Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” takes readers on a journey as young Alice lets her curiosity lead her to follow that peculiar White Rabbit, who is dressed in a waistcoat and carries a pocket watch, down the rabbit hole where she discovers Wonderland. For generations, Alice’s adventures have been celebrated as a symbol of embracing the unpredictable as well as an example of growth and self-discovery.

Although unlikely to be made into a literary classic, consumers’ embracement of healthy but flavorful beverages has taken beverage formulators on their own discovery journey to create products that meet both need states. And since 2007, Zevia has committed to do just that.

Amy Taylor, president and CEO at Zevia PBC, Los Angeles, notes that consumers have become increasingly health conscious, which has resulted in growth of diet and zero sugar products. Yet, Taylor notes that some consumers ― particularly millennials and Generation Z ― are looking for something a little different when it comes to this macro shift away from traditionally sugar-sweetened beverages.

“And that’s our sweet spot, because what we’ve been able to do is solve this intersection, the challenge, the category, which is the intersection of taste and health,” Taylor says. “You’ve always had to pick one. I’m either going to pick a healthier thing, or it’s got to taste good. But never was this notion that something could taste good and be better for you.

“And so now Zevia has great taste, zero sugar, [is a] clean label product, and it’s accessible and affordable,” she continues. “And so that’s what we’re excited about, the macro trends create tailwinds for us, and we solve a problem for the category and for the consumer.”

Noting that the macro trend away from sugar has been the biggest driver of this evolution of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), she adds that younger consumers’ desire for clean label products has accelerated the demand for better-for-you (BFY) CSDs.

Although natural sodas account for a smaller share within the overall CSD market, Taylor notes that share has tripled in three years, and natural soda now comprises 25% of growth. She adds that growth projections for the better-for-you segment in the next four to five years is anticipated it to grow 75%, meanwhile diet is projected to grow 30%.

“The expectation is that at a minimum over the next five years there’s still really impressive growth within carbonated soft drinks,” she says. “But better-for-you will more than double that.”

And Zevia is more than happy to support that growth.

“At Zevia, we always talk about all the delicious and none of the suspicious,” Taylor notes.

Better-for-you for everyone

With a collection of 18 natural soda varieties, Zevia has a solution for virtually every refreshment desire, but the company’s mission is not just about tasty and better-for-you sodas, but also ensuring they are all available to all who want them.

“We had tremendous success as the leading brand in the natural channel,” Taylor explains. “But what has changed over the last few years is the idea of taking better for you mainstream.”

This has become a goal that Taylor is very enthusiastic about.

 “The reason I’m so passionate about this is because we, as a society, have made better-for-you foods for wealthy people by the nature of the channel dynamics and consumer packaged goods segmentation on the whole,” Taylor says. “And what we want to do, and what we are now successfully doing in our distribution, expansion and the growth of our household penetration is to offer a better-for-you product with a clean label that’s affordable and accessible.”

This comes as Zevia announced in late 2024 that it had expanded its Walmart distribution from more than 800 stores to now being available nationally in more than 4,300 locations, an increase of more than five-times current store distribution, it notes. The natural soft drinks are part the mass merchandiser’s in-store set “Modern Soda.”

Taylor notes that this idea has been in the making for some time as Zevia had been talking with Walmart for more than two years about it.

“The idea was this, we think there’s a real category emerging here,” she explains of the conversations. “We’ll call it better-for-you soda. And we think that there’s a tremendous opportunity to drive incremental consumption of people who may have otherwise rejected soda altogether, and that’s a way for Walmart as a retailer to think younger shopper.

This allows the retailer to future proof this highly trafficked beverage aisle by introducing the natural sodas to younger consumers, Taylor says.

“We had been talking about this idea over a couple of years through the lens of category management, and the insights around this macro movement away from sugar, and the desire for clean label products, and then, of course, our mission to provide an affordable option,” she explains.

Additionally, Taylor points out this links up well with Walmart’s mission to deliver healthier options at affordable prices.

“You put those insights together and you meet the business objectives and the mission of both companies,” she says. “And I think Walmart creatively and wisely came up with the name of the category ― modern soda.”

Zevia’s distribution expansion will be its single biggest move to deepen household penetration in the company’s history, Taylor adds.

“There’s a Walmart within 10 miles of every American household,” she says. “So, for us, it’s a really big deal to put affordable, great tasting, zero sugar products at arm’s reach for most of America. It’s a big step change.”

