• by Les Luchter , March 31, 2022

The Pickleback, a whisky shot that includes pickle brine, has apparently become popular in bars. So, if not for a look at the calendar, we would probably have taken Spritz Society’s new RTD flavor, Sour Pickle, at face value.

The flavor, said to combine real sour pickles with sparkling wine, is actually an April Fool’s joke.

But Spritz Society’s other four sparkling wine canned cocktails -- in grapefruit, blood orange, lemon and pineapple flavors --- have been a reality since launching last summer.

The Sour Pickle flavor is being announced Friday over Instagram, quite appropriate since Spritz Society founder and chief executive officer Ben Soffer rose to influencer fame with his 1.6-million-followers @BoyWithNoJob Instagram channel.

Marketing Daily interviewed Soffer about his roughly half-year-old venture.

Marketing Daily: How did you launch?

Soffer: Spritz Society was built as a community effort. I tapped into a select group of my followers and polled them on everything from packaging, flavors, and more. This crowdsourced, consumer-focused approach, coupled with a strong influencer and PR strategy, created strong hype that was really felt upon launch. 

Our audience is so loyal to us that they purchased Spritz Society without trying it first. It’s a testament to the community we've built and the product they've helped us create. They trusted that if we were behind it, they would love it.

Marketing Daily: How did your own background in the marketing field prepare you to launch your own CPG company?

Soffer:  My past experiences at "9-to-5s" [like Young & Rubicam’s Red Fuse Communications and WPP’s MEC media agency, among others] have helped me gain insight into the power of the influencer, and how important consumer data is in developing a brand.

At Spritz Society, we’re always looking to our community to help guide brand decisions, and we really listen to the "spritzers" thoughts & opinions. While working my marketing jobs, I was also conditioned on how to successfully lead a team.

Marketing Daily: How has Spritz Society been promoted?

Soffer: Spritz Society was founded by digitally native entrepreneurs and social media stars -- so of course, we rely heavily on social promotion. I love sharing the brand on my own account as well as the official Spritz Society Instagram. Co-founders Claudia Oshry [Soffer’s wife, who’s also @GirlWithNoJob] and Jackie Oshry [Soffer’s sister-in-law, who hosts “The Morning Toast” podcast] also love sharing the brand on their accounts. In general, a lot of promotion for Spritz Society is natural social posts from our loyal community. 

We’re the official sponsor of Claudia’s "Not Like Other Girls" tour and have been selling into the venues where she is performing.

Lastly. we put a lot of attention towards events and activations.

Marketing Daily: Who’s Spritz Society’s target audience?

Soffer: While Spritz Society is for everyone, we definitely appeal to the millennial drinkers: those who really care about taste, transparency, and high-quality ingredients. Our fun, colorful branding and packaging as well as our strong social media presence also play a role in this.

Marketing Daily: What’s Spritz Society’s product category and who are your competitors?

Soffer: I do want to clarify that while we are called Spritz Society, we are a sparkling cocktail, not a wine spritzer.

For those who are more into wine and don’t want the chemicals and the artificial flavors that often coincide with malt-based beverages, wine-based RTDs like Spritz Society are a great option.

We work with a world-class mixologist and produce our beverages in Sonoma, California using grapes harvested in California. Each flavor has only five premium ingredients and all are clearly visible on the nutritional facts panel on the back of each can. We are all about authenticity, transparency, and taste. 

While our closest competitors are other canned cocktails, Spritz Society is unique enough in formulation, taste and community to set itself apart from the competition.

Marketing Daily: What’s on the horizon?

Soffer: We are gearing up to add another delicious fruit flavor [not sour pickle] to the lineup, based on what our community has asked for.