Jones Soda

Jones Soda Co. is a U.S. beverage company based in Seattle, Washington. It bottles and distribute soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, and energy drinks.

Peter van Stolk founded the Urban Juice and Soda Company Ltd. in 1987, intending to compete in the alternative products segment of the beverage industry. Until 1995, the company was a distributor of other beverage lines such as Arizona Iced Tea and Thomas Kemper sodas in western Canada. The Urban Juice and Soda Company changed its name to Jones Soda Co. on August 1, 2000.

The company developed its Jones Soda line during 1995, and launched the first six flavors in January 1996: Orange, Cherry, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Lime, Raspberry, and Grape. To help break into the soft drink marketplace, Jones pursued what it calls an "alternative distribution strategy" to attract consumer attention, selling soft drinks in venues such as clothing and music stores, tattoo and piercing parlors, and sporting equipment shops. Eventually Jones Soda was available nationwide in larger chain stores such as 7-Eleven, Safeway, Wal-Mart, and Barnes & Noble. Recent business distribution deals have further expanded the company, placing some basic flavors in stores such as Meijer, World Market, and Panera.

Its offbeat bottle designs, flavors, and alternative marketing strategies drew many comparisons to The Coca-Cola Company's failed OK Soda.

Jones Soda is known for its unusual flavors. It rotates flavors frequently, providing an ever-rotating collection of tastes.

In November 2003, Jones introduced a Turkey and Gravy seasonal flavor in honor of Thanksgiving. Demand was so overwhelming that Jones sold out within two hours, the bottles (both full and empty) fetching in excess of $10 a piece on auction sites such as eBay. In 2004, it offered a complete, drinkable Thanksgiving dinner—five bottles—as a box set for $16. Turkey and Gravy was brought back, and the rest of the flavors were unique to this offering: Green Bean Casserole, Cranberry, Mashed Potatoes with Butter, and Fruitcake. The limited edition pack sold out in under an hour, temporarily crashing the company's email and Internet servers. Both years, people resold some seasonal bottles on auction sites such as eBay, with bids reaching as high as $100 a pack. Jones Soda's profits in both years were donated to the charity Toys for Tots.

Other unusual flavors have included Chocolate Fudge, released in honor of Valentine's Day; FuFu Berry; Pineapple Upside Down; Berry White (a pun on singer Barry White); Fu Cran Fu; Bada Bing!; and Purple Carrot. Jones also distributes its versions of more familiar soft drink flavors such as Vanilla Cola, Root Beer, Cream Soda, and Fruit Punch.

Recently the company discontinued its "slim" (diet) soft drinks and instead introduced three sugar-free flavors. It is ironic as, when the company first began, a clear marketed difference from other more "mainstream" soft drinks was the lower sugar content the company's blends originally had. However, taste and time can change many things.

In 2005 Jones announced a new line in its series: Jones Organics. The blends consist of six different tea-based flavors—two each of white tea, green tea and red tea. The bottles have a clean, minimal label, as opposed to customized photos. The exact blends are: Strawberry White Tea, Cherry White Tea, Berry Green Tea, Mandarin Green Tea, Tropical Red Tea, and Peach Red Tea. This marks one of the few times that a rooibos-based beverage has been available outside of, for example, a tea store.

Jones Soda continually changes the photographs on its (soda) labels. It encourages customers to submit photos for consideration, and even allow people to order bottles with customized labels. Its website features a database of several thousand submitted pictures, as well as an archived collection of internal company notes, detailing which pictures appeared when, on what flavors (for collectors of the images). Customers can also submit fortunes to be printed underneath the bottle cap.

External links

• Jones Soda Co. home page (http://www.jonessoda.com/)