Great.
Okay, guys, it's 8:00 A.M. Let's get started. I'm Sarang Vora, Equity Analyst at Telsey Advisory Group. It is my pleasure today to host Zevia. As many of you may know, Zevia is a better- for-y ou beverage platform focused on soda, energy drinks, and tea. Last year was an inflection point in their sales, and they continue to do great with improving their product, marketing, and distribution and with me today, we have CEO Amy Taylor, who has helped build this strong brand, and CFO Girish Satya, who has brought in financial stability to the business, so thank you, guys, for being here.
Thanks for having us.
Great. So let me start with the first question on product. It feels like, following you over the years, it feels like Zevia's product has changed a lot. It's much better now than what Zevia used to be two years ago. A lot has changed. So help us understand the product innovation, what's going on behind the scenes from a product standpoint, and all the newness that you brought in in 2025, which is helping you drive good results last year.
Yeah, great. Thanks, Sarang. Good morning, everyone. You're right. Zevia has been around for a while, was a first mover very early on, coming out of the natural channel as a clean-label soda, a soda without any of the scary ingredients and, amazingly, also zero sugar. I think the industry always felt like you couldn't achieve great taste and no sugar with natural ingredients, and that's really the breakthrough that we had when we first came to the market. But to your point, a lot has changed.
Yes.
Fundamentally, on the business, we have really reset the business over the last 18 months to two years, and we'll talk about that through the morning this morning, but we are approaching profitability as we've set that expectation for this year, and there's a lot behind that, and I think Girish will cover some of that today, but let's start with product, as you suggest, so our product, central to soda, is tasting great. I mean, taste is the number one driver of the entire category. And the key breakthroughs that we've had over the last year are a breakthrough in our taste profile, a more sugar-like taste experience. Our primary sweetener is stevia, which is a plant. It's a member of the sunflower family. It grows all around the world, and it doesn't spike the glycemic index. It has zero calories and, obviously, is a zero-sugar product.
But the key is, how does that taste great? And the answer to that question is really the amazing blend of natural ingredients that Zevia now uses and is innovating against. So there's two main things to know about products, Sarang. One is that we've had this breakthrough in our baseline taste that runs through much of our portfolio now. We've had a fundamental improvement in taste to where there's a richer taste experience in our flavors and a reduced, really, no aftertaste, which I think is the breakthrough that folks in the zero-sugar space have been trying to achieve. And we're really pleased with the taste profile of the product that's rolling out this year in 2026. And then secondly, on product, we've really picked up our pace of innovation.
Yeah.
There are two sort of segments of our product portfolio. One is like the legacy classic soda flavors of cola and ginger ale and root beer, kind of all the classics, but with none of the bad stuff and no sugar. The other is really kind of where modern soda or the newer soda profile is going, which is this sort of fruity and creamy and light flavors. Our product now, especially with our breakthrough in a more sugar-like taste experience, can deliver great taste in both of those categories, the classic soda and new innovation.
I guess the one kind of proof point I'll share with you that we're particularly excited about is that most innovation fails. All of the new flavors that we have brought to market in this sort of new era, post sort of resetting the fundamentals of the business and having a breakthrough in our taste profile, have outperformed the legacy portfolio. On that foundation, we're pretty bullish about where we go to from here with product as a major driver.
That's awesome. One of the new flavors, Strawberry Cream, has been a super hit in our household. So it's an every-week purchase for us.
Awesome.
Just on the pace of innovation, last year you had multiple new flavors come in. How do they reset your portfolio into 2026, and then should we expect similar innovation, like newer seasonal flavors, coming as the year goes by?
Yeah, great. So innovation has been a driver of new distribution for us. So we'll talk about distribution in a bit. So as we gain new space, we continue to protect that space with stronger velocities based on some of these new flavors: Strawberry Lemon Burst, Peaches and Cream, the Strawberries and Cream that you mentioned, and several others. So that's been a lot of the growth story, as well as the space story in 2025. In 2026, what you'll see is that one of the flavors that was a big hit as a retailer exclusive, Orange Creamsicle, will be our big new news of this year. And that's similar to Strawberry Lemon Burst. It's just a breakthrough into a new consumer set with a new taste profile. That's an amazing treat with no sugar and the cleanest ingredients out there.
We have fewer ingredients than any soda on the market. So in 2026, you'll see Orange Creamsicle as kind of the hero flavor. And then, yes, you're right. We haven't announced them yet, but you'll see a couple of limited-time offer new flavors. And when we do a limited-time offer, sometimes it's a retailer exclusive that, when it goes really well, becomes next year's new news nationwide. And sometimes it's a little bit more seasonal. Last year's was Salted Caramel, as an example, which is kind of a surprise and a delight treat at the time when most brands are going toward a pumpkin spice.
