Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/100667
in focus { s m a l l b u s i n e s s } By S haron Ve rbete n ���Making soda fun again��� New London bottler expands distribution reach, keeps hometown flavor 42 | Insight ��� J a n u a r y 2 013 c o u r t e s y o f Fl av o r 8 B o t t l i n g A fter being turned down by 29 lenders, Dave Talo was beginning to think his dream of reviving nostalgia and ���making soda fun again��� was all for naught. But when a childhood friend also saw the potential in Talo���s glass bottling idea, the Menasha natives ��� who grew up loving ice-cold bottled sodas at neighborhood block parties ��� teamed up to create Flavor 8 Bottling in New London. ���We came up with the idea about three years ago with the modern take on it,��� says Talo, who co-owns the business with John Mathison. ���(We thought) it���s like everyone loves this product; why isn���t it around?��� Launched in early 2011, Flavor 8 delivered 21,000 cases of soda, at 24 returnable glass bottles per case, during its first year. In a 4,800-square-foot New London facility, the company bottles a case a minute, averaging about 500 to 600 cases per week of their sodas (or ���pop,��� depending on your lexicon), made with real sugar. While the core of its business is in the Fox Valley and New North, a recent agreement with Johnson Distributing in Stevens Point will extend Flavor 8���s reach to 10 counties in central and north central Wisconsin. The goal is to sell the soda statewide, Talo says. But Talo and Mathison faced a big question as they sought an outside distributor: ���Do you want to be a delivery service or a bottler?��� That was the question facing Talo and Mathison when deciding to find an outside Co-owners Dave Talo, left, and John Mathison have brought returnable bottles back in the soda business with their New London company Flavor 8 Bottling. The ecofriendly returnable packaging and use of real sugar in their mix have been attracting the interest of consumers. distributor. He notes that while it���s not inexpensive to work with a distributor, Johnson Distributing���s larger account base is a boon to a small company like Flavor 8. Johnson picks up the product in New London and serves accounts on a route. That agreement has freed up Flavor 8 to focus on what it does best ��� bottling old time refreshment in a way that is piquing a lot of consumers��� interests right now. Old is new again Getting back to naturals is a trend many major manufacturers are embracing and touting, and that hasn���t gone unnoticed by Flavor 8. ���People want sugar-sweetened soda in heavy glass bottles,��� says Talo. Why? According to Talo, the taste difference between sugar and highfructose corn syrup is noticeable. Also, people just feel better using products in recyclable packaging, such as glass. Using authentic vintage equipment to create the product enhances the nostalgia factor, and Flavor 8 uses a restored 1950s bottling line found in a warehouse in Kentucky to create their sodas, using an oldschool, syrup-drop method. Nostalgia and equipment alone, however, weren���t enough to make Flavor 8 a reality. Talo and Mathison���s partnership seemed ideal: Talo brought with him mechanical experiences, and Mathison���s background is banking, so they were able to divide the responsibilities in a meaningful way. And after securing a $3,000 grant from the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m