Longevity requires a brand’s willingness to reinvent itself, a lesson Alex Matthews, serial entrepreneur and founder of Mexican soda brand De La Calle, knows all too well. In 2023, Alex was forced to make changes to continue growing De La Calle’s audience and hit revenue goals.
Below, Alex shares more about how the beverage company underwent a strategic repositioning and why it was a natural evolution of his brand’s journey.
De la Calle’s original position
“De La Calle” means “from the street” in Spanish, and is a company rooted in the rich traditions and flavors of Mexico. Founded in 2021, De La Calle initially aimed to bring the traditional Mexican drink tepache (a fermented beverage made from pineapple rinds and typically sold by street vendors) to the U.S. market. Alex’s co-founder Rafael Martín del Campo is originally from Mexico City and had a family recipe he learned to make from his grandmother, which became the foundation for De La Calle.
Initially, the product was positioned as a premium fermented drink similar to kombucha. “Tepache is a fermented drink that originated on the streets of Mexico,” Alex explains. “It’s good for your gut, it tastes great, and it has that Mexican flavor.”
But the company quickly realized that this positioning might be too niche for the overall U.S. market, which was unfamiliar with tepache. Though de la Carre was confident in the product, the brand message needed to be simplified. “Not a complete revolution, but a slight change to simplify the description,” Alex says.
The rebranding process
The company decided to pivot from a fermented drink to a “Mexican soda.” This new positioning aimed to unlock existing demand from both general American consumers and the growing number of Latinos in the U.S. who are already familiar with Mexican soda. “We think that by describing it as a Mexican soda, we can tap into a lot of the existing demand from second and third generation Latinos, as well as other ethnic groups,” says Alex.
The company took great care in the rebranding process, revamping the packaging to make “Mexican Soda” more prominent and simplifying the can design. Alex said that one of the key questions he always asks during a rebranding process is, “Does the packaging deliver the best possible results without overdoing it on attributes?”
Adjustment of production and distribution strategies
Part of the rebranding strategy also included lowering the price from $3.29 at Whole Foods to $2.49 at more affordable retailers to make the product more available to a wider customer base. “We realized that in order to be a Mexican soda, we had to be a little more strategic about who we were targeting,” Alex said, explaining that they wanted to sell their products where customers were already shopping. This strategic shift meant continuing growth at Whole Foods, Kroger and other chains, in addition to being carried in Latino grocers like Superior and Cardenas Market.
To make the new pricing sustainable, De La Calle also had to change production and distribution. The company made its drinks shelf-stable, so they no longer needed to ship them in refrigerated boxes or sell them in store coolers. By leveraging economies of scale and optimizing its supply chain, De La Calle was able to make its products more affordable while maintaining quality.
Authentic yet open to a wider market
Ultimately, De La Calle’s rebranding was not just about changing the product’s look but also about aligning it with the brand’s mission and a broader demographic. By positioning De La Calle as a contemporary Mexican soda, Alex Matthews and his team paved the way for greater market penetration and consumer acceptance.
“What’s interesting is how switching just a few words — from ‘Tepache’ to ‘Mexican Soda’ — sparks a change of direction and makes it feel more simplified and defined for the consumer,” Alex said, highlighting the power of a subtle rebranding.
To learn more about de la Calle’s rebranding journey, listen to the full interview with Alex. Shopify Master.