Yeah.
We zig on the zag with a Salted Caramel, and that's been a big hit from us from a marketing and buzz-building perspective. So more to come.
That's awesome. It's good to have Salted Caramel with no calories in it.
That's right.
Shifting gears, I know you have three or four parts of the key strategy. So I want to hit distribution, which is another major part of the strategy. Last year, we saw a step up in the distribution with your partnership with Walmart. Walmart created this Modern Soda set with better- for- you products, and you were a part of it.
That's right.
Which really transformed your business last year. We saw other retailers follow Walmart, like Albertsons and others, started doing better-for-you aisles, specifically catering to you guys. So help us understand how there is a transition happening to better-for-you .
Yes.
You are a key part of the set going forward. So help us understand how the year transitioned, and how do you see the rollout across broader retail in general?
Sure.
From a distribution standpoint.
Zevia was the darling of the natural channel. And we had a small, loyal base of folks that were kind of ahead of the curve in their health journey, seeking to avoid sugar and looking for clean ingredients. But now, as we all know, this move away from sugar, it's a macro trend. It's here to stay, and it's a mainstream one. It's no longer niche. And I think indicative of that has been Zevia's slow but steady gaining distribution out into sort of the mainstream and conventional channels. And the biggest step change was, as you mentioned, this past year, getting national distribution into Walmart.
Yeah.
And not in sort of a random craft set or a specialty set, but in a mainstream set now called Modern Soda. And we are somewhat of an anchor for that set in Modern Soda at Walmart. We uniquely are the multi-pack brand. So we're a home stocking brand. People trust stocking Zevia in their fridge for their family. Consumers of all ages, and so all family members can drink Zevia across multiple usage occasions and can drink Zevia throughout multiple day parts, right, sort of sessioning, right? There's all kinds of usage occasions still yet untapped and a number of households still yet untapped as we are still new in the game. But I think the success at Walmart has been indicative of what we should expect.
Yeah.
Where soda is going. And so conventional soda today, as you all know, is one of the major drivers of foot traffic and takes up an entire aisle in center aisle and every mainstream grocery store in America. We had someone say to us a few weeks ago, "I can picture in a decade from now or more, maybe, standing in an aisle and seeing what is now called Modern Soda taking up the entire aisle. It is the future of soda." So if that's true, we're really excited to be the multi-pack brand. It's a more affordable, accessible price point than some of our competitors.
It's highly trusted with clean ingredients, again, the fewest of any soda on the market, no sugar, and I think increasingly tastes great, and that's why people choose soda. So building on the Walmart success, as you mentioned, several other major grocers have gone in the same direction, moving toward a better-for-you set. And we should expect that trend to continue slowly but surely.
Yeah.
One regional and national player after another embracing this idea of putting this full set together, and on that foundation, we look for some new distribution in 2026, yes, but really we're focused on driving velocities and cracking open new households.
That's awesome. I feel just by the channel standpoint as well on the distribution side, you have a higher penetration on the natural channel. But it seems like Walmart's also expanding, clubs expanding, and convenience is a very big opportunity that you have a very little penetration. So how do you see that channels evolve over the next few years?
Sure. Yeah, we talk multi-pack, so obviously, because we have such an established multi-pack business and we're a more affordable price point, that lends itself well to, frankly, where the consumer is going more than ever in 2026. The mass channel, the club channel. We have a very competitive e-commerce business, but to your point, the biggest opportunity is singles to drive trial and to welcome new consumers into the franchise, so the upside for us, in addition to closing distribution gaps within mass and within club, there's still some work to do there. The long-term upside is convenience and food service, and as we have entered into some direct store delivery agreements for distribution and route to market in regional footprints, in parallel to that, we've started testing in convenience, and it's early days for the entire category in convenience.
We're not yet seeing breakthrough velocities and presence of this entire category in convenience. But we and our competitors are coming along with three-facings, with six-facings within a convenience store and starting to capture the early adopter among the shoppers in convenience that are looking for a better-for-you product. And so with those learnings, we'll look to scale that over time. I think it will take time for the category and for the brand, but it represents tremendous upside that we haven't even entered those channels when you think about just kind of the build of where the business goes from here just in North America so far.
That makes sense. I feel like the runway for multiple years of distribution is ahead for you.
That's right.
Just shifting again gears to the third part of the strategy, which is marketing. You have done a great job last year with the campaign, "Get the Fake Out of Here," going head-to-head with some of the big cola companies with sugar in it, natural ingredients you guys have. Talk to us about the changed approach to marketing. It seems like you have stepped up influencers. You have stepped up the brand-building activity, repackaging of the brand and the cans and stuff. So talk to us about how marketing has played over the last year. How should we expect it going forward?
