Eating Niagara: Niagara-made vodka soda paws its way onto market

When Gareth Imrie joked to Brian Moulder that he didn’t like dogs, it nearly cost him a friendship before it began.

The two Niagara men, who had only just met while sharing a workspace in the local spirits industry, were driving together in April 2019 when Imrie made the crack that nearly stopped the ride and the budding friendship in its tracks.

“He had just told me how much he loved his dog and his dog was his best friend. I was trying to get a rise out of him,” Imrie recalled. “He just went quiet when I told him I didn’t like dogs. I found out months later he wanted to kick me out of his car.”

Fortunately, it didn’t take Imrie that long to patch things over. He really did like dogs — loved them, in fact — including his family’s black lab, Maisey, whom Imrie had raised from a pup.

The friendship continued to bloom after a few awkward moments. And a few weeks later, so, too, did an idea that would enable the duo to show exactly how much they appreciate the canine crowd and all animals.

Together, they launched Pawsitive Spirits, a vodka soda brand made in Niagara Falls that donates a portion of sales to animal shelters, sanctuaries and charities throughout Ontario.

The venture tapped into Moulder’s skills as a distiller and Imrie’s as a production director for another beverage startup. It also channelled past experiences, including Moulder’s as an animal control officer, into something, well, pawsitive.

“We decided to marry our love of dogs and beverage manufacturing,” Imrie said. “Our angle was, we really wanted to make a difference at the same time.”

The low-calorie sodas launched last winter. The inaugural flavour, Bernese Black Cherry, comes in a 355-millilitre can decked out with the mug of Stella, a Bernese mountain dog belonging to a family friend.

The first recipient of proceeds was the Ontario SPCA, which received $550 for its Northern Dogs initiative. That was followed by a similar donation to Pets Alive, a Niagara foster-based rescue charity.

All in, it’s the kind of concept that Imrie and Moulder knew would get tongues wagging.

For starters, the ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail category, which their vodka sodas fall into, is growing faster than Stella did as a pup.

The global RTD market is anticipated to reach US $1.63 billion by 2027 with an annual growth rate of more than 12 per cent between now and then, according to American market research firm, Grand View Research.

Credit for those drool-inducing numbers comes largely from health-conscious millennial drinkers who are thirsty for premium, convenient low-alcohol drinks.

At four per cent alcohol, Pawsitive Spirits has both bark and bite.

What sets it apart, however, is the charitable mission, helped along by Stella and Moulder’s yellow lab, Thor, who’s part of the official Pawsitive Spirits logo. It’s the kind of marketing and corporate social responsibility that creates the brand loyalty needed to help a startup claw its way into a competitive market.

“The companies that do well are those that form a community,” Imrie said. “This what we tapped into. We wanted to form that community and anyone who’s a dog lover, who sees the can, it stands out.

“What we hear all the time is it takes five years to be successful,” he added. “We understand that. We’re motivated more than ever because we know what the idea means to us. Sure, there’s a business to run and we have to pay the bills but we feel great knowing that we’re (helping).”

The plan is support a different registered charity or non-profit animal organization each month. Proceeds from sales in August will go to Happy’s Place, a senior dog rescue in Strathroy.

Though sales of Pawsitive Spirits are online only right now (pawsitivespirits.ca), the goal is to get onto shelves in the LCBO. After that, the trio is eying Alberta, with its privatized liquor stores, before trying their paws at British Columbia and, eventually availability nationwide.

Meanwhile, they’re adding new flavours. There will be four flagships in the Pawsitive pack, including a soon-to-be-released passion fruit-mango flavour featuring creative director Kaitlynn Steele’s potcake, Melmac, rescued from the Cayman Islands. Labrador lemon-lime and a concoction starring a shepherd mascot are on deck.

There may be a cat on a can one day, too.

“We’ve had a lot of requests for cats,” Imrie said. “The harsh reality of the business side is releasing new flavours. We might have some kind of limited edition for cats. That would be wonderful.”

But not as wonderful as the ultimate goal for Pawistive Spirits: to help as many dogs, cats and their four-legged ilk as possible in Canada and around the world. That includes one day having an adoption organization of their own, with each animal adorning a can.

“This isn’t limited to just dogs,” Imrie said. “We’re united in our love for animals and I think now more than ever, we need to find ways to give back.”