Norman, my COO in the photo below, says that the Soap Queen blog is getting too business based and that I should start blogging more on crafts. I promise, next week will be more crafty. I’m making some cool soap projects this weekend (frosted salty caramel ice cream bath cupcakes) and painting my stairwell pistaschio green and brown. So, next week will be all about both projects, I promise. By the way, that’s me and Norm, at the cockpit of a non-functional Fed Ex plane. He still is trying to look like he’s in charge (notice the hands on the steering wheel).
But in the meantime, ack! Did you see that our own Seattle brand, Jone’s Soda is being dumped by Starbucks, another local fave? The official word is that Jone’s Soda is being pulled because Starbucks needs to make more room for refrigerated food on their shelves.
But, when you dig a little deeper, Starbucks is not dumping Izze, the Jone’s competitor. Why not? After all, getting rid of a few Jones Soda bottles doesn’t make room for much more than one more lunch item But, dig down a little deeper and find that surprise, Izze is owned by Pepsi. And guess who sits on Starbucks board? A former Pepsi exec sits on Starbucks board. Additionally, Starbucks has a distribution agreement with Pepsi to distribute the pre-bottled Frappuccino bottles that you see in stores.
So, what does this mean to Jones Soda? With their much ballyhooed deal with Seahawks, they were riding the high buzz wave. And, Starbucks only makes up 1 to 3% of their total sales. But, Starbucks was a buzz builder, with lots of foot traffic. And what’s the instricic value of associating with a successful, do-gooder brand like Starbucks?
The analysts are wobbling a little with one saying that the major sell off after the Starbuck’s news makes Jone’s a good buy. At a 83 Price to Earnings Ratio, it’s an expensive buy. I’m still interested though. The management team appears strong, the company has been in business for 20 years and they have strong street cred, which has proven instrumental to bringing the tipping point of favorable consumer habits.
I tried out the myjones.com site and personalized Cream Soda and Blue Bubblegum soda. Those goodies should be coming next week. I’m excited to see how the photo and printing quality is.
Forbes.com did a great 3 part series on the CEO of Jones Soda. The term “series” is probably giving it more credit than it’s due. Each part is about 3 minutes, but it’s still a very informative 3 minutes. Check it out here.
I’m rooting for the local guy to make it past this setback. After all, who else has Turkey & Gravy soda flavor?
