Dive Brief:
- Craft soda manufacturer Jones Soda has signed a distribution agreement to bring several of its products to over 2,000 convenience stores across the U.S., the company announced this week.
- Circle K will offer the canned and bottled drinks in stores across six of its southwest and southeast divisions. FEMSA will also launch Jones’ beverages at an undisclosed number of DK c-stores, which will soon be rebranded to the Oxxo banner.
- Craft sodas represent an opportunity for c-store retailers to differentiate their packaged beverage offerings as consumers increasingly crave innovative or experimental drinks.
Dive Insight:
Besides potentially drawing more customers inside the store, craft sodas may give traditional carbonated soft drinks a lift in sales. As of last year, these types of drinks were only the fifth-most popular beverage, trailing tap water, hot coffee, bottled water and juice.
Jones’ latest venture is its “first significant presence in the convenience channel in its nearly 30-year history,” according to the announcement.
Jones Soda interim President and CEO Paul Norman said the distribution deals give the company the foothold it needs to continue expanding across the industry.
"C-stores account for nearly half of all single-serve retail beverage sales, so establishing a strong footprint in the convenience channel promises to be a major contributor to our growth over the next few years," Norman said.
Jones’ products set to enter thousands of c-stores in February and March include the new convenience store-focused Fiesta Jones, a Latin-inspired drink that comes in 16-ounce resealable aluminum bottles; Pop Jones, a low-calorie, low-sugar functional soda that comes in 12-ounce slim cans; and Jones classic sodas, which come in 12-ounce glass bottles.
