Soda brand Zevia in Culver City has been making its own line of naturally sweetened soda for about eight years, but it launched a different kind of bubbly this month with its first bar mixer: Zevia Tonic Water.
Paddy Spence, chief executive of Zevia, said tonic water will help expand the brand’s physical presence in grocery stores.
“Tonic water is typically placed in a separate area from soda,” Spence said. “We realized this was an opportunity for us to extend our brand to a new area of the store and provide a solution for folks who are looking for a better mixer.”
Zevia makes 15 flavors of zero-calorie soda, all of which are made with plant-based sweetener stevia. The company test-launched its tonic water at Whole Foods stores last year, but last month it released the mixer more widely and announced a wider distribution deal with Sprouts and Amazon.com Inc.
Spence said Zevia’s tonic water is different from popular brands such as Canada Dry and Schweppes because Zevia contains no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame.
“It’s a great solution for folks that are looking for sweetness but just don’t want something that’s made in a lab,” he said.
The tonic water will be sold in 12-ounce cans and shoppers can expect to see the product pop up on store shelves in the next couple of months.
– Subrina Hudson