If you love hard seltzer but prefer a dry, crisp beverage rather than a sugary drink high in calories, you’re not alone. For people like Julius Makarewicz, the owner of Canadian company Nude Beverages, this same preference inspired him to create a drink that’s both refreshing and health-conscious.
“I found myself trying to eat healthy and trying to work out and take care of myself, but come the weekend, everything kind of flew out the window,” Makarewicz says.
Only seeing high-calorie beverages, he was determined to create an alternative for consumers, much like how sugarless sparkling waters such as La Croix and Bubly offered an alternative to sugary soft drinks.
“I just saw the gap in the market for a better-for-you alcoholic beverage,” Makarewicz says.
Although the idea of a healthy, sugarless hard seltzer came to Makarewicz in 2013, it wasn’t until 2017 that Nude Beverages officially launched.
To perfect the recipe, Makarewicz worked with an award-winning natural beverage developer to find the best flavors. The result is a crisp beverage with only 100 calories per can, zero sugars, and zero carbs, and with flavors such as classic lime, peach, mango, and raspberry lemon.
“Raspberry lemon is my favorite, followed by classic lime because classic lime tastes exactly like a vodka soda,” Makarewicz says.
He also suggests that if you have a sweet tooth, this drink may not be for you. “It’s definitely not sweet unlike other hard seltzers on the market,” Makarewicz says. “We have no sugar whatsoever, so it’s very crisp and dry and very refreshing.”
After launching in Canada in July of 2017, Makarewicz has turned his company’s attention toward the U.S., starting with Bellingham, a move he says is a logical one given the city’s location.
“Bellingham has a great market…we know Bellingham, our team knows it because we have been to Bellingham so much…we grew up driving down to Bellingham, so it’s easy to launch,” he says.
Makarewicz also uses Nude Beverages as a way to give back to the community, specifically animal rescues. Nude Beverages has partnered with the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to raise money.
“We are big into animal rescue, we donated over $100,000 with a goal of a million dollars by 2023,” he says.
As for the future, Makarewicz hopes his company becomes the number one ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage in North America. For now, you can find Nude at Haggen and select gas stations, markets, liquor stores, and tap houses across Whatcom and Skagit counties.
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