From Kitchen Cocktails to National Acclaim: A 7-Year Journey with Sovereign Flavors

In August 2018, a website inquiry landed at Sovereign Flavors. It came from a husband and wife team with no prior beverage industry experience. The husband was working full-time in manufacturing; the wife was his biggest supporter. Together, they had a bold idea: take their handcrafted cocktail recipe and turn it into a commercially viable ready-to-drink (RTD) product.

What they needed wasn’t just a flavor house—they needed a partner who could guide them from idea to execution.

Building a Brand from the Ground Up

We began by developing two or three flavors they were personally passionate about. But as the collaboration deepened, our product development team drew on insights from our lab and knowledge of industry trends to recommend broader flavor innovation.

Over time, this early-stage kitchen concept grew into more than 14 commercial SKUs, all formulated at our Santa Ana facility.

This was no small feat—it required deep collaboration, iteration, and trust:

• 155+ flavor sample requests delivered
• Over 1,100 emails exchanged
• Consistent refinement of flavor profiles and formulations

From Local Favorite to National Player 

What started as a small-batch beverage has since scaled into one of the most recognized names in the RTD space.

In just a few short years, production grew from 52,000 cans in 2019 to a projected 100 million+ cans in 2025, with expected annual revenue of well above $125 million by year’s end. 

The brand’s rise didn’t go unnoticed. In 2024, it was ranked #1 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America—achieving a staggering 27,174% growth rate over three years. It was also named the #1 Fastest-Growing Food & Beverage Company in the nation by Inc., and recognized as the #1 Fastest-Growing Spirits Company Globally. The brand earned the prestigious Wine & Spirits Hot Brand Award three years in a row (2022, 2023, and 2024), further cementing its momentum. In 2025, that trajectory continued as it was ranked the #2 Fastest-Growing Spirits Company Globally.

Taste, Recognition, and Impact

Their product was named the best canned cocktail at a national sampling tour stop in Milwaukee, beating out major legacy brands. The founders were highlighted as “Entrepreneurs to Watch,” and the brand has been profiled in Forbes, Maxim, and USA Today for its unique position in reshaping the spirits-based RTD category.

All of this with limited distribution and a grassroots approach to growth.

A Testament to Collaboration

This success story reflects what Sovereign Flavors is all about: long-term, high-touch partnerships that help entrepreneurs evolve from idea to industry. We bring more than flavor—we bring experience, insight, and strategy to help brands scale smartly.

If you’re building a beverage brand and need a partner who’s with you from the first sample to national shelf space—we’re ready.

Ready to get started? Let’s create something extraordinary together.