We focused on brand and storytelling over the last year. We will continue to scale that as the Radically Real people's champion, a little bit of tongue-in-cheek, a little bit of humor, and very engaging content across channels that are inviting new consumers to try Zevia for the first time. And then in 2026, as you mentioned, we are redesigning the packaging to communicate very overtly our points of differentiation, why Zevia, as well as look really delicious, again, the number one driver of the category being taste, and then, as we mentioned before, innovation and new products being a part of that mix, but on brand building, you'll continue to see our social presence be very distinctive. You'll continue to see use of influencers. We do invest in advertising as just sort of a cut-through approach to driving awareness and trial.
And you'll see the Radically Real people's champion come to life. And I won't ruin the punchline and the surprise over a couple of different big moments this year with a focus on the summer and the rollout of the new packaging, but with some pretty high-profile partners. You hear a lot of new people talking about Zevia. We've got a great story to tell and now a really sharp-looking package and a great tasting product. So it's the perfect time for us to start to step up in marketing, which I think Girish will talk about as we speak to how we're rearranging the P&L and continuing to invest in customer acquisition.
That's great. And yeah, I mean, talking about Girish, I mean, over the past 18 months since you have been here, you have improved the financial stability of the company. The cost-saving initiatives that you rolled out have been really successful. You saved $15 million in cost last year on target to achieve $5 million more in 2026. Talk to us about where you are seeing these cost-saving opportunities last year? Where do you see it coming from in 2026?
Yeah, absolutely. So over the last 18 months, we've been methodically kind of re-engineering the cost structure, and so at the end of 2025, we'll have realized approximately $15 million of annualized cost savings. The way to sort of frame that up is a third of it was from COGS. A third of it was from selling and warehousing expenses, and a third of it was from G&A. We've been really focused on sort of driving improved unit economics, which will allow us, or which has allowed us, rather, to reinvest into promotion and reinvest into brand marketing. There's an incremental $5 million, which again is primarily out of COGS and selling and warehousing that we'll begin to realize in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the total to $20 million.
And I think we've been threading this needle, right, and how do we not only continue to pull cost out, but then put it into customer-facing initiatives, whether again that's promotion spend or brand marketing. And so I think to your point, it's really sort of allowed us to continue to not only drive revenue growth, but also approach that path to profitability that we've been talking about for the last 18 months.
I know that is the next question. Path to profitability. Last year was an inflection in sales. Second quarter onwards, it's been really good for you guys. You have made all these changes. It's working. This year, it seems like we are going to see an inflection in profitability on an annual basis. You could be break-even, slightly positive, as you have said many times on the call. So help us understand these building blocks of path to profitability. Are you seeing improvement in gross margin, which is really good, but you have targets for it, like long-term targets for it? And then also on the cost savings, I know you mentioned about it, but talk to us about that and how marketing kind of evolves into that as well.
Yeah. And I think we've been threading this needle, right?
Yeah.
How do we not only invest to drive customer acquisition, which is incredibly important at this stage of the company's life cycle, but then how do we also ensure that we can maintain financial stability and drive profitability as well? And so as we think about the remaining building blocks, we talked about the incremental $5 million in savings, which will again be a combination of COGS and selling and warehousing. Obviously, everyone's been impacted by tariffs this year or in 2025, and that will be an ongoing headwind. But that being said, the path to profitability actually at this point is relatively straightforward. The incremental $5 million of savings, some modest volume growth, some incremental pricing actions that we're taking in 2026.
Really, when you sort of add all of that up, that really gets you to a place where not only can you sort of drive slightly positive Adjusted EBITDA on an annualized basis, but it continues to give you cushion or availability to invest in customer acquisition, whether that's brand marketing or promotion in 2026 and beyond. And so we're really reaching that point where all the pieces are starting to fall into place.
Makes sense. One exciting topic is energy drinks. And I know you guys have done a great job in building up the soda business, but as you look out on a multi-year basis, like not 2026, but long-term, you have this small penetration of energy drinks in your portfolio, which also could become a big segment in the industry. And there is an opportunity on the clean label, zero-calorie to gain share on the energy drink side as well. So help us understand where are the energy drinks right now? How do you think about the portfolio? And where should we see? When should we see the stronger growths?
Yeah, so little-known fact, Zevia has an energy drink. It's been around for a few years, very popular in sort of the fitness set and the performance and health-focused set. And it's a nice, healthy, and profitable business for us in the natural channel and in e-commerce. And so it represents real future opportunity. And I think what's happened on the macro is that increasingly a health-conscious consumer is willing to approach this category. That would not have been the case in the past. For those of you that don't know, I spent 20 years as the Chief Marketing Officer for Red Bull. And so let me tell you that that was not the case. That consumer was not interested in a clean-label product. But increasingly, that's changed in the macro.
