A Spindrift Q&A with Drew from our Innovation Team

Every batch of Spindrift is proudly made the hard way with real squeezed fruit. That means we start by sourcing the best-tasting fruit from the farms, orchards, groves, vineyards that grow and harvest them. To find the best-tasting fruit, we search worldwide and build strong relationships with suppliers who align with our mission.  

To learn more about all the hard work and care that goes into sourcing fruit for new and upcoming flavors, we sat down with Drew, Associate Director, Innovation Sourcing. 

Hi Drew! What do you do at Spindrift? 

I help find the best tasting and most interesting ingredients for new product development. 

In your role, who is the hero and who is the villain? 

Mother nature can be both. When things go well, she produces an abundance of delicious fruit for us to play with. On the flip side, weather, climate, pests, etc. Can all affect our ability to source the highest quality ingredients. We work tirelessly to ensure we are prepared for what mother nature can throw our way.  

What weird acronym or lingo do you say and what does it mean? 

I say "NFC" probably 50 times a day and it means "not from concentrate." 

What's a challenging or "proudly made the hard way" part of your job? 

All the work behind the scenes that goes into making sure that we are sourcing only the highest quality, real ingredients from the best suppliers in the world. There’s such an unexpected level of complexity, thought, and care required in that. So many people at Spindrift go to such great lengths to make sure the color, aroma, taste and overall quality of what we put into every can of Spindrift meets or exceeds our consumer’s expectations.  

In your area of expertise, what does Spindrift do that's different than others? 

Because we use real ingredients, our team puts so much work into finding only the best tasting, highest quality version of whatever we’re trying to find. Our product is a true representation of the fruit.   

What's something you have to do “the hard way”? 

Sourcing for new product development. When we go into a development round, we sample hundreds of new ingredients that we think might be delicious or interesting. Then we meticulously narrow those down to only the best of the best. This requires a ton of research, effort, and coordination but ultimately sets us apart in that we truly feel confident that the products we are developing are best-in-class.  

What 3 things are always in your fridge? 

Fresh-squeezed orange juice, farmers market haul, sourdough starter. 

What flavor are you sipping on repeat right now? 

For sure Grapeade and Island Punch. 

What’s your favorite Spindrift pairing? 

Grapefruit and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a homemade sourdough everything bagel. Huge breakfast guy over here.  

Thanks, Drew!

To learn more about how Spindrift is proudly made the hard way, check out our other interviews with teammates and watch our brand film to see what originally inspired Bill to start Spindrift and how that ethos keeps us going today.