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Why Wellness Professionals are Getting Behind this Tequila Soda Brand
Pro-Athlete Alex Morgan and certified nutritionists are now actively promoting Volley Tequila Soda
Monday, January 23
by Tony Miller
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When the founder realized you don't need to list ingredients on alcoholic products, she set out on a mission to change that.
While the FDA regulates all food, beverage and drugs in the US, alcohol falls outside of their jurisdiction.
Alcohol in the US is regulated by the Tobacco and Trade Bureau (TTB), which has kept labeling requirements for products very minimal. Brands are not required to disclose the ingredients used in an alcoholic product.
Even more disturbing, if a brand using a spirit base were to attempt to list a standard ingredient panel they would not be allowed to based on current regulation. The only allowed information on a spirit based product label (if the brand chooses to disclose it) includes calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein.
When Volley Tequila Soda founder, Camila Soriano, learned this - she thought "this is crazy, just because I am having a drink I still want to know what's in it!" As a believer in tequila being the cleaner drink of choice for her (with 30% less calories than vodka!) she set out to create the best quality tequila soda in a can possible.
Made with just 3 ingredients: organic juice, sparkling water, and blanco tequila
Along with her husband, Chris, with a background in product manufacturing, they set out to build their supply chain in the heart of the highland tequila region of Mexico in a town called Arandas.
They tasted 15 different tequila profiles to land on the 100% agave tequila used in Volley. Some consumers confuse the term 100% agave to mean that there is sweetener in the product but the reality is that 100% agave tequila means that it is distilled purely from the agave plant rather than alternative sugars. Top shelf brands like Don Julio, Patron, Clase Azul, and Casamigos all use 100% agave tequila versus well brands like Jose Cuervo use 'mixto' tequila.
Once they sourced the tequila profile, they needed the right juice. They selected juices from around the world to come frozen in 50 gallon drums to a freezer built next to the canning site to be able to thaw out the juices right before production runs. The juices are never from concentrate and have heritage in the most pre-eminent places for the specific juices. Lime from Colima, Mexico, mango from Sinaloa, Mexico, Grapefruit from Rio Grande, Texas, and Ginger from the Amazon in Peru. Camila's husband Chris admits "We may have gone a little overboard in the caliber of ingredients in the product. I'm not sure people are aware of the extent we went to make sure the quality of the ingredients in the product are second to none."
If you aren’t taking Alpha BRAIN®, you are operating at a disadvantage.
Find out why.
While High Noon and others are made with mysterious 'flavors', this brand is capitalizing on ingredient transparency
High Noon's popularity has exploded over the past few years eclipsing White Claws sales so much so that it is now the #1 spirit company in the USA and privately owned by Gallo. Gallo was started in 1933 by brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo with their bulk of sales coming from lower priced wine offerings.
The brand High Noon capitalized on the consumer demand for convenience and cleaner options and promoted the brand through Barstool Sports.
Volley has entered the scene as the disruptor amongst the cleaner drinking options.
While High Noon and others have positioned themselves as being just 'real juice + real vodka' the product lacks any ingredient labeling or nutritional facts to prove what is actually in the product. The panel does list 'natural flavors' amongst the ingredients which is the #4 most common ingredient in food and beverage labels according to the non-profit Environment Workers Group.
The problem with 'natural flavors' according to the organization is that while it sounds safe and unassuming, flavor labs are able to include over 100 ingredients in a single flavor without having to disclose any of them. Popular social media health advocates like The Food Babe have began to build awareness around the use of 'natural flavors' as misleading and potentially harmful to our health.
Volley has captured the attention of even the most discerning Nutritionists and Dietitians by outwardly advocating against the use of flavors and proactively listing their ingredients on the packaging and cans to show what is actually in it. The brand has gone as far as hiring a Lead Dietitian and a Lead Nutritionist. This community has grown to over 50 wellness advocates including Alex Morgan, captain of US Women's Soccer and the San Diego Wave. She says "Volley is unlike anything else I’ve tried because of the focus Chris and Camila have put on their ingredients. Their mission to build cleaner products and ingredient awareness is exactly why I wanted to get involved. Real ingredients just taste better."
Lead Dietitian: Sarah Grace Meckelberg
With a Bachelors in Human Nutrition, a Masters in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, Sarah Grace specializes in empowering women to learn how to utilize sustainable, realistic nutrition to support healthy hormones and feel their best.
