The family behind Langers Juice Company never imagined it would get into the soda category when it founded the health-minded business back in 1960. But in 2024, up is down and soda is good for you (well, better-for-you to be completely accurate).
As the clean soda segment has blossomed into a mainstream market force, the California-based business is finally jumping into the cola segment with the introduction of Langers Craft Cola in both a full calorie version (made with 36 grams of real cane sugar) and Zero (sweetened with stevia). While the colas are caffeinated, they’re otherwise non-functional – avoiding direct competition with gut health focused brands like Olipop and Poppi – but still seeking a slice of the growing better-for-you CSD pie.
The core inspiration for the launch, according to Langers president Bruce Langer, wasn’t so much the new wave of functional brands but more the old school of natural soda brands (think Hansen’s and Blue Sky) that delivered on full flavor but with a cleaner ingredient label than the high fructose corn syrup-laden mainstream brands.
“Our feeling was that it’s a good niche with a lot of sales, and the consumer appreciated it, but it’s no longer available – so why don’t we enter?” he said.
Langers Craft Cola is making that differentiation clear on the front of the label, with a call out for “No Phosphoric Acid,” along with a long list of other No’s: no aspartame, no acesulfame potassium, no sodium, no GMOs, and no BPA can lining either.
But as brands like Poppi are discovering, consumers are gravitating towards their products less for purported bonuses like prebiotics, and more simply for flavor and lower sugar. Does a callout like “No Phosphoric Acid” mean as much to the average shopper? Langer believes it will – at least with a certain segment of health-conscious consumers – while others may learn about potential health impacts of phosphoric acid through the brand’s messaging.
“As a kid, there were experiments where we’d take a tooth and drop it into soda, and the tooth gets eaten away,” Langer said, referencing a popular belief with a little more complicated science behind it. “Well, we don’t need that. We don’t need to do things that way.”
The cola is available now on Amazon and through Langers’ website, and in retail at Smart & Final at a price point of $0.99 per 12 oz. can.
Looking ahead, Langer said the company is exploring additional innovations both in soda and in other categories as well, broadening the brand beyond juice with recent product launches like electrolyte drink Lyte Aid, agua fresca and a different health-inspired tea line.