With new brands coming into the mix every single day, Ben Soffer and his community of over 1.6 Million followers found their niche in the canned cocktail industry. Soffer, also commonly known as @boywithnojob, tapped into his vast community to help build his newest brand, Spritz Society.
Soffer explained, “I would post pictures of Aperol Spritzes and half the people would say oh that looks delicious, I love Aperol Spritzes, where can I get them, and the other half said, I’ve never heard of that. And that sort of sparked something in me, which was that I thought everybody had heard of Aperol Spritzes.”
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From there, Soffer’s took that spark deeper and thought of creating something that tasted better, had fewer calories, less sugar and was readily available. Soffer tapped into his amazing 1.6 Million follower community to figure out if they truly loved spritzes. From one initial question to his community, he got 50,000 survey responses and a 92% approval rating that those participating love spritzes. Soffer took this research even further, by reaching back out to some of those individuals to see what exactly they were looking for.
“I sent that to 3,500 people individually in their DMS and I called that R&D group, the Spiritz Society. So the name Spiritz Society literally comes from the empathetic approach to brand building that we took from working directly with the community,” he noted.
His community explained to him that they wanted a higher alcohol percentage compared to other canned cocktails, a slightly smaller can so the drink stays cold, vast flavor profiles and so many more amazing insights. Aside from the end product, the Spritz Society is truly a force behind all of the brand's creations, from the initial ideation process to future launches.
From an influencer standpoint, Soffer could not be more proud to use his platform to promote a brand that he knows backward and forward. “The idea of advertising somebody else's product is incredibly transactional,” he said, “I think honestly, the only way to not only authentically but with integrity stand behind something and say, I love this product is if you made it. Because I know where the grapes were sourced from, I know where the ingredients are sourced from, I know who is currently doing the blending, who makes the cans. All of this is so incredibly important to me when it comes to transparency and being able to stand behind it.”
Spritz Society found its gap in the canned cocktail industry as one of the leading wine-based cocktails, with white wine and grapes sourced in California. “There is no other brand in the market that we've come across that stands behind the idea that taste matters. It's never ever, ever about taste. It's always about calories. It's always about sugar,” Soffer explained. When he ventured into this industry, the taste was at the forefront of his exploration, and it truly paid off.
“Life is too short for drinks you don't love,” Soffer laughed, “It's just this idea that I never walked into a bar and ordered a vodka soda because it doesn't taste good.” And not only does it taste good, but Soffer also focussed on how it looks, “You can pour it out over ice and it's beautiful and colorful and gives you the feeling of drinking a premium beverage.”
2022 is going to be a huge year for Soffer and Spritz Society. The brand is excited to make itself even more readily available, through a rollout in major states including California, Florida and Massachusetts. As Soffer said, life is too short for drinks you don’t love, but there is no doubt Spritz Society will be on the top of your list.
Photography by: Courtesy Yvonne Tnt BFA, Bryan Bedder Getty Images