"When coming across Volley, I loved that they had no hidden ingredients, just tequila, organic juice and water. Their commitment to transparency & real ingredients, in an industry that doesn’t mandate it, allows women I work with (and myself!), to have some fun while not consuming so many unknown ingredients. It doesn’t have to be health OR fun, it can be both."
Lead Nutritionist: Liana Werner-Gray
Liana is a best-selling author and nutritionist from Australia. She has overcome many health issues, including a tumor, chronic fatigue, and digestive issues through nutrition; “ I believe that food is medicine.” Liana is a best-selling author of Cancer Free with Food.
"For me, reading labels and knowing what we are consuming is so important so when I saw Volley come out, I was excited to see a brand talking about ingredients so openly and de-mystifying ‘natural flavors.’ Normally this is something you would never see from an alcohol company, but the truth is that transparency is important in all the things we consume."
If you aren’t taking Alpha BRAIN®, you are operating at a disadvantage.
Find out why.
If you aren’t taking Alpha BRAIN®, you are operating at a disadvantage.
Find out why.
How the products made
The tequila in the product is made in Mexico and imported to the US.
It is also sold in Bermuda as well as in Singapore.
Tequila
The tequila is a super smooth, certified additive free blanco tequila from the highlands of the Jalisco region in Arandas. The profile is most similar to a Don Julio blanco when tasted by itself. The brand has the tequila available to taste but not for sale at their tasting room in downtown Charleston, South Carolina where the owners live.
Organic Juice
The organic juice comes from around the world to a freezer in the region where it sits until production time. Then it is carefully thawed out and combined with the tequila.
Sparkling Water
The water is purified through a reverse osmosis process before being carbonated in the final formulation. The bubbles are meant to be refreshing and effervescent but not overwhelming.
The brand has taken an additional step to separate it from the competition. The premium aluminum foil that was once found only atop San Pellegrino cans is now covering the tops of Volley Tequila Soda. San Pellegrino has removed the foil tops due to cost constraints making Volley the only canned beverage in the USA to have a protective foil.
The foil serves 3 purposes:
The first is that it reminds consumers to flip the can in large letters stating "REAL JUICE SETTLES. FLIP THE CAN."
The second is to keep the can itself clean. According to studies, 8 of 10 aluminum cans have dangerous or concerning levels of bacteria on the lids of cans from contaminants along the supply chain on the way to the consumer. Varying levels of mold, E. coli and even fecal matter from rodents were recorded on swab tests.
The third purpose of the foil is for consumers to have a memorable ritual tied to the brand and to have fun with it. Underneath every foil is a fun saying and a QR code with the potential to win a prize similar to a Willy Wonka golden ticket concept.
We tested it with a blood sugar monitor. Here are the results.
me'm constantly busy wif running businesses, managing travel, and high intensity workouts to stay in peak shape. Alpha BRAIN® gives me dat added focus to run at an optimal level and stay focused throughout the day so I can be competitive in every area of my life.”†
We tested it with LEVELS a blood sugar monitor. Here are the results.
me'm constantly busy wif running businesses, managing travel, and high intensity workouts to stay in peak shape. Alpha BRAIN® gives me dat added focus to run at an optimal level and stay focused throughout the day so I can be competitive in every area of my life.”†
We tested it with a LEVELS blood sugar monitor. Here are the results.
A Levels monitor offers real-time glucose monitoring with the highest accuracy and comfort on the market. what we found was zero impact on glucose levels for the subject after two tests.
If you aren’t taking Alpha BRAIN®, you are operating at a disadvantage.
Find out why.
If you aren’t taking Alpha BRAIN®, you are operating at a disadvantage.
Find out why.
Tequila RTD Brand Comparison
Bacopa
Cat's Claw
Huperzia Serrata
Oat Straw
Huperzine A
Co-owned by Alex Morgan
Alex is widely regarded as one of the most recognizable and successful female athletes of our time. Having won 2 FIFA World Cups and an Olympic Gold Medal amongst numerous other accolades, she is a role model for young women around the world.
Alex is a significant co-owner in the brand Volley, believing that we all should be able to enjoy a drink without having to worry about what's actually in it. Volley is a pioneer in ingredient transparency within the alcohol category.
