CEO Rian McCartan shares how the beverage chain is capitalizing on being a category of one.
One of the hottest restaurant categories today is drive-thru coffee, with brands like Dutch Bros, 7 Brew, and Scooter’s quickly expanding across the country. But those chains aren’t alone in the drive-thru-only, caffeinated-beverage space. In fact, another brand has a much less crowded path toward national expansion.
Swig, the Utah-based concept with 59 locations in seven states, offers soda-based beverages that leverage the likes of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr Pepper and mix in creams, purees, and other ingredients. This distinct menu — which also includes energy drinks and water-based options — has helped Swig make a name for itself and ink franchise deals for hundreds of locations. CEO Rian McCartan believes Swig has “runway for days.”
McCartan joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to talk about how the brand plans to capitalize on essentially infinite runway and how it manages to do the unthinkable: work with both of the soda titans, Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
In this conversation, you’ll learn more about why:
The first rule of expansion is to remember your roots
You can be highly technical and highly personable at the same time
Scarcity marketing can be a successful growth strategy
Beverage concepts will always find an audience, but they must be unique and relevant to survive
By tapping into customers’ emotional relationship to products, you build trust and show those customers that you’re listening to them
Contact Sam Oches at [email protected].
.jpg?width=100&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale "Picture of Sam Oches")
.jpg?width=400&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale "Sam Oches")
