Print Media
April 2013 — Leading the Way in the Beverage Alcohol Category
Case study on developing Dumante {view article }
gourmetdeville.com
July 2012 — Odd Jobs: Beverage Flavor Scientist
David Dafoe doesn’t hesitate when asked to name the grossest soda flavor he’s ever created. “That would be fish taco,” he says. The recipe was commissioned by Jones Soda Co., a novelty beverage distributor in Seattle. It was an experiment that proved more rewarding for the flavor scientists in Dafoe’s laboratory than paying beverage consumers with taste buds. {view article }
Business Week 7/25/2012
July 2012 — Flavorman Concocts an Array of Exotic (and Sometimes Downright Weird) Beverages
Take a stroll through the beverage aisle of the grocery store and you'll see, among the standard ginger ales and colas, a proliferating roster of energy drinks with neon packaging and exotic names... {view article }
Courier-Journal 7/9/2012
June 2012 — Pure Refreshment:
The Eco-Friendliest Convenience Drinks
David Dafoe featured in Sierra Club's blog {view article }
Sierra Magazine
April 2012 — Distilled Spirits Gets Its Own Epicenter
Last week, the Distilled Spirits Epicenter opened downtown with a VIP reception. One could tour the Grease Monkey Distillery, look in on Moonshine University and Challenge Bottling... {view article }
The Voice-Tribune 4/12/2012
April 2012 — Louisville Distillery Has Grand Opening Celebration
Distilled Spirits Epicenter LLC (ds-epicenter.com) celebrated its grand opening Tuesday evening...The Epicenter, which was started by Flavorman founder David Dafoe and has operations next door to the Flavorman building on South Eighth Street... {view article }
Business First 4/4/2012
March 2012 — Louisville Distillery Opening in April
Building on Kentucky’s rich distilling history, the Distilled Spirits Epicenter will open in April in downtown Louisville, where it will provide a unique facility for creating custom vodkas, whiskeys, rums, moonshines... {view article }
Bourbon Blog 3/6/2012
December 2010 — Flavorman’s Sara Smith in Underwired Louisville for her involvement in Junior League of Louisville and Bloom Boutique
Photography by Jessie Kriech-Higdon {view article }
Special to Underwired Magazine
October 2010 — Dumante: Learning the art of being “the little guy” on the way to building an international brand
Is this the year Howard Sturm makes Dumante Vendenoce pistachio liqueur into a household brand, up there with Cointreau and Grand Marnier? {view blog post }
Insider Louisville
September 2010 — Diane Sawyer Goes Home: Louisville Focused on Solutions
Flavorman not only raised $1,000, but it donated a pallet of shoes to the local Soles4Souls program.
{view article }
May 2010 — Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Bloomberg BusinessWeek released the 2010 Inner City 100 list of the fastest-growing inner city companies in the U.S.
Pro-Liquitech International from Louisville ranked 84 on this year’s list. {download press release}
June 2009 — 2009 ICIC 100 Winner: Pro-Liquitech International ranked #60 on the list of the fastest growing inner-city companies in America (5,000 were nominated).
Today, a short, yet highly successful seventeen years later, Pro-Liquitech is an international flavor and product development company that is unique to the industry. {download press release}
April 2009 — Combating recession, Pro-Liquitech International Creates From Start Through Finish Product Development Support for Start-Ups
Pro-Liquitech International (PLI) has launched a new “Start-U-Up” initiative to assist displaced beverage executives, entrepreneurs and beverage companies launch their new beverages (and beverage companies). {download press release}
April 2009 — “STAYING LIQUID - Pro-Liquitech executives say tweaking the drink-creation company is an art, not a science”
A crisis is a terrible thing to waste, says Marty Snyder. The people who work at Pro-Liquitech International Inc. are creative types, said Dave Dafoe Pro-Liquitech’s founder, and Marty Snyder, business development manager. Employee input was crucial when it came to saving money without affecting the quality of employees’ work life. Cuts management and employees could live with?{download article}
Business First 4/03/09
November 2008 — “MS Center’s Annual Gala Raises $140,000.00”
Dave Dafoe, founder of Pro-Liquitech was the auction chairman for the MS Center annual gala. In addition to Dave, more than half of Pro-Liquitech employees supported the 2008 MS Center Gala. Dave is a strong supporter and volunteer in his community for nonprofit and charitable organizations. Pro-Liquitech encourages volunteerism from its employees and practices Corporate Caring. {download article}
Business First 1/09/09
June 2008 — “Two Louisville Companies Receive Inner City 100 Awards”
Pro-Liquitech is one of just two companies in Louisville recently classified among the fastest growng 100 inner city companies in America accoring to Inc. Magazine. {download article}
West Louisvile eNewsletter June 2008
June 2008 — “How To Formulate Innovation”
Small companies can leverage their own strengths to compete in the functional beverage market. Kate Ratliff of the product development and ingredient supply company, Pro-Liquitech International says “so we make sure we have a significant amount versus just a splash of extract. It’s actually an amount that can add up over the day and give you the health benefits that you’re looking for.” {download article}
