Talking Rain

Talking Rain is a privately held beverage company based in Preston, Washington that manufactures still and sparkling waters. Sparkling Ice accounts for the majority of their business.

Talking Rain
IndustryConsumer packaged goods
Founded1987
Headquarters
Preston, Washington
,
United States
Key people
[1]
ProductsTalking Rain Waters, Sparkling Ice
Number of employees
250-500[2]
Websitewww.talkingrain.com
Sparkling Ice design trademark

History

Talking Rain was founded in 1987[1] by John Stevens and Pete Hiskin in Bellevue, Washington. The company was bought 6 months later by investors Lawrence Hebner, Donald Kline, and Donald Jasper for $300,000.[3] In 1992, the company began production of Sparkling Ice.[4] They also moved to their current location in Preston, Washington that same year.

In 2014, Kevin Durant, the former Oklahoma City Thunder forward, signed an endorsement deal with Sparkling Ice under Roc Nation Sports.[5][6]

In 2014, 2015, and 2016, the company was recognized in the Inc. 5000 list.[7]

In August 2017, Talking Rain signed a distribution agreement with Tata Global Beverages to distribute Himalayan mineral water in the U.S.[8]

In 2018, Talking Rain launched a rebranded bottle label and changed the Sparkling Ice formula to include colors from natural sources.[9]

Kevin Klock was president and CEO of the company from 2010 to 2017; he left abruptly after alleged accusations of sexual harassment by a former Talking Rain employee.[10] The company told BevNET the case was dismissed.[9] Marcus Smith was interim CEO until April 2018, when Chris Hall took over the position, and Smith became president of the company.[9]

In 2018, at 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, Talking Rain announced a yearlong sponsorship of the NHRA Top Fuel Dragster driven by Leah Pritchett.[11]

In January 2019, company introduced voice skill for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for consumers to check Sparking Ice cocktail and mocktail recipes.[12]

According to Nielsen, as of June 15, 2019, Sparkling Ice had about $500 million in annual retail sales with a 14.9% increase in year-to-date dollar sales.[13]

In April 2022, COO Ken Sylvia was promoted to CEO.[14]

Products

In 2006, they launched two more products, Twist and ActivWater, which were produced until 2011, when Talking Rain decided to focus their business on the Sparkling Ice; this year, Talking Rain generated $60 million in revenue, up 140% from the year before. In 2013, the beverage represented 95% of the company's sales.[3][4][15]

In October 2018, Talking Rain released a caffeinated version of Sparkling Ice.[16] Sparking ice contains artificial sweetener sucralose and artificial coloring, and as such, a nutritionist writing for Today recommended "leaving it on the shelf" in an article comparing different sparkling water products.[17]

In May 2020, the company launched an alkaline water, Talking Rain Essentials Hydration Water in collaboration with Waterboys which was relaunched in 2021 as Talking Rain AQA.[18]

References
  1. "About ยท Talking Rain". Talking Rain. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  2. "Kevin Klock is out as Talking Rain CEO", Puget Sound Business Journal, March, 10, 2017
  3. Strauss, Karsten. "Turning Water Into Cash: The Unlikely Success Of Talking Rain". Forbes. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  4. Garnic, Coral (January 21, 2014). "Sparkling ICE's big splash revives TalkingRain". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  5. "KD signs major Roc Nation-negotiated deal". ESPN.com. July 15, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  6. "Kevin Durant signs with Sparkling Ice". ABC7 San Francisco. July 15, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  7. "Talking Rain Beverage Company: Number 2711 on the 2016 Inc. 5000". Inc.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  8. "Talking Rain, Tata Beverages Strike DSD Alliance". Consumer Goods Technology. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  9. "Under New CEO, Talking Rain Charts Path to Growth - BevNET.com". BevNET.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  10. "CEO of Talking Rain Beverage fired after sexual assault, lawsuit contends", Seattle Times, November 8, 2017
  11. "Sparkling Ice Announces Sponsorship of NHRA Top Fuel Driver Leah Pritchett". BevNET.com. February 26, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  12. "Sparkling Ice Adds Amazon, Google Voice Skills". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  13. "When The Bubble's Bursting: Inside LaCroix's Decline". BevNET.com. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  14. "Talking Rain promotes Sylvia to CEO". www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  15. "Ice on Fire | Seattle Business Magazine". seattlebusinessmag.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  16. "Sparkling Ice debuts caffeinated line". BevIndustry. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  17. "How healthy is your flavored sparkling water? A nutritionist weighs in". TODAY.com. July 21, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  18. "Talking Rain Essentials Hydration Water". www.bevindustry.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.