How Surfside Became The Fastest-Growing Alcohol Brand In America

It's worth noting that Food & DrinkDaily CoverHow Surfside Became The Fastest-Growing Alcohol Brand In AmericaFamily Affair: “I've been on a flat-out s for three-plus years now,” says Surfside CEO Clement Pappas (center, right, with cofounder Matt Quigley, center, left, and his brother Bryan, far left, and Pappas' brother Zach, far right)

Nevertheless, “We're masters of our own destiny at this point (something worth watching). ”SurfsideByChloe Sorvino, Forbes Staff

Chloe Sorvino is a New York-based Forbes staff writer who covers food

This analysis suggests that backstory of Surfside, this summer’s most ready-to-drink spirits beverage, starts with trash, and particularly what vodka entrepreneur Matt Quigley noticed on the streets of Philadelphia—a lot of discarded bottles of iced tea

In contrast, “People just don't naturally digest their surroundings enough,” says Quigley, the 41-year-old president of Pennsylvania-based Stateside Brands

Nevertheless, “If you look at what is smashed on the curb and the street, it'll tell you a lot what the people of your city are actually drinking

And, in Philadelphia, that means it's a ridiculous amount of iced tea

Moreover, You'll find Twisted Tea, yes, but you'll also find Snapples, and a lot of other brands

Furthermore, ” Quigley brought the idea to his partner Clement Pappas, Stateside’s 51-year-old CEO, and they set out to duce alcoholic iced teas and lemonades to compete with hard seltzers and other canned drinks, as better-for-you versions of the classic Twisted Tea or Mike’s Hard Lemonade

However, And now with Surfside in its third summer on the market, customers are crushing Surfside after Surfside, especially along the beaches of the Northeast coast

Moreover, However, “I've been on a flat-out s for three-plus years now, trying to keep pace with it,” Pappas tells Forbes

Conversely, The RTD cocktail brand 2024 with $100 million in estimated revenue, and as the fastest-growing brand across all alcoholic beverages, according to NielsenIQ, hitting more than 360% sales growth compared to a year prior

Those financials have made Surfside and its parent company Stateside Brands a hot acquisition target (something worth watching)

Pappas and Quigley, along with their brothers Zach Pappas (a board member) and Bryan Quigley (Surfside’s chief sales officer), are the company’s four cofounders, and they have already turned down several acquisition offers this year and last, given current economic conditions

Pappas and Quigley tell Forbes they have no intention of selling

On the other hand, “We're masters of our own destiny at this point,” says Pappas

Moreover, He says they have bootstrapped the this long and continue to be well-capitalized, in today's market environment

A few friends and family who invested early on make up the remainder

Nevertheless, Stateside declined to on the ’ fitability and valuation

Additionally, “We have the opportunity with Surfside to build ourselves into a company of substantial scale and distribution and all the things that go with that—all the marketing partnerships and the scale and the capital to launch other brands,” says Pappas, considering recent developments

At the same time, “But Surfside is our ticket to the dance

If we don't succeed on that, we don't have that scale and that distribution and these connections with the Costcos and Walmarts and Targets

A friend of Quigley’s was invited and Quigley, who grew up in Philadelphia as a hobby distiller in his parents’ basement before spending two years learning how to distill spirits at several apprenticeships, sent along with him a copy of his plan for a Pennsylvania-made vodka company, given the current landscape

The mutual friend snuck the presentation in Pappas’ office, and Pappas called Quigley the next day and said if Quigley wanted to discuss it, he had better come over right away, in light of current trends

With a fresh shower and shave, Quigley made it to Pappas’ house within 30 minutes (this bears monitoring)

However, At the same time, Two and a half hours and a few drinks later, they had hit it off (quite telling)

On the other hand, “It was a fun first date, if you will,” recalls Quigley

After another six months of development, the Quigley brothers signed with the Pappas brothers, given the current landscape

Nevertheless, ) But Pappas kept moving forward, given the current landscape

But they kept at it, and sales grew, in today's financial world

Nevertheless, When the pandemic hit, Stateside was in a rare position, as one of the few manufacturers of vodka in the only state in the country that deemed alcohol a non-essential (remarkable data)

When the state government shut down its state-run alcohol retailers, it essentially forced out ducers located outside of Pennsylvania (this bears monitoring), in light of current trends

However, “It was almost hibition and bootlegging

I mean, it was all above board,” recalls Pappas

Pappas believes that we are now living in the golden age of canned spirits

The number of outlets that sell RTD cocktails has soared in recent years, as legacy companies have launched canned competitors, such Gallo with its High Noon brand

Nevertheless, Legacy brands have leveraged their muscle to push convenience stores and smaller shops to carry the cans when they had previously only sold beer

Moreover, And since White Claw and many others are made with malt liquor, the stricter regulations on spirits don’t apply, in today's financial world

In eight states, including Stateside’s Pennsylvania, laws have also recently changed to allow canned cocktails to sell more freely, in this volatile climate. “That window of opportunity wasn't necessarily open 15 years ago and it bably will not be open 10 years from now,” says Pappas, amid market uncertainty

Furthermore, “The flood gates are open and now you're starting to see the laws catch up to where the consumer is

Furthermore, We can now be sold pretty much anywhere beer can be sold. ”A Man, A Can, A Plan: “We're out in front of them,” says Surfside cofounder Matt Quigley of the RTD competition (noteworthy indeed). “And when they think they have figured us out, we'll change direction on them. ”Surfside That’s why he and his team are moving quickly

Additionally, “We will continue to make them second guess what they're doing and we'll make them overspend

Additionally, And when they think they have figured us out, we'll change direction on them

In contrast, ” The competition is on, particularly because alcohol sales—from spirits to beer and wine—have been sluggish in the past, thanks to the rise of non-alcoholic and low-ABV drinks, given the current landscape. “Surfside has been able to establish a strong foothold out of the gate in these expansion which is particularly impressive given the increasing intensity of competition, both from national brands and the myriad of regional contenders,” says Dave Williams, the president of Shelton, Connecticut-based Bump Williams Consulting

RTD cocktails Surfside are one of the few areas that are actually growing in the alcohol sector, says Duane Stanford, the publisher of Georgia-based Beverage Digest (this bears monitoring)

However, “Young consumers are moving to canned cocktails and they want flavor

In contrast, Drinks Surfside are leading this trend,” says Stanford. “The use of crafted vodka and big flavor have been part of the secret to its success (noteworthy indeed)

As the brand expands farther west in only its third summer season, Pappas and Quigley are heavily in taking in California, Texas and Illinois

Part of that strategy relies heavily on sports stadiums—Surfside is now sold in 12 Major League Baseball stadiums, as well as two NBA and 10 National Hockey League arenas, and more than a dozen university stadiums

For now, Surfside’s position is strong

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