The retail playbook that took a clean label soda from natural to mainstream

Better-for-you soda brand Nixie is breaking into conventional grocery by using natural retail as a velocity-proving ground, expanding shelf presence with merchandising and flavors like cola and root beer and building a direct-store-delivery network to compete with legacy players

When Nixie’s founder Nicole Dawes started brand, the plan to enter conventional grocery after nailing the natural grocery channel wasn’t an afterthought – it was the strategy.

But first, the brand needed proof of consumer demand.

“Anybody that’s a brand, the best thing you can possibly do is learn about your products,” Dawes said. “Learn what your best sellers are, and figure out how to merchandise it. And the more you learn, the better and more successful your launches are going to be.”

That philosophy shaped Nixie’s early growth. The organic, zero-sugar soda brand spent years building traction in the natural channel before pushing into the broader grocery landscape, Dawes explained.

Only after confirming that traction, especially velocity, did the company prepare for conventional retail expansion into nationwide Albertsons/Safeway and Giant, along with regional natural grocers like New Seasons and Raley’s, among others.

“The most important thing is making sure that you really have the velocity to support a larger retail launch,” Dawes said. “Once we felt we had satisfied all of those criteria, we had the confidence to expand our distribution.”

Natural retail as the proving ground

Nixie launched in 2019 and entered stores just before the pandemic, Dawes said. The brand initially focused on natural retail partners including Whole Foods, Sprouts and independent natural grocers around the country.

Those early accounts became a testing ground for product performance and merchandising strategy.

“The most exciting thing that we learned is that our product sells,” Dawes said. “We have velocity that we need to support a broader launch. And we learned what our best sellers were. We learned just how to properly merchandise it and what products we wanted to see on our displays.”

The lessons from those stores ultimately guided how Nixie approached conventional chains.

“What we have found time and time again is that it is not a different shopper,” Dawes said. “If your product sells well in natural, if you’re a top seller, you can expand into conventional.”

But that expansion only works if brands can execute operationally, she added.

“You just have to have the ability to distribute it properly, merchandise it properly and support the launch,” she explained.

Why brand block matters

In soda, which is a high-velocity category dominated by large multinational brands, shelf visibility is everything.

As Nixie prepared to move into conventional grocery, building a larger shelf presence became a priority to stand out from legacy players.

“We had a very small brand block,” she said. “And I think to be successful in this category, you need a larger brand block.”

That meant expanding the product lineup and developing merchandising assets that could support stronger displays in stores.

The company’s focus on classic soda flavors – cola, root beer and cream soda – also plays into that retail strategy.

“Sixty percent or more of modern soda sales is still coming from classic flavors like cola and cream soda,” Dawes says. “We really feel like that’s where we are successful.”

The operational lift of direct store delivery network

One of the biggest operational changes came with distribution.

In natural grocery, brands typically rely on large distributors, Dawes explained. However, conventional soda retail operates differently.

To properly compete, Nixie needed direct store delivery (DSD).

“To really properly service, you need someone in that store almost daily,” Dawes said.

That’s because soda moves quickly, and empty shelves can mean losing space, she added.

“The worst possible thing that can happen is that you have a display or promotion and you sell out,” she said. “Someone is going to come take your space.”

Building that infrastructure has been one of the company’s most challenging and complex scaling efforts.

“You’re dealing with a bunch of independent operators,” Dawes said. “Each one is its own individual contract, its own individual conversation.”

The brand has been expanding its network of DSD partners and hiring sales leadership to manage those relationships as it moves into more markets.

Getting cans into people’s hands

While merchandising and distribution are essential, Dawes said the brand’s growth ultimately comes down to product experience and consumer feedback.

Sampling has been one of the most effective marketing tools.

“We think our products taste great,” she said. “Getting people to actually drink them has a very high return on investment for us.”

Programs that physically put the product into consumers’ hands, like demos, giveaways and activations, have helped accelerate trial, Dawes said.

Building the modern soda playbook

Nixie’s retail strategy reflects Dawes’ long-held belief that taste has to come first, especially for health-focused brands where often taste can come secondary to functional benefits.

For Nixie, that means organic ingredients, zero sugar and no artificial sweeteners, but flavors that still feel familiar to soda drinkers. All of Nixie’s sodas are sweetened with stevia, Dawes said.

The company continues to expand its portfolio, recently launching new flavors like Cherry Cola and Strawberry Cream along with a four-pack format designed to stand out in stores.

The new four-pack format reinforces the retail principle Dawes has focused on since the beginning: making the brand easier to see and easier to buy.

“Our four packs will help us get this bright, visible brand block,” she said. “Plus, we can build displays better with them.”