SAN ANTONIO, Texas— Locally owned and bottled craft soda in South Texas had been virtually non-existent for the past 60 years. That is until Andrew Anguiano and Gregg Spickler, both product and beverage veterans came together and formed Southside Craft Soda. Founded on the Southside of San Antonio the craft soda company set out to develop flavors that were inspired by the duo’s Texas roots.
“San Antonio and the Southside have a real confluence of ingredients. Our city is known for its culture and big bold flavors,” states Andrew Anguiano, CEO and Co-Founder of Southside Craft Soda.
San Antonio geographically sits at the beginning of the South Texas plains and only a couple of hours from the U.S. and Mexico border. “Our craft soda embraces the area’s Tex-Mex heritage and the local community has shown such great support in what we’ve been doing,” added Anguiano.
Bottling their first soda in February, named TexaCola, the company was quickly picked up by local distributor Hops and Vines who secured deals with eleven Central Markets throughout Texas and landed shelf space in over 180 H-E-B Grocery Stores. TexaCola is a classic cola made with Rio Grande Valley citrus, Mexican cane sugar and infused with local honey. The flavor profile is lighter and more natural than regular sodas with a clean citrus finish.
Additionally, the company recently completed a deal with L&F Distributors to move product through the rest of South Texas including Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and west towards El Paso. The soda is also independently distributed in the Houston area.
“Having been picked up quickly by a major retailer like H-E-B proved to us that our market was open to our craft soda,” said Anguiano. Although national trends are moving away from traditional soda offerings, craft soda is still underdeveloped and has opportunities for growth. “We believe that we are producing an authentic product that will differentiate itself from other beverages. Being a craft beverage, you can taste the difference,” he ended. The company has plans to add to its line with the addition of the upcoming products Limoncito and Beeville Honey Vanilla.
“The infrastructure is in place for us. And we will continue to work on creating products and even lower sugar and lower calories flavors. The only requirement will be that they taste great, crafty and reflective of our region,” concluded Anguiano.
About Southside Craft Soda
Southside Craft Soda was founded in 2017 by product and beverage veterans Andrew M. Anguiano and Gregg Spickler in South San Antonio along the historic Mission Trail near the San Antonio River. The company specializes in creating flavorful craft beverages that are inspired by the culinary heritage of South Texas. Southside Craft Soda introduced “TexaCola” in bottles on February of 2019. “TexaCola” embodies the spirit of the company by blending Rio Grande Valley Citrus, Mexican Pure Cane Sugar and infused with local honey. The use of honey not only enhances the natural aspect of our soda, but is part of our mission to support environmental preservation and education.