United sodas and the real work of building a food brand
January 23, 2025
5 MIN READ
This article is featured in the Magazine “Private Label and National Brands: Decoding Food Retail”, created in collaboration with Global Retail Brands. You can find more insights about the Magazine and additional articles here.
It’s 2025. You are at the supermarket, looking to buy a simple pack of pasta for dinner. It should be an easy decision, however, you find yourself staring at dozens of options: different brands, shapes, promises, origin stories. Some claim to be a “family recipe,” while others highlight their protein content, or try to convince you that lentil pasta is just like regular pasta, but “better for you.” What should be a quick trip to the supermarket turns into a small yet impactful existential crisis.
This scenario plays out across nearly every aisle in the grocery store for every product. The food and beverage segment is saturated with consumer-packaged goods (CPGs), each competing for shelf space and, more importantly, your attention. But what makes a brand stand out and ultimately succeed while many others fail?
An estimated 30,000 new CPGs (including both non-food and beverage items) launch in the U.S. each year. However, only around 15% make it to the two-year mark. In a landscape shaped by evolving food trends, shifting shopping habits, and relentless competition, how do new food and beverage start-ups stand out and carve their niche?
This article explores the journey of an emerging beverage brand, United Sodas, to understand what fuels their growth. The story offers insights into the strategies food entrepreneurs in New York City use to ensure they are among the few success stories.
United Sodas: How to Build a Beverage Company
United Sodas is a beverage company founded in Brooklyn, New York, and launched in May 2020 amid the pandemic as a direct-to-consumer brand. From the beginning, the brand had a clear goal: to redefine soda for the 21st century. During a discussion with Arielle Darr, head of B2B at the company, I got a glimpse into how they are developing a brand that is both culturally resonant and strategically disciplined.
United Sodas is a “better-for-you” soda company with 12 distinct flavors, from Pear Elderflower (my favorite) to Ginger Ale, all made with high-quality ingredients, no added chemicals or flavorings, and just 8 grams of organic cane sugar per can (compared to the 39 grams found in a traditional can of Coca-Cola).
The packaging aesthetic is just as fine-tuned as the formula: sleek, minimalist, matte cans in bold monochromatic colors that reflect the rainbow. The design, like the flavor profiles, speaks directly to the target consumers: affluent millennials willing to spend a few more dollars on a high-quality, premium beverage.
Talking with Darr, I got a sense that United Sodas is not pursuing fleeting wellness trends. They aim to withstand the test of time, just like Coca-Cola, but healthier and more flavorful.
Their growth playbook includes the following:
• A bold and flavorful product crafted for everyone, featuring high-quality ingredients.
• A minimal, yet eye-catching aesthetic that stops consumers in their tracks and stands out on crowded shelves.
• A digital-first launch that evolved into a thriving wholesale business with national reach across retail, food service, and independents.
• A thoughtful growth strategy rooted in testing, feedback, and close relationships with both retailers and consumers.
Finally, “Don’t chase hype,” Darr says. Building long-lasting value is key to growth. “Stay focused on what drives loyalty and cash flow, not just visibility,” she adds.
While the goal may seem deceptively simple, modernizing soda by building a healthier product for everyone, the effort put into creating a successful CPG brand has been strategic and exceptionally well done.
Since launching five years ago, United Sodas has continued to grow steadily. Their story illustrates that building a CPG brand requires not just time, energy and investment, but more importantly, intentionality, storytelling, and grit.
How to Stand Out and Stay In on the Shelf
Building a brand is not just about having a great product and wishing for the best.It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Here are the pillars CPG food companies should focus on to stand the test of time:
1. Define core values and communicate them clearly. What does your brand stand for? In a world of endless options, consumers aren’t just buying a product, they’re buying into a belief system. Whether it’s sustainability, cultural heritage, or ingredient integrity, your values should guide everything from packaging to product development and social media.
2. Know your market. Every entrepreneur should have a clearly defined target audience: individuals who embody the values of the product or service they offer. Understanding this audience enables more direct, relevant and effective communication.
3. Differentiate or disappear. In today’s crowded CPG landscape, every product must earn its shelf space. Whether through a distinctive ingredient blend, cultural relevance, or innovative packaging, the product’s value proposition must be immediately clear, and unforgettable.
4. Make storytelling strategic. Great brands do not just sell products, they sell stories. From the founder’s background to the origin of ingredients, storytelling creates emotional bonds that drive purchasing decisions. Be consistent, intentional, and community-driven.
5. Fund growth wisely. While most founders start by bootstrapping, scaling requires outside investment. Know when to raise money, how much to raise, and from whom. Strategic capital can propel a brand from a farmer’s market booth to national retail shelves, as demonstrated by another beverage success story, Poppi.
Conclusions
Finally, as Darr says, “Scale intentionally. Focus on 1 or 2 regions and test the product. Refine your marketing and pricing. Once a strong presence is built in these regions, the company will be better positioned to expand nationally.”
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