NEW YORK, N.Y.— Ruby, the hibiscus beverage brand that delivers real function through big flavor and marvelous fun, is excited to announce the release of two new functional juicy sodas: Sparkling Hibiscus Berry Cherry and Sparkling Hibiscus Fuji Apple. As their names suggest, each beverage packs a nostalgic juicy punch that gives consumers access to the myriad of health benefits derived from the 1,000+ antioxidants that uniquely stem from hibiscus. The same is true of their complementary existing lineup of Sparkling Original Hibiscus, Sparkling Hibiscus Blood Orange, and Sparkling Hibiscus Concord Grape, whose exceptional velocity in major grocers (such as Whole Foods, Erewhon, Central Market, Earthfare, Fairway, among many others) proved the format a unique hit for the two-year-old brand.
“After two years of extensive time in the field talking directly with our customers, we feel like we’ve nailed both format and flavor. We’re the only juicy organic soda that puts fun into functionality. That’s thanks to the power of our muse, hibiscus– the one only ingredient that gives us 1000+ health benefits.” says Ruby Founder, Noah Wunsch. “Consumers are used to ‘functional’ being subtle and/or confusing. Our goal at Ruby is to make functional not only understandable by spotlighting a single ingredient but also show that functional can be flavorful, fun, and really fizzy.”
Hibiscus is a globally enjoyed beverage in many cultures including preparations like Saril in Panama, Karkade in North Africa, Carcade in Italy, Sorrel in the Caribbean, Jus de Bissap in West Africa, and Agua de Jamaica in North, Central, and South America. Ruby sources their hibiscus from ethical farms globally and cans their product in New York State. The Hibiscus “super flower” has an extensive list of health benefits including, but not limited to 1,000+ antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamin C, as well as additional vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, and has been proven to fight inflammation, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, promote weight loss, fight bacteria, and support liver and skin health.
When ideating on new flavors, the team focuses on nostalgic profiles with multigenerational, popular appeal. The Ruby team does all formulation in-house, using feedback and insights from nationwide field marketing. Flavors are narrowed down and refined with feedback from strategic focus groups. Before landing on Sparkling Hibiscus Berry Cherry and Sparkling Hibiscus Fuji Apple, the team tested over 20 flavors and held 17 focus groups with over 100 people. The team has a keen sense of balancing that customer research with demand statistics and its own brand mission of accessing health through flavor and fun. According to Amazon’s top-selling grocery items, the most consistently best-selling flavor profiles in sparkling water and soda are black cherry and blackberry proving the inherent demand for Berry Cherry. Ruby’s Fuji Apple flavor gives customers the nostalgic enjoyment of a sparkling Martinelli’s, but without the excessive amount of sugar that tasters were used to for the flavor profile. Like all of their flavors, Berry Cherry and Fuji Apple are popularly coveted, a unique departure from the subtle or polarizing flavors that most functional beverages hold.
The can was designed by &Talmor, a boutique creative agency based out of Brooklyn and Tel Aviv led by Morey Talmor, which has been Ruby’s creative partner since launch. The illustration of the brand’s emblem, a cheerful planet bubble featured prominently on the front of the can, was designed by Robert Beatty, an internationally renowned artist known for creating album covers for musicians such as Tame Impala, My Morning Jacket, and The Weeknd. Each emblem is inspired by the pre-existing work and mythology around “The Rubyverse,” the playful universe created by the brand as a means to visually illustrate the limitless potential of their core ingredient, hibiscus.
While many brands have focused on paid media as a way to raise awareness and drive sales, Ruby has always focused on field marketing as a way to connect directly with customers. The Ruby team executes 15 to 30 demos across the country each week across varying independent and major retailers. Ruby’s own founder has done over 200 demos himself and relies on these customer interactions as an integral part of the brand’s research, development, and evolution. In tandem with the launch of the new sparkling flavors, Ruby will retire its original “still” launch SKU after two years to meet consumer interest and product-market fit as the sparkling water category is expected to reach annual growth of nearly 13% through 2028.
Ruby’s new flavors will be available at retailers including FreshDirect, Central Market, Snackmagic and Earthfare, as well as retailers all over the East Coast and Texas beginning in March, with others like Thrive Market to come in the following months. The brand will also remain focused on smaller trusted boutiques across the nation such as Variety Coffee and The Smile in New York City, Swedish Hill in Austin, Monsoon Market in Phoenix, and Wine and Eggs in Los Angeles, among others. Each can of Ruby retails for $2.99– the new flavors will also be available in 12-packs ($34.99) with nationwide shipping at ruby.fun beginning March 29th, and available on Amazon for $29.99. This March, Ruby will be exhibiting at New Products Expo West for the first time in collaboration with Zab’s Hot Sauce – stop by Booth N133 to temper the heat with Ruby’s new flavors and speak with Ruby Founder Noah Wunsch.
Full Product Details
- NEW – Ruby’s Sparkling Hibiscus Berry Cherry
- Description: Two ingredients, just hibiscus and organic juices. No added sugar, 40 calories, plenty of benefits, and a big juicy flavor.
- Price: $2.99 / can
- NEW – Ruby’s Sparkling Hibiscus Fuji Apple
- Description: Two ingredients, just hibiscus and organic juices. No added sugar, 45 calories, plenty of benefits, and a big juicy flavor, like a sparkling Martinelli’s without 39g of sugar.
- Price: $2.99 / can
- Ruby’s Sparkling Hibiscus Original
- Description: Two ingredients, just hibiscus and bubbles. No sugar, no calories, plenty of benefits, and a big tart flavor.
- Price: $2.99 / can
- Ruby’s Sparkling Hibiscus Blood Orange
- Description: Two ingredients, just hibiscus and organic juices. No added sugar, 15 calories, plenty of benefits, and a big juicy flavor. Like an aranciata without the 32g of sugar.
- Price: $2.99 / can
- Ruby’s Sparkling Hibiscus Concord Grape
- Description: Two ingredients, just hibiscus and organic juices. No added sugar, 30 calories, plenty of benefits and a big juicy flavor, like your Welch’s Grape soda, without 48g of sugar.
- Price: $2.99 / can
About Ruby
Ruby is a functional sparkling hibiscus drink free of artificial additives, preservatives, and sweeteners. Each can uses hibiscus as its core ingredient, a “super flower” that is not only loaded with rich antioxidants, vitamins & minerals, skin health properties, and electrolytes but bursts with color and flavor. A can of Ruby brings the fun to functional, for a party from taste buds to total body.
About Noah Wunsch, Founder & CEO of Ruby
Noah Wunsch’s background is in innovation and branding strategy for tech, media and most recently luxury industries, where he first ran global innovation & marketing strategy for Sotheby’s, before taking over global e-commerce. He grew the e-commerce business from $50M in 2018, to $85M in 2019, and pushed the storied house into luxury collectibles, setting records with his sneaker sale, supreme sale, and luxury fashion sales. Sotheby’s was acquired for $3.7B in October 2019. Prior to Sotheby’s, Noah was the third hire at tech company, DWNLD, a Greylock-backed tech company, which exited to Dropbox in 2017. While searching for an alternative to sugar-y “better for you” beverages, Noah discovered the flavorful hibiscus. He started testing different kinds of hibiscus in hopes of replicating. Brewing for two years, testing on friends, and sharing it, he fell in love with the drink.
For More Information:
https://ruby.fun/