Coke, Pepsi stand aside: Zuberfizz has entered “the cola game

 

DURANGO, Colo. – It’s soda with altitude, crafted in the heart of Historic Downtown Durango, Colorado, at 6512-ft.  And, with an apt name Cola., it’s Zuberfizz’s first foray into direct competition with the “big boys” of the soda business. 

A rich-tasting, smooth and well-blended beverage, which is not too sweet thanks to the use of pure cane sugar, Cola. offers cola fans an “all natural” alternative.

“We’ve always known we wanted to do a cola, but they were our distributor for awhile,” said Zuberfizz  founder Banden Zuber of Coca-Cola of Durango. “So we couldn’t do a direct competitor.”

But when Zuber and partner Dan Aggeler began self-distribution in the region, Coke began carrying its Mexican Coca-Cola made with the pure cane sugar. Zuber and Aggeler noticed it capturing shelf-space.

“So, we thought, it’s time to do it,” said Zuber, who has great respect for Durango Coca-Cola’s patriarch Don Mapel, and the success he’s made in the business. “And it has been huge. People are loving it.”

Zuberfizz all natural sodas are now available in nine flavors: the original Root Beer, Vanilla Crème, Orange Crème, Key Lime, Coco-Fizz, Grape and the new Cola, plus, the “diet” or zero calorie sodas, Raspberry Ginger Ale and Ginger Ale made with ZSweet.

“We’re working on a lemonade,” said Zuber. “That will be our first non-carbonated beverage.”

A web search of “Zuberfizz” (aka Durango Soda Company) reveals a number of blogs offered by amateur soda junkies who rate the various bottled carbonated beverages from across the country. Though the Cola. is not yet widely discovered, Zuberfizz’s products in general fare well, once the reviewers get over the “different” taste of the pure cane sugar and all natural ingredients.

“The biggest challenge is educating people,” said Aggeler, noting that most sodas on the market, plus “energy” drinks, use the high fructose corn syrup to lower costs. Beyond the taste difference, the corn syrup can lead to health problems.

“Obesity, diabetes,” said Aggeler, explaining that unlike pure cane sugar, the body doesn’t recognize corn syrup as a true energy source. “We’re trying to spread the word on that.”

The Zuberfizz sodas are all sold in glass bottles to avoid the “flavor” added by aluminum and plastic. All detergents and sanitizers used at the factory are non-caustic, environmentally (and worker) friendly. Also, with the exception of the Cola., all Zuberfizz products are caffeine free.

“With the Cola. we went with a natural caffeine just to stick with what we do,” said Zuber of maintaining the mission to craft with all-natural ingredients. “The caffeine you get in most things is a chemical additive. You have to wear gloves and a mask just to deal with it.”

While root beer, vanilla, grape, lime and orange are self-explanatory flavors, for the un-initiated Zuberfizz connoisseur, Coco-Fizz is the chocolate soda launched in 2005 in partnership with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Ed Dudley, RMCF senior vice president of sales and marketing had explained at the time, “When they approached us with the formulation, it sounded interesting. We were impressed with what they are doing for soda in general right now. It’s a quality product. We wanted to make sure that whatever we would do would make sense to our consumer and give us a chance to have some fun in the store with a product that the consumer isn’t going to find everywhere… It also is an interesting opportunity for us to bring the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory name into venues like grocery stores.”

Zuberfizz held a tasting at the Downtown Chocolate Factory store, and distributed sample six-packs to the approximately 272 franchises then in operation. Today, RMCF has more than 330 franchises.

“Some of them picked it up, some didn’t,” said Zuber, noting that those franchises carrying the Coco-Fizz have steady sales. “We’ve reformulated a couple of times since then and it’s even better. We need to contact them again.”

Zuberfizz’s “soda factory” is located in the alley between 7th and 8th Streets, between Main and E. Second Ave., (directly behind Cyprus Café). The original operation had been housed on Highway 160 near Elmore’s Corner. While the partners had maintained the building as a warehouse since their move to Downtown in 2005, they recently consolidated everything in the “alley” location.

“We’re trying to get more efficient and save money at the same time,” said Zuber, adding that revenues for the first quarter 2009 were up 30 percent. “And focus on what we’re good at, which is making soda and selling it – not people hanging out and playing video games.”

Zuberfizz tried its hand for a time as a factory “soda fountain,” selling hot dogs and ice cream, along with their products, and hosting birthday parties. While the effort was appreciated, it was far from cost effective. The public is, however, still invited (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) to tour the soda production and bottling operation.

Both Zuber and Aggeler grew up in Durango and are friends since pre-school, and have their roots in hand-crafted beer brewing, which is similar in process to soda production.

“We brewed a lot of beer in college,” said Zuber, noting that before he could get a microbrewery in place in Durango, four had opened. “So there was plenty of beer being brewed.”

Since he’d already purchased the equipment, he began brewing what would become Zuberfizz Root Beer. He offered it through his parent’s Dairy Queen, and with the positive response, decided to “go for it” full force in 2001. Aggeler, who had worked with Colorado Land Title and had been a brewer with Steamworks Brewing Co., joined him early in 2004 when the company was ready to take “the next step.”

The Zuberfizz operation includes four 14-barrel tanks that can be turned in 48 hours, which Aggeler explains is the production equivalent to 28 14-barrel tanks in a regular brewery. The sugar and filtered, UV-treated water and unique “patented” flavors are dissolved in an 80 gallon whirlpool to create the syrup concentrate, which is then pumped into the tanks for aging, mixing, carbonation – and ultimately bottling for distribution.

Currently, Zuberfizz is widely available in restaurants, retail and cooler locations in the region, and is distributed throughout the Four Corners states (including Whole Foods’ Rocky Mountain Division), with limited exposure in California and Texas.

 “We want to develop the West and get down further into Texas,” said Zuber, noting that because Texas is a strong Durango tourism market, the products have already garnered brand recognition. “Every one of them says, you need to get this down there (to Texas). We say, we’re trying.”

To get a “virtual taste” of Zuberfizz, or order a 15-bottle pack on-line, visit www.zuberfizz.com.

 

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