Ben Weiss, who sold Bai to Dr. Pepper for $1.7 billion, is back in beverages with Crooked Pop — a USDA-organic, zero-sugar, gluten-free alternative to spiked seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails aimed squarely at Gen Z.

The generation that grew up drinking better-for-you sodas has no natural entry point in the alcohol aisle, Weiss told Adweek executive editor Alison Weissbrot at a Brandweek session. "Right now, that consumer who grew up drinking Poppi does not have a place to go in alcohol," Weiss said. "As a matter of fact, they are becoming somewhat sober-curious."

Most hard seltzers on shelves today use fermented sugars to build a gluten-free malt alcohol base. Ready-to-drink cocktails sit at a higher price point because they contain distilled spirits. Weiss saw a gap between the two.

Rather than making a marginally healthier hard seltzer, he brewed an entirely new kind of alcohol called osava, made from quinoa, amaranth, millet and cassava. His goal was an alcohol that doesn't rely on sugar and avoids excise tax — which ruled out distillation entirely.

"For me, to develop a super-clean alcohol that lives as a ferment, and not as a spirit, was very important," Weiss said. "I felt that was the white space that we needed to innovate into, and that's where we live today."

The Bai playbook, applied to alcohol

Weiss launched Crooked Pop with the intention of disrupting the alcohol industry, drawing on the positioning that made Bai a success. His first venture was an antioxidant-infused flavored water built on coffee fruit, an ingredient usually discarded during coffee production. He turned that underused input into a brand and sold it to Dr. Pepper for $1.7 billion.

He is applying another Bai lesson at Crooked Pop's discovery stage: don't over-explain the ingredients. Forcing a complicated explanation on consumers right away tends to be a turn-off, he said, even when the product is new and interesting.

Instead, Weiss wants sugar-free seekers to find Crooked Pop on their own and absorb the brand story gradually, then spread it by word of mouth.

Distribution first, explanation later

That strategy puts distribution at the center. Crooked Pop is targeting grocery stores and sports stadiums, and has partnered with professional athletes including Ryan Howard and Trae Young.

"It's proving to be a game-changer for us," Weiss said. Crooked Pop sold between 3,000 and 4,000 cans at a recent Buccaneers game. "That's a great sampling opportunity for a young brand in the alcohol space."

If the Bai trajectory repeats, the quiet-launch approach could position Weiss to define a category of his own making before larger players take notice.

Source: Adweek (https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/bai-founder-ben-weiss-wants-gen-z-to-drink-more/)