And at the same time, we've now set up the performance of our company and the strength of our brand to be able to shift gears and drive focus and resources against launching an energy drink into the mainstream, so today, we're focused on building awareness and trial of our soda product and really continuing to drive that flywheel, drive growth, and extend the size of that user base, but on that foundation, with that brand reputation secured, we can parlay that into the energy drinks category and sort of react to what is increasingly a really exciting opportunity.
That is a potential energy drink consumer that's looking for a trusted and clean-label product, so natural ingredients and no sugar with sufficient caffeine for a pick-me-up for different use occasions, so think about that as upside. It's a good business for us in natural and e-commerce today, but we think there's significant upside to be more competitive and focused in that space.
No, that makes sense. Girish and Amy both, we often from a financial side look at quarter-to-quarter earnings. One-year 2026 outlook is probably coming out very soon for you guys. But I mean, the question is about how do you think the long term of the business, where do you see the opportunity beyond 2026 to drive that sustainable growth? I feel like on the distribution side, as you said, there's convenience, there's under-penetration in some of the categories. Seems like energy is there. Can you help us some of the building blocks for driving this sustainable growth that drives even beyond 2026 and gives confidence to investors in the story?
Yeah. No, that's a great question. I think you're right. We do sometimes get lost in the quarter-to-quarter fluctuations. But I think if you take a broader lens and you look at the last 18 months, we have been on a pretty significant transformation journey. And I think over those 18 months, we've re-engineered the product, we've re-engineered the packaging, we've re-engineered the supply chain, we've re-engineered the organizational structure. We're sort of at the tail end of that journey, and we have a couple more moves to make. But when we sort of look into 2026, we'll sort of finally have all the pieces in place to really begin to accelerate growth.
With only 4% household penetration, and as you've noted, significant distribution white space across food service, across convenience, and even across our core grocery channels, we're very excited about the fact that once we have all the pieces in place, we can really begin to accelerate growth. And I think as Amy mentioned, we've also really re-architected the brand. And I think there's a much clearer value proposition that we can communicate to the consumer. And so again, we're looking forward to the summer where we can really start to engage with our content partners and external parties to really sort of drive that message and drive that household penetration.
So I think as we look into 2027 and beyond, whether it's incremental growth from energy drinks, incremental growth from household penetration or distribution gains, there's a massive runway for this business. I think again, being multi-pack, being really the only clean-label offering, and then being at an affordable price point really sets us up in a differentiated way from the competitive set, which again, I think speaks to the broader and unique opportunity that we have to play a pretty sizable role in the overall better-for-you soda space.
No, that's great. I know we are almost up on two-minute time. So let me ask you last question. Any puts and takes? What is often misunderstood by the investors about the story? It seems like you mentioned about the turnaround that's taking place. What is often misunderstood by the investor that you think? And then second, any puts and takes we should be mindful of for 2026?
Yeah. I mean, we're obviously still in our quiet period, so I'm going to refrain from giving any specific guidance on 2026. But I think again, as we mentioned about, as we just talked about, I think we are in this pretty broad-based transformation, and we're kind of exiting it at this point. And I think that's where maybe people haven't appreciated kind of how broad-based the transformation really has been and how we're really sort of setting ourselves up to create this inflection point, not only in growth, but also in profitability over the next 12 months. And so I think we're at a really exciting point in the transformation and in the journey. And we're excited about kind of the next phase of accelerating growth in the back half and beyond.
That's awesome.
Sarang. As you think about the opportunity broadly, maybe something else that folks miss is the size of the problem there is to be solved and how perfectly Zevia solves it. What do I mean by that? There are millions upon millions upon millions of consumers that drink a conventional diet soda and kind of hate themselves for it or are trying to get off of it. There's a big contingent of consumers who previously, and they're usually younger, didn't enter the category at all and now have been given permission to do so. With tremendous source of volume coming in from conventional soda, also from sparkling water around which there's a lot of flavor fatigue, we bring a clean label product that has the nutritional profile of sparkling water, but the rewarding treat-like taste of soda.
And that today, with less than 5% household penetration, as we now finally can start to invest in marketing with a strong brand that relates to the Radically Real consumer, all those people that are looking to keep it real in their health choices, in their day-to-day choices, but also want a treat, we can communicate now the opportunity for them to enter this franchise and start to drive trial on a much larger scale because of the work that's been done over the last couple of years to set that foundation to be able to invest.
So I think that big picture may sometimes be lost. There's tremendous category tailwinds. There's a big problem to be solved. And our affordable, great-tasting option, which has fewer ingredients than any soda on the market, is really the solution. So as we break into mainstream distribution and invest in marketing and trial, we're really excited about the several years ahead of growth that we have in front of us.
That's so awesome. Can't wait to see the story over the multi-year basis. Thank you so much.