As the ready-to-drink alcohol space evolves, one entrant aims to capitalize on the growing desire for premium drinks made with real spirits and natural ingredients.
Atlanta-based premium cocktail brand Freshly has relaunched after briefly hitting the market in 2022. The company promotes its products, which contain 6% alcohol by volume, as containing “an elevated, culturally-inspired cocktail experience.” The alcohol maker touts that its ingredients are carefully selected from minority-owned farms.
Phreshly sells to drinkers looking for a more mature alternative to popular hard seltzer products like White Claw and Truly. In a statement to Food Dive, Phreshly co-founder and CEO Paul Owusu said the development of brands created by mixologists is based on what consumers want from new products. He said it was reflected.
“For most adults, soda is no longer cool,” Owusu says. “We are targeting modern drinkers who are looking for innovation-driven flavors that are better for them and taste better.”
Phreshly sells the two products on its website as well as at various retail stores in Georgia, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Bay Lemonade consists of aged bourbon, strawberries, and lemon. The brand says the sweetness of the agave brings to mind Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The second is Gidem, a blueberry daiquiri with rum. This drink is inspired by the flavors of West Africa, where the two founders are from.
The idea for Freshly came to us by chance during the 2020 pandemic. Owusu began experimenting with cocktails, inspired by a blend referenced in the HBO series “Insecure,” a blend of prosecco flavored with vodka. When he shared his success recreating this drink on X, formerly known as Twitter, The post went viral.
Owusu and business partner Ama Marufo analyzed IRI data and surveyed 6,000 consumers between the ages of 25 and 45 to find out what was missing in the RTD cocktail category. said. The information they gathered inspired seltzer brands like White Claw to develop drinks that don’t use real spirits to make malt, the alcohol source.
Phreshly launched online in March 2022 and later moved into select retail and restaurant stores, which quickly sold out. The co-founders decided to pause and reconsider where they wanted to go next.
“While there was a ‘hockey stick’ effect of growth, it was essential to rethink the ‘why’,” Owusu said, noting that the brand had been off the market for more than a year. “Since then, our customers, brand positioning and voice have matured.”
Consumer feedback helped the brand narrow its focus after the initial launch. The company overhauled its packaging after data showed that Freshly’s previous design stood out among malt-based seltzers. The co-founders also realized that their drink paired well with culturally diverse dishes such as baba ganoush, jollof rice, and jambalaya.
“We’ve found that our customers want us to dig deep and share our cultural influence and mixology background, something that few brands can claim today.” Mr. Owusu said.