British craft soda with an Americana twist wins listings in more than 300 new outlets, including Pizza Hut

An Americana-influenced soft drinks company set up in London five years ago has landed a major deal with Pizza Hut, that will see its craft sodas stocked in the retailer’s 130 UK restaurants, as well as in more than 170 of Dunelm’s in-store Pausa cafes.

Soda Folk was set up by American-in-London, Ken Graham, using recipes inspired by his childhood in Colorado and began selling their drink in bars and shops in London’s burgeoning craft food and drink scene. Ex-Tesco Head of Innovation, Simon Waterfall, took over the company’s leadership in 2019 to accelerate its growth, tripling it in the past three years and securing listings in Sainsburys and Ocado.

The brand is aimed at adults and its range, which includes the Great Taste Award-winning Cherry Soda, Cream Soda, Root Beer and Blueberry Muffin, are made with natural, premium ingredients and are 100% vegan.

Managing Director, Simon Waterfall, said: “The success of our brand follows a continued boom in trendy drinks, marking a taste change from boring mass market drinks to exciting fizzy pop like Soda Folk’s range. Our premium price point continues to do well even with the cost of living crisis, in part due to the sea change in consumer expectations of flavour, the switch to alcohol alternatives and even the ’Lipstick Effect’ where people reduce lifestyle spend but continue to buy affordable ‘treats’. So retailers and restaurants see Soda Folk as a brilliant opportunity to not only increase sales but also margins.”