\u201cIt\u2019s the outdoor lifestyle. If you\u2019re marketing something a little more healthy, I always tell clients do you want to be based in Hoboken, New Jersey, when your launching a brand?\u201d<\/p>\n
Aggeler said, \u201cDennis came up with the concept, and he approached us. We realized we work a lot with truckers. We\u2019re dependent on them and we\u2019ve become friendly with a lot of them. We really liked the idea of working with St. Christopher\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Truck Stop Pop will feature six Zuberfizz flavors \u2013 root beer, orange cream, vanilla cream, cola, ginger ale and strawberry rhubarb.<\/p>\n
Negotiations are underway for shelf space for Truck Stop Pop, which will first be aimed at smaller truck stop chains before branching out to bigger chains across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to start with a handful of truck stops before targeting the big chains,\u201d Aggeler said. \u201cWe want to get our ducks in a line and get all the kinks worked out, but I think Truck Stop Pop has a ton of potential. There are hundreds, thousands, of truck stops across the country, and I think there\u2019s a market niche for people who want a quality alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tailwind Berry<\/div>\n
Aggeler said fountain machines are currently at Zia Taqueria, Steamworks Brewing Co., El Moro, Bird\u2019s and Brennan gas stations, and will soon come to Father\u2019s Daughters Pizza.<\/p>\n
Zuberfizz is looking to perfect its fountains in Durango before expanding regionally to provide restaurants and convenience stores a soda fountain option that uses pure cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think people are looking for a healthier product that\u2019s locally produced and has a smaller environmental footprint,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jeff Vierling, Tailwind Nutrition co-founder and co-owner with his wife, Jenny, said when Aggeler approached him about creating a fountain drink using Tailwind Berry as Zuberfizz\u2019s answer to the Powerades now found on tap, he saw the potential to expand Tailwind\u2019s market.<\/p>\n
\u201cTailwind\u2019s products are primarily available through specialty run, bike and outdoor shops. Having Berry Endurance Fuel available through soda fountains helps us reach people who might not be familiar with Tailwind, but can benefit from hydration, like visitors adapting to high altitude, hunters headed to the mountains, or even those who\u2019ve enjoyed too many of Durango\u2019s excellent beers and spirits,\u201d he said in an email.<\/p>\n
Right now, the collaboration is focused on bringing Tailwind Berry to fountain machines, but Vierling said if that goes well, more possibilities could develop.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d be definitely open to partnering with Zuberfizz on a bottled product and maybe piggybacking on their distribution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Skagua<\/div>\n
David Thibodeau, president and co-founder of Ska Brewing Co., said Zuberfizz is using Ska\u2019s Skaguas to provide a sparkling water option for its fountains and is also helping broaden distribution of Skaguas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe distribute ourselves mainly in Durango and Telluride, along the Million Dollar Highway loop. But we do a lot of our business in liquor stores,\u201d Thibodeau said. \u201cZuberfizz they\u2019re selling soda and they hit a lot of stores and shops we miss. We\u2019ll still do the liquor stores, but they\u2019re going to get everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, Ska is producing about 300 cases of Skagua a month, and Zuberfizz\u2019s fountains open a new path to expand production of the sparkling waters, which come in lemon, grapefruit and watermelon.<\/p>\n
He noted if Zuberfizz fountains are able to break into the Front Range, it would be a huge assistance for Ska\u2019s sparkling waters.<\/p>\n
One Front Range distribution company, he noted, services 1,500 accounts in the Denver area: \u201cIf we get lucky enough to strike a deal with somebody like that, that would be substantial.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aggeler said Zuberfizz\u2019s current growth owes a lot to Durango\u2019s business climate that fosters cooperation as much as competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known and worked with the Ska guys for decades, they\u2019re old friends, and we\u2019ve known the Vierlings for years,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re helping them, they\u2019re helping us. It\u2019s the way Durango has been for years, all the way back to the \u201990s. We help each other out.\u201d<\/p>\n
parmijo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Durango Soda Co. to bring its pops to truck stops and soda fountains far from home<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3109,4020,13,28,445,500,4904],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-52356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-beverage","tag-consumer-goods","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter-lead","tag-retail","tag-zuberfizz"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88075,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52356\/revisions\/88075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52356"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=52356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}