Beverage World 06/08
January 2008 — “The LEO Interview: Mayor Jerry Abramson”
Our historic 1800s building, completely redesigned and renovated, is featured in an interview with Mayor Abramson. {download article}
Leo Weekly 1/15/08
June 2007 — “Home Run: Logistics, Health Care and Tourism Load the Bases”
Pro-Liquitech joins other burgeoning businesses pleased to call Louisville home with its growing economy and newly merged city-county government. {download article}
US Airways Magazine June 2007
October 2006 — “A Taste of the Good Life”
Consumers today are more educated about product ingredients than perhaps a decade ago and are willing to pay more for ingredients with proven health benefits rather than just a healthy perception. “This mentality alone creates a market where consumers will pay more for a new ingredient and flavor. The real test of a beverage comes in the repurchase.” remarks David Dafoe, president and CEO of Louisville, KY, USA-based Pro-Liquitech. {download article}
Beverage World 10/06
August 2006 — “Businesses Pick Downtown [Louisville]”
Like many progressive companies, Pro-Liquitech has moved its headquarters to downtown Louisville to enjoy a completely renovated building in an urban environment. Best of all, the company now has 10 times the working space to accommodate its trending growth. {download article}
Courier-Journal 8/14/06
March 2006 — “Learning the Ropes [on Tax Incentives]”
Kentucky’s tax incentive program makes it easier for companies like Pro-Liquitech to offset the expenses associated with growth. {download article}
Business First 4/28/06
February 2006 — “Off the Beaten Path”
David Dafoe, Pro-Liquitech’s founder and technical director remarks on the popularity of flavor blending to meet consumers’ demands. {download article}
Beverage World 2/15/06
May 2004 — “Like that drink?”
Feature article on Pro-Liquitech’s senior product development specialist. {download article}
Velocity 5/26/04
2004 — “Miami University’s Thomas C. Page Entrepreneurial Fellows”
David Dafoe is recognized as a 2003 inductee for his volunteerism to Miami University’s Page Center. {download article}
Thomas C. Page Center
May 2004 — “Full Flavor Forecast”
In the exclusive 2004 Prepared Foods R&D Trends survey report, David Dafoe weighs-in with insights about ways to create appealing flavors for Hispanic and other ethnic segments.
Preparedfoods.com 5/09/04
January 2004 — “The Flavor Man”
David Dafoe shares some of his upstart stories in this profile article. {download article}
The Voice-Tribune 1/14/04
October 2003 — “Flavorful Fizz”
There’s more to creating a good tasting flavored cola than just adding a twist of fruit. Pro-Liquitech has developed a line of herbal colas with ingredients like ginseng and gingko. David Dafoe, technical director for Pro-Liquitech, sees endless possibilities for flavored cola. {download article}
Beverage World 10/03
October 2000 — “RAD LAB: Mad scientists in Louisville cooked up this extreme soda”
A Kick In The Can: Caffeine-heavy sodas like WhoopAss are aimed at the thirsty youth of America (and a Louisville company came up with the formula). Working in white coat seclusion, David Dafoe – the mild-mannered company founder known as Flavorman – and his able assistants – cooked up the prototype batch of WhoopAss on a 30-day deadline. {download article}
Courier-Journal Scene 10/21/00
July 2000 — “Pro-Liquitech’s got the soda jones”
What Pro-Liquitech does, as Dafoe’s nickname Flavorman suggests, is deliver the flavor. They take care of the sales, marketing and distribution. We take care of everything else. {download article}
Leo City Strobe 7/19/00
January 1998 — “The Flavor Meister: Marketer of the Month”
David Dafoe concocted Pro-Liquitech to help companies develop more than just new beverage products. What began as a one-dimensional consulting firm has since blossomed into a full-service operation that provides beverage makers large and small with everything from concept development to manufacturing planning. {download article}
Food & Beverage Marketing January 1998
Winter 1997/98 — “Pop Artist Dave Dafoe ’84: A New Pop Culture”
Blessed with an extraordinary sense of taste and smell, David Dafoe ’84 is the ‘flavorman.’ So what, pray tell, does the flavorman do? He appears to drink a lot of funny-tasting, oddly named, wildly colored drinks, such as Fufu Berry, Blue Bubble Gum Soda, and Big Ass Canned Ham Soda. {download article}
MIAMIAN Winter 1997/98
February 1996 — “Gold Cards were key ingredient that let flavormaker Dave Dafoe charge ahead with Pro-Liquitech”
Dave Dafoe simply said, “Charge it,” capitalizing his Pro-Liquitech start-up with cash advances on his credit cards. He said instant money allowed him to spend his time hustling accounts rather than going bank-to-bank, applying for small-business loans. {download article}
Business First 2/12/96
August 1992 — “North Country Memories: Jack Daniels Drink With a Twist of North Country”
David Dafoe in his beverage-flavoring laboratory goes on to explain that he had developed a line of products called Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails which are receiving national exposure. David is equipped with acute organoleptic senses, which means he can taste, smell and discriminate far beyond the powers of the vast majority of the rest of us. David concludes with this: “My life, the way I do things are deeply rooted in my childhood experiences in the North Country.” {download article}
Sunday Weekly 8/30/92
