Pizza Today - July 2019 - 34

INGREDIENTS

available products? Not to mention a more
basic question - what is craft soda exactly?
For advice, we turned to three pizzeria
owners serving up craft soda - albeit in
strikingly different ways. But first, a definition.
BEYOND THE BASICS OF CARBONATION
AND SWEETENER, THERE IS ACTUALLY NO
FORMAL OR LEGAL DEFINITION OF CRAFT
SODA. That doesn't mean there aren't strong

opinions though. According to manufacturer Five Star Soda, "In the craft soda world,
if your sweetening agent isn't cane sugar,
you're basically the devil." Besides vilifying
high-fructose corn syrup, makers tend to
feature small-batch processing, fresh ingredients, natural flavors and to reject preservatives like sodium benzoate. (Italian sodas -
which despite their name, originated in the
U.S. - also fall into this beverage category.)
According to marketing expert Brandon
Gaille, "What matters most is that they are
an alternative to both the traditional soft
drink and to alcoholic beverages."
Next, three pizzerias' approaches to tap

3 4 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / J U LY 2 0 1 9

into the craft soda trend.

1: QUALITY INGREDIENTS, FRESH FLAVORS AND BIG BRAND SUPPORT - Oath

Pizza, (multiple locations including Boston
and Nantucket, Massachusetts)
At Oath Pizza, notably the nation's
first certified-humane pizzeria, marketing
manager Tianna Tarquinio links craft soda
to the chain's overall brand vision. "We
have all humanely raised meats and fresh
food toppings, so from a menu perspective
- food quality and that premium upscale
style - that is really important to us and we
also wanted our beverage program to match
that."
Oath serves a variety of bottled beverages plus Stubborn Soda, PepsiCo's craft
soda line, Tarquinio says. "It's all free from
artificial colors and flavors, it has real cane
sugar to sweeten it and the flavors are really
unique and cool." With craft sodas, she says,
the added draw is novel flavoring (Stubborn
flavors include Black Cherry with Tarragon
and Orange Hibiscus). "You'd think that
people would lean towards the typical cola
flavor...but what we're seeing is people

are gravitating towards the more unique
flavors."
A major brand like Stubborn comes with
expected benefits like product consistency,
supply chains and marketing support, she
adds. "They're super supportive in terms of
getting us any in-store branding or things
like that."
And Oath sees a pretty good profit
margin too, Tarquinio adds, charging $2 to
$2.50 for a Stubborn Soda from a branded
fountain, and $2 to $3 for other bottled
craft products. "Everything is a slightly
higher price but nothing outrageous. We're
finding that people are willing to pay a
little bit of a premium for a higher quality
product."

2: NOSTALGIA, HOUSE-MADE SYRUPS
AND PUNS - We, The Pizza, (Locations in

Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Virginia)
The popular concept at We, The Pizza
involves placing house-made craft sodas
front and center. And according to deputy
CEO Micheline Mendelsohn, about eight
out of 10 customers order the products.
"The idea is you walk in, you get your slice

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Pizza Today - July 2019

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