SEATTLE - No time for turkey? Craving
gravy to go? Then give thanks for the hottest creation from a
Seattle company: turkey and gravy flavored soda.
The Jones Soda Co. produced about 6,000 bottles of its
Thanksgiving-themed drink, and then sold out its supply in less than
two hours online last week.
A limited number of Turkey & Gravy sodas will be available in
stores for the suggested retail price of 99 cents a pop, but only
around Seattle and Olympia, Wash. A few entrepreneurs are selling
theirs on eBay.com; by Tuesday, the bidding was up to $63 for a
two-bottle set.
"It just kind of exploded," said a bewildered Michelle Whitehead,
marketing assistant at the Seattle-based premium soda company. "To
be honest, we really didn't think so many people would want it."
When company founder and chief executive officer Peter van Stolk
suggested the new flavor, Whitehead thought he was kidding. Jones
Soda Co., founded in 1996, produces quirky soda flavors ranging from
old-fashioned cream and cherry to neon-bright blue bubble gum and
green apple.
"I really believe sodas are fun. They're a treat," van Stolk
said. He plans to donate all of the proceeds from sales of Turkey
& Gravy Soda to the Toys for Tots charity, and will personally
match that donation.
So how does it taste?
Mary Turner, a radio DJ in Lansing, Mich., who is auctioning off
a bottle of the soda for charity, has sampled the product and warns
that it's not for the faint of stomach:
"If you roasted a turkey and mashed potatoes, put it in a
blender, left it out for three days and then poured it into a Jones
bottle, you'd know exactly what this drink tastes like!"
For the record, even van Stolk can't stomach an entire bottle.
Still, he said, "It's been a lot of fun."