When customers told Moshi that it wanted a low sugar, canned alternative to its Asian-inspired sodas in glass bottles, it listened.
The Brooklyn-based brand’s new line of flavored sparkling waters, first sampled at Winter Fancy Foods Show last week, launches on February 1 in four flavors – Asian Pear & White Miso, White Peach & Yuzu, Fuji Apple & Concord Grape and Honeydew Melon & Cream. The drinks carry an SRP of $2.49 and are made with a combination of fruit juice and natural flavors, contributing to 5 grams of sugar or less per 12 oz. can.
Moshi emerged as a spinoff brand from Brooklyn Food & Beverage, where founder Alton But has been running sales and operations since 2019; the company also produces Bruce Cost Ginger Ale and a variety of carbonated drinks for Brooklyn Crafted.
The brand’s existing sparkling soda collection includes three lines – Yuzu, Uji Matcha and Oolong Tea – with each housing four flavors such as Red Shiso & Apple (Yuzu line) to White Strawberry (Uji Matcha) and Lychee (Oolong Tea).
But explained that the flavor combinations in the new sparkling waters are a “natural segue” from the sodas, and are intended to build on the use occasions and taste profiles of the brand’s hero products. Moshi is currently working with its existing partners and brokers to pitch the new line during category reviews periods.
“It’s no secret that healthier beverage options are the future of our industry,” But said. “As soda and sparkling water are traditionally presented to retailers as separate categories, we feel that growth for both lines can occur alongside each other.”
Within the sparkling category brands like Sanzo have established themselves as leaders in the the adoption of Asian-inspired flavors. Sparkling juice maker Kimino has also introduced carbonated water in recent years.
According to But, the presence of Moshi’s sodas, along with the water line’s unique flavor approach and use of real fruit juices will also help convert consumers to the new offering and allow the brand to create its own space within the category.
“The largest differentiating factor for the Moshi Sparkling water line are the unique flavor combinations we use,” said But. “We also find that our taste profiles are significantly more flavor-forward than existing brands in this category. This is determined by the amount of real fruit juice we use (which can be seen in front of each can) along with a combination of natural flavors that really contribute to making each drink impactful in taste.”
Looking ahead, Moshi intends to continue building out the new product type and already has two additional flavors finalized and another two flavors in the works, But said.
“Our current portfolio has a range of flavors consisting of those that are more familiar in the sparkling water space [versus] some that are more “out of the box” combinations,” said But, who is also a former chef. “I definitely have some more interesting flavors planned if our customers lean towards the latter.”