A chance sighting of a billboard that prompted joking around with friends led to an innovative product for Dillon Dandurand ‘10.
The Not Beer founder created a fun new way to hydrate with his sparkling water, Not Beer.
“I was driving down the highway with a friend, and we saw a sign for a non-alcoholic, no sugar, zero calorie beer, and I was wondering at what point is it not beer anymore,” Dandurand said “Then I made a joke about branding sparkling water as Not Beer.”
This joke became a reality once Dandurand realized there was a gap in the market for a quality water that appeals to consumers in the same way as classic beer brands. At a concert Dandurand bought a can of Liquid Death which he connected to his joke.
“I end up drinking three or four cans, and then I go to another concert, three weeks later, I order another water, and this time it said Ozarka,” Dandurand said. “It’s in a bottle of thin plastic. I have to twist open the cap. The label starts peeling off and the bottle is crumbling in my hand. I’m not feeling any of those good feelings that I’m talking about. In fact, I feel the opposite. I feel I’ve given up on having fun, and I feel ostracized from the party. What a difference in the consumer experience based on the psychology, and the psychology is driven by the packaging, the branding, the marketing and, very importantly, the ritual.”
Due to his experience, Dandurand was able to take his idea and exploit the market of those who want this consumer experience, but with water.
“I was geting a lot of these benefits but none of the downsides, it wasn’t making my anxiety worse the next day,” Dandurand said. “So I thought, that’s a great experience.”
After truning his idea into reality, Dandurand took a deep look at the psychology behind these brands and the environment they create.
“What a lot of drink companies do is, they sell us confidence, fun, relaxation and inclusion,” Dandurand said. “When you’re at a party and you’ve got a drink in your hand, whether it’s lemonade, sprite, root beer or beer, it’s kind of a shared experience. You feel the bond with other people, whereas if you’re just holding a plastic bottle of water, you’re not feeling that nice inclusive feeling.”
Many of these big drink companies, such as Coca-Cola, use red to attract consumers, and this inspired Dandurand to do the same for his brand.
“The color red is super important to us, red is the most eye-catching color to humans, and it’s not really used in the sparkling water category,” Dandurand said. “So there’s an opportunity to own that color and really make a statement when you’re on the shelf, which is important to catch the consumers. And so the red is crucial for us.”
Along with bottling Not Beer in Texas, Dandurand believes the color red also helps associate Not Beer with American values.
“The red, white and blue aspect to American sparkling water, leaning into the Americana aspect,” Dandurand said. “And then ‘Never a Bad Time’ is really important to us. So we looked at beer brands and, how do they talk about their product? And what they do is they create a fantasy world? When you crack open their products, you’ve entered into this fantasy world where it’s all good. There is never a bad time to drink Not Beer. You can drink it in the morning, you can drink it at night. you can drink it during class. You can even drink it while you’re driving. There’s never a bad time to drink Not Beer, and you will never have a bad time drinking Not Beer.”
To help further imitate this ritual, Dandurand has modified the standard carbonation levels to make a less harsh, more enjoyable experience.
“So it’s actually less carbonated than most sparkling water,” Dandurand said. “Most sparkling water is quite highly carbonated, so there’s a scale, and most sparkling water is around 3.5. We’re much lower than that, we intentionally went the opposite direction, and it’s less carbonated, and also has a mineral blend, which gives it a softer mouthfeel.”
Dandurand believes this mouthfeel helps to contribute to the same ritual associated with other beverage brands.
Those who know of Not Beer will be excited to hear of its upcoming variety of new flavors.
“It’s lemon-lime, black cherry and red-white-and-blue, inspired by the Bomb Pop,” Dandurand said.
Dandurand wants these new flavors to have intensity while remaining true to the brand.
“I always like it in the middle: more flavorful than a La Croix, but certainly not a soda,” Dandurand said.
Dandurand has put Not Beer on the shelves in United Supermarkets, Market Street, Brookshires and he has begun a trial launch with HEB with desires to expand into other grocery stores and grow the market for sparkling water as a whole.
“I don’t take the view that it’s you or me, a zero sum game; there can be multiple winners,” Dandurand said. “We can all be successful. We can grow the category together.”
As his company grows, Dandurand has found that the life skills he has learned here at St. Mark’s have been an enormous factor in his success.
“St. Mark’s is obviously a huge part of my life. I think the experience at St Mark’s really gives you the tools to be successful,” Dandurand said. “Learning how to solve problems, learning how to write well, learning how to work hard, learning how to communicate clearly, both verbally and written, interacting with various different types of people. I think it’s been a huge advantage and. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. I think it’s laid the foundation for doing well in college and then, and then doing well after college. I think just as important is the friends that you could make at St Mark’s, you surround yourself with smart, hardworking, ambitious people, and that’s that’s amazing.”
