Jones Soda

It's Time to Reformulate

Up until the mid-1990s, Jones Soda was largely recognized as a beverage distributor in western Canada, representing beloved drinks like Arizona Iced Tea. By 1996, with the rise of the alternative beverage market, they recognized an opportunity to define their unique space with a distinct brand of sodas. Jones Soda's ambition led them straight to Flavorman, a company that was set apart from other flavor enterprises by its holistic grasp of the beverage development process.

Flavorman's approach was comprehensive. While many flavor companies struggled with understanding the full scope of beverage development, Flavorman’s R&D Team skillfully reimagined the initial five flavor choices Jones Soda presented and introduced five innovative line extensions. In a remarkable time span of just one month, they conceptualized and produced ten original flavors for Jones Sodas, including hits like Grape, Cherry, and Vanilla Cola.

Recognizing the unmatched expertise Flavorman brought to the table, Jones Soda promptly entrusted them with the entirety of their brand's technical and production needs. This partnership saw Flavorman expertly crafting beverage formulations, ensuring optimal shelf life, establishing contract manufacturers across two countries, and maintaining stringent quality control. They even adeptly managed all contract manufacturing challenges and customer feedback. This all-encompassing approach enabled Jones Soda to redirect their focus to sales and marketing, eliminating the need to hire any technical personnel.

The synergy between Jones Soda and Flavorman only grew stronger over time. Together, they introduced over fifteen additional soda flavors, some of which were as intriguing as Pineapple Upside Down and Berry Lemonade. They also made waves with specialty creations like the Big Ass Canned Ham Soda for the David Letterman Show and the Billy Pop for the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. This prolific partnership even ventured into diet versions of popular flavors, further solidifying Jones Soda's esteemed place in the alternative beverage market.

Building On The Success

In August 1999, after the initial run of Jones Soda, Jones wanted to develop its own energy drink to take advantage of this emerging segment. In one month, Flavorman developed WhoopAss energy drink. It was an ambitious feat, but the new energy beverage was readily embraced by the Jones executive team. Shortly after, a line extension was produced for the Canadian market, meeting the more stringent Canadian food rules and regulations.

In spring 2001, Jones called on Flavorman once again to develop a line of juices. These were eventually sold under the Jones Naturals name and included ten flavors. The Naturals were soft drinks made with sugar, all-natural ingredients, herbs, and no preservatives. The flavor line included Peach Ginseng, Lemon Ginger, Passion, and Root Beer. The Jones Naturals were tunnel pasteurized in the same bottle as distributed and sold mostly through health food stores. The flavor "Dave" was named after Flavorman’s founder, Dave Dafoe, for his outstanding partnership in launching the Jones Soda brands.

Beyond development, the Flavorman team set up and maintained quality control at all the co-packing plants responsible for manufacturing Jones Soda, Jones Naturals, and WhoopAss energy drink. They monitored plants in Eastern Canada, Western Canada, Southern California, Northern California, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky. To maintain quality at each plant, Flavorman wrote quality control manuals, monitored the first production, and set up shelf life studies.

As market demand increased and Jones Soda was ramping up production across North America, the development experts at Flavorman proved invaluable as technical brand managers too, ensuring that every product was manufactured to specification every time.

This was all quite a while ago, but for Flavorman, the Jones Soda partnership remains a sterling example of Flavorman’s credo: “from start through finish!”