovers across all ages what they want, a healthier version of it that is focused on bringing back the joy of having a crispy, bubbly sip. When he reached out to share the news that this was his new project after selling Avec Drinks, the non-alcoholic brand he founded 5 years ago, I had to know the why, specially knowing just how tough it is to operate in beverage, in his right mind, he would agree to get back into such a cut throat category.
“It’s really difficult, and if you look at the beverage brands that win, they start with least one, mostly more than one, of the following unfair adavantages:
unfair access to capital
unfair access to low cost of production
unfair access to low cost of acquisition
unfair access to distribution
It’s stupid to start a beverage business unless you can get access to these”
After writing a post-mortem on his experience with Avec, someone who had tried to buy Avec originally but couldn’t, reached out to him inviting him to talk with Ben Stiller about his new beverage idea, Stiller’s, though he was wary about starting with a celebrity business—he said:
“What I was looking for was does he care about his business and how invested is he really? And what was so interesting to me is that he is a completely authentic soda lover and he loves to drink soda.”
Alex’s theory is that there’ is a great gap between BigSoda and better-for-you, prebiotic sodas(think Poppi and Olipop) and there’s not been a great story telling genuine healthy soda, he remarks, “at the end of the day, soda is sugar, and carbonated water.” I can say I agree with this, though soda’s origins are rooted in medicinal vibes, Millennials over corrected the experience, a hard pivot from aspartame Diet Coke vibes and demonizing sugar itself, to embracing stevia, allulose and sucralose as the category itself crossed what I like to call, “better-for-you chasm” of the 2010s.
“What innovation is happening for the actual soda lover? That is how we’re pitching Stiller’s, healthy soda for the soda lover and that means we’re focused on taste and focused on joy.”
Return to Real Sugar
Alex is right that average consumers don’t necessarily care for function over taste, when it comes to a better for you drink. It feels kinda unnatural to be sipping on soda, at least in the traditional American way, a ritual that usually involves more than is more than one in a sitting, to be consuming ungodly amounts of protein or fiber just to enjoy a healthier version of it. Not only that but we’re shifting from a demonization of sugar to simply accepting that it may be ok to ingest real sugar, whether it comes in the form of agave, cane sugar or honey, in moderate amounts versus fake sweetner—even Coca Cola has promised to switch back to cane sugar, though it may be a problem considering the US doesn’t produce enough of the real sugar itself.
Caught in the Middle
Stiller’s Soda debuts in New York City, with only 30 calories and 7g of sugar, it involves a small amount regular sugar but it also includes stevia, when I asked why, Alex Doman said it’s a way to be able to recreate the sweetness of a traditional soda, without the excess sugar. They are debuting with three classic flavors—root beer, lemon lime and his favorite, Shirley Temple, coincidentally also a Gen Alpha favorite.
According to Ben Stiller—
“My love of soda goes way back, and for me it began with Shirley Temples, I think of me and my sister going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant with my parents and getting Shirley Temples!
The idea behind Stiller’s Soda was simple: bring back that same sense of nostalgia but make it work for today. We wanted to reimagine the classic soda experience in a way that’s cleaner and lighter, without losing what makes it so special. At its core, the brand holds onto what makes soda fun, while giving people something they can feel good about drinking.”
According to Doman, the brand debuts online and via Amazon, will be available throughout New York City as they test out the market fit, making sure they’ve nailed the flavor porfiles and the messaging, while noting how consumers respond to the product itself. He notes, “the overall goal is to get middle America into this and if you can’t do that, then it’s not going to work.” Stiller’s campaign features Justin Theroux, a fellow actor and creative partner who is an advisor to the brand, the messaging leans into equal parts humor and nostalgic branding, which has been developed by Gander who was also behind the branding of other successful companies like Graza.
Focused on a making a great tasting product and not overly relying on nostalgia, Stiller’s is looking to win over shelf space in grocers and American households with an honest approach to a classic, what Doman calls, “drinkable version of Americana.”
As always, eager to hear your opinions on yet another celebrity beverage.
Really wish they would have Zoolander endorse the drink