Jones Soda, known for oddball flavors like Bug Juice and Blue Bubblegum, plus its artistic, consumer-designed labels, is reviving one of its fan-favorite products, Turkey and Gravy, just ahead of Thanksgiving.
Different year, same stomach-churning recipe? Not exactly, according to the Seattle-based craft soda company.
The Turkey and Gravy beverage has been slightly tweaked from its original formula for its 2021 limited run, its first appearance in stores in more than a decade. The goal of the reformulation is to mirror as closely as possible the main course on many American holiday tables.
We’ve taken enough of a breather from this flavor, and we think this is the right time to bring it back.
—Mark Murray, CEO, Jones Soda
Does that qualify as “new and improved?” Buyers will have to decide.
The product returns to select retailers in the U.S. next week, aiming to satisfy consumer demand for the “intentionally challenging” flavor and build buzz for the 25-year-old brand.
“We’ve taken enough of a breather from this flavor, and we think this is the right time to bring it back,” Mark Murray, the brand’s CEO and president, told Adweek. “There’s a whole generation—an entire demographic of Gen Z and younger millennials—that’s never tried it, but maybe just heard of it.”
Are weird flavors still weird?
In relaunching Turkey and Gravy Soda, the brand is entering a stunt-crazy space that’s been filled to overflowing recently with the likes of Kraft Mac and Cheese ice cream, Camden Town Brewery’s Marmite beer and Chevrolet’s apple pie hot dogs.
But execs at Jones Soda—who created a space-themed April Fools’ Day prank this spring and partnered with skate icon Tony Hawk—like to point out that they were an early adopter of wacky flavors. They have launched a litany of unlikely drinks over the years, including peanut butter and jelly, bacon, salmon (for Pacific Northwesterners) and poutine (for fry-and-gravy-loving Canadians).
“It all sounds absurd,” Murray said, “but it’s unique and different and funny, and it makes people remember who you are.”
Beyond nostalgia
The move fits into the premium craft brand’s ongoing turnaround strategy, with Murray taking the helm in 2020 to pull Jones Soda out of a sales slump and better compete with beverage titans like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. It’s also butting up against consumers’ ongoing health concerns about sugary drinks.
Murray, a food industry veteran from Campbell Soup and Kraft, has amped up social, digital and influencer marketing since his arrival and created a “special release” program for off-the-wall short-term flavors.
That’s where Turkey and Gravy fits in, tapping into the currently hot trends of nostalgia in advertising and comfort food in consumer packaged goods.
But it’s not just a nod to history, it’s also a modern business decision, Murray said, since superfans have been consistently asking for another chance to buy the savory product. In a “leave them wanting more” strategy, there will be only 35,000 bottles available, individually numbered for collectability.
‘A little gag-inducing’
As for the origins of Turkey and Gravy soda, the company’s COO Eric Chastain recalls a pitch from one of his sales executives in fall 2003 who thought the eccentric flavor could boost winter sales and cause a stir in the category. He was right on both counts.
We couldn’t keep up with demand. We had calls from all over the world.
—Eric Chastain, COO, Jones Soda
Even though Chastain found the prototype soda “a little gag-inducing,” he gave it the green light and rushed it into production in early November. Media pickups, starting with a single radio station in Detroit and fanning out to network TV news and talk shows, spread the word quickly even without the benefit of TikTok or Instagram.
“It exploded overnight,” Chastain told Adweek. “We couldn’t keep up with demand. We had calls from all over the world.”
Plans for a single small batch had to be revised on the fly, he said, and Jones Soda subsequently produced a full run of the drink in December. It immediately sold out.
The brand reissued Turkey and Gravy each year until the end of the decade, expanding it to multi-packs that included liquid versions of all the Thanksgiving fixings—mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie.
Then the flavor was retired indefinitely.
For the relaunch, the brand will be promoting Turkey and Gravy “very aggressively,” Murray said, hoping to break into the pop culture conversation. The bottom line is slightly less of a concern than the potential late-night talk show appearances or eBay auctions, he said.
“Because this product is authentic to the brand’s DNA, there’s a lot of upside here,” Murray said, “and very little risk.”