To support this expansion, Zevia rolled out its first-ever retail variety pack featuring two each of the following flavors: Black Cherry, Vanilla Cola, Creamy Root Beer, and Orange.

“We are so committed to driving trial in this moment that we thought, oh, let’s put multiple flavors into one pack to drive interest among new shoppers that we’re going to reach through Walmart,” Taylor says.

The brand also implemented rollback pricing to drive trial as well as increased chatter on social media channels.

To drive even more brand awareness over the holiday season, Zevia released an ad titled, “Break from Artificial,” taking on the weird and concerning parts of artificiality.

Following consumer criticism this past year for the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated commercials, the company saw an opportunity to create an ad parodying the unpleasant reality of artificiality and creating awareness for its natural soda as an alternative, it noted.

In the ad, Zevia used exaggerated AI imagery ― Santa flying in on a drone instead of a sleigh, a polar bear eating presents instead of giving them, and artificial people drinking artificially colored beverages. The intent of the ad was to entertain viewers with lighthearted content while showcasing how artificial things are troubling, it explained. At the end, the ad transitions to real people enjoying Zevia beverages, making the case that consumers craving something more real should consider Zevia, a soft drink with zero sugar, and made without artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors.

“There’s a conversation about artificiality in advertising,” Taylor explains. “There’s a conversation about artificiality in soda, so let’s take this moment with a lighthearted attitude … to jump into the conversation, and hopefully even create a conversation about real versus artificial.”

Crafting buzz

Zevia’s origin story as a product invented by a couple looking to find a solution to their diet soda habit, lends to its Cola variety being its top performer.

The brand also has seen strong growth from its Creamy Root Beer and Vanilla Cola varieties. Although these more traditional varieties might be leaders for the brand, its light-hearted approach has allowed it to develop some fun and successful limited-time offerings.

“We definitely have some fun disrupting with limited time offers, as we did with salted caramel, which is not your typical soda flavor,” Taylor says.

Only sold on Amazon and Zevia.com, the limited-edition flavor features indulgent, balanced flavors of buttery caramel and a hint of salt, the company says.

Taylor explains that the idea stemmed from the company discussing what the fall and winter flavor was going to be, but lamenting some of the flavors of the season that dominate that time of year. The team wanted something that would surprise consumers, yet still had a holiday feel to it ― that became Salted Caramel.

“The goal with this limited time offer is really brand buzz and excitement,” Taylor says.

That buzz and excitement took shape as consumers expressed how much they enjoyed the flavor. Taylor adds that, in terms of innovations, Zevia has seen each new flavor outperform the last.

“What we’re learning is that we’re getting better and better and better at optimizing the flavor profile of the stevia sweetener, and that’s the big unlock for us,” Taylor says. “The better we taste and the more new and exciting flavors where stevia is the zero sugar and natural alternative, but it tastes great.

“The line that I’ve been using is, we are achieving a more sugar-like taste experience,” she continues, “And I think that came through in richness with the salted caramel product.”

Taylor notes that limited-time releases like Salted Caramel allow Zevia the chance to give its loyal and most engaged consumers something to look forward to, while at the same time helping to build buzz, garnering the attention of new consumers through trial.

Yet, limited-time offerings are not the only ways Zevia is looking to drive trial with new consumers.

“Our next big opportunity is to sell singles because it’s amazing, all these years we’ve done all this business just in multi-packs,” Taylor says. “So our biggest strategic opportunity is to introduce cold singles at every distribution point possible, to continue to drive, trial, and expand the base.”

This all comes as Taylor looks to make Zevia a household name raise its profile with consumers and ultimately grow its household penetration.

“You know, the mainstream soda brands have close to 90% household penetration,” Taylor explains. “I don’t necessarily think that it’s right around the corner that we’re going to have 80% or 90% household penetration.

“But if you think about this business being at 10%, at 20%, at 30%, even half of the households in America, stocking Zevia would be a tremendous rocket ship growth indicator for us, but it would also be a step change in health in our country,” she continues.

As an example, Taylor highlights how busy working parents, who are trying to balance it all, are looking to cut their sugar consumption and can accomplish that with the shortcut of switching from traditional CSDs to Zevia.

“And that’s from a mission perspective,” Taylor says. “That’s why I care about this.”