Amidst the cacophony of craft beer, boxed water, artisan roasted coffee and micro-distilleries, there is a new beverage in town that is cutting an impressive swath in the land of West Michigan startups.
Proper Soda is the all natural ingredient, hop-infused soda created by Stephen Curtis in 2012. In a very short time since launch, the two-person operation has managed to get Proper Soda into about 60 stores in Michigan (Grand Rapids, Lansing and Holland), secured a distribution deal with Kent Beverage, and most recently has been picked up by Alpha Beer Distributing and Point Blank Distributing in the Pacific Northwest. In what's perhaps the coolest of all its accomplishments, Proper Soda will be the official soft drink of Portland's minor league baseball team, The Hops.
Curtis says he's not really surprised that Portland and Seattle are the first markets outside of Michigan to pick up Proper Soda: "We both grow hops. We both have a prevalent craft beer culture, have similar climates" and, he adds with a smile, "appreciate the finer things in life."
There are several other significant developments in the works for Proper Soda. Curtis has an update night scheduled for May 22 at Start Garden (from which he has already received a$25,000 investment), is close to adding distribution to the Traverse City area, has several international inquiries, and will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a new flavor of soda in a couple of weeks.
To learn more about Proper Soda you can visit their site
here or 'like" their Facebook page to follow their progress.
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
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