Rockaway Pitches Botanical-Infused Sparkling Water to the Mainstream

Looking to provide a “gritty” and “accessible” take on botanical-infused sparkling water, New York-based startup Rockaway — which launched online in September — is seeking to marry on-trend health and wellness ingredients with a kickback-and-relax aesthetic to offer a differentiated take on the category.

Rockaway’s line of functional, botanical-infused sparkling waters are available in four flavors: Coastal Immunity (pineapple, ginger, turmeric and tulsi), Tidal Defense (berry, hibiscus, Vitamin C and astragalus), Endless Summer Energy (watermelon, guava, maca and ginseng) and Last Stop Chill (lemon, lemongrass, ashwagandha and valerian). Each 12 oz. SKU also contains sea salt. The products are currently available online in 8-packs for $32.99 and 16-packs for $39.99, but will sell for $1.99 per unit when the product launches in brick-and-mortar retail next year.

Founder and CEO Bridget Firtle began her career overseeing food, beverage and alcohol opportunities as a member of an investment group at hedge fund Knott Partners, L.P.. In 2012, she founded boutique distillery Owney’s Rum, which would enter into a partnership with, and was later acquired, by Proximo Spirits.

Earlier this year, Firtle left Owney’s with the intent of starting her own full-time consulting business and began working on Rockaway as a “side project.” The development of the brand — from the formulation to the label design — was a creative outlet, she said, and to date the project has been financially bootstrapped. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Firtle said she found herself with more time than initially expected and although she is still consulting, Rockaway has since become her main focus.

“Over the past eight years or so of being in the liquor business, I try to constantly seek balance between my love of imbibing and partying with my other half of being super into fitness and health and wellness and what I eat and how I physically exercise,” Firtle said. “So I was just going to have a website and do this like on the side, but as it’s come more and more to life I’m super fired up about it and I think there’s a big opportunity.”

Rockaway is one of several new sparkling water brands to embrace botanicals and adaptogens to provide functionality and richer flavor profiles. Brands such as CBD-infused Recess, floral-flavored Aura Bora and Seasons Sparkling have provided similar enhanced innovations in the fast-rising sparkling water category.

Firtle said she sees Rockaway as differentiating itself through its marketing. The brand is named for her hometown of Rockaway in Queens, New York — a popular beach vacation destination — and will seek to tap into a “where the streets meet the beach” aesthetic in its messaging.

“I find a lot of the products in the market are hyper niche,” Firtle said. “They’re seemingly focused on a very small demographic and I think we’re from not only an aesthetic perspective, but also through price point, trying to attract a wider audience.”

Since launching online in September, Rockaway has focused on word of mouth through press coverage and tapping her personal network to drive early sales, but Firtle said the company will soon begin investing in Instagram ads and other digital and social promotions to grow awareness. In January, Firtle will begin rolling the brand out to retail in the New York metro area with a “pick and choose” approach focused on smaller retailers. The company has partnered with a distributor and a brand management firm and the launch is “locked and loaded,” she added.

As well, Firtle said she is working with her connections in the bar, restaurant and hospitality industry to help spread the word and potentially launch into food service accounts. Rockaway will also look to partner with local sports teams and other event organizations to drive trial.

“I think that our can pops and I think our price point is interesting,” she said. “So I think that once we actually have solid physical distribution, people will be drawn to try trialing it based on those two things. And hopefully they like what they taste and they come back. But for now, it’s a little bit of a waiting game.”