November 26, 2025 • 22 mins
Scott Ball, President of FiiZ Drinks, joins Fast Casual Nation to break down how the fastest-growing specialty soda franchise went from 50 to 70+ locations and sold over 200 units in just one year. The former Dunkin' franchisee reveals the secrets behind FiiZ's low-cost buildout model (half the price of competitors), why 80-85% of sales come through drive-thru, and how customers are visiting 5 times per week for customized dirty sodas. From 700 sq ft prototypes to Walmart partnerships, Ball shares the blueprint for beverage franchise success and why legacy brands like McDonald's and White Castle are jumping into the dirty soda category. If you're in the restaurant business, this is the beverage trend you can't afford to ignore.
#DirtySoda #FranchiseGrowth #RestaurantBusiness
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Don't wait – amplify your voice or supercharge your startup's growth today with Savor's ecosystem of industry-leading platforms and advisory services. Visit https://www.savor.fm/capital-advisory
#DirtySoda #FranchiseGrowth #RestaurantBusiness
Get Your Podcast Now! Are you a hospitality or restaurant industry leader looking to amplify your voice and establish yourself as a thought leader? Look no further than SavorFM, the premier podcast platform designed exclusively for hospitality visionaries like you. Take the next step in your industry leadership journey – visit https://www.savor.fm/
Capital & Advisory: Are you a fast-casual restaurant startup or a technology innovator in the food service industry? Don't miss out on the opportunity to tap into decades of expertise. Reach out to Savor Capital & Advisory now to explore how their seasoned professionals can propel your business forward. Discover if you're eligible to leverage our unparalleled knowledge in food service branding and technology and take your venture to new heights.
Don't wait – amplify your voice or supercharge your startup's growth today with Savor's ecosystem of industry-leading platforms and advisory services. Visit https://www.savor.fm/capital-advisory
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Welcome back to another episode of Fast Casual Nation podcast.
Used to be the podcast that started it all, but no,
not today. Today, Fast Casual Nation is the number one
restaurant business podcast in the twenty five big deal in
the entire.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
In the entire universe.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I love it. That's right.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It was the universal podcast ranking, so exactly we were
able to make it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Chera.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
We are joined by none other than mister Scott Ball,
who is the president of Fizz Drinks. How are you, Scott?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I have great beautiful fall morning here in Salt Lake City,
and yeah, we're excited to be here today and excited
to be part of you know, the Fast Casual podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Sure, fastest growing specially soda shop French in the US
right now, you guys are pretty much the birth of
the dirty soda and of course this sector is starting
to really show some growth. We're starting to see some
big opportunities. Scott, let's just jump right into it. Give
us a little bit of rundown of where Fizz is today.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Great, So I've been with Fizz a little over a year,
about fourteen months now, and you know, when I came on,
we were at about fifty or so locations We're up
to over seventy right now. We've got a few more
scheduled open between now and the end of the year.
But the great news is, you know, we've sold over
two hundred units just this year alone, So goodness, we are.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
We're trending fast, and we're excited.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
And you know what people are excited about the whole
you know, Dirty Soda, you know craze going on right now,
which I think is really more than a craze. It's
really an opportunity. And you know, with our business model
and you know, with the excitement around our brand, you know,
we're real excited. And we've we've actually expanded into Cana.
We've opened up in Canada, and we're also exploring other
(02:04):
opportunities internationally as well. But but obviously North America is
a big part of what we do. Obviously we're based
in Salt Lake City, so kind of the birthplace of
Dirty Sodas is Utah. But you know what I'm really
excited about is the concept is doing great in outside
of Utah.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So we've opened up in.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Nevada, we just signed our first deal in California. We're
opening in Washington State, We're in Idaho, We've got our
first door actually in Colorado opening this week. You know,
we've signed deals in Florida, New York, Connecticut, the Midwest.
So we're we're really growing, and we're growing at a
strategic pace, and we're growing at you know, uh bringing
(02:45):
our great franchisees.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
We're franchise models.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
So you know, have you finding those right franchise partners
that understand the restaurant business, that understand, you know, what
it is to run a business, you know, is really
key to our success.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Man, Scott, you came from Duncan, right, I did.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
So I spent fifteen plus years in Dunkin Donuts. I
was a franchise. I had over twenty locations in the
Florida market. But I also was part of the brand
Advisory Council. So I was on the council that was
part of, you know, all the strategic planning, whether it
was product innovation, marketing ops.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
So yeah, so I've been in this industry a long time.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
You know, even before Duncan, I was with the parent
company for RB's and TJ. Cinnamons Trioch Restaurant Group. So
I've been in the industry a long time. I loved franchising.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
What's that I said, You're dog in the drink industry
for sure.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
So yeah, so you listen, it's I'm excited to be
able to take my experience. You know, being in the
beverage world is great. You know, I love the margins,
I love the business model of it. You know, we're
also introducing some you know, some really cool food and
snack concepts as well that we're really excited about because again,
we want somebody wants to come in the morning of
(04:02):
the afternoon of the evening and get their thirty two
OUs soda, but they can walk out with something sweeter savory.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You know, we're excited about.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
And trying to figure out how you guys grew two
hundred units. What was the mechanism that you used to
get that much growth in the franchise.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Yeah, I gotta tell you A lot of it was
just you know, there was a lot of buzz about
you know, dirty sodas and people. It's funny like we
were up in Canada and you know, we were goes
there for our opening and you know, people are like, oh, yeah, we've.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Heard about this. We're like, wait, you guys are in Canada.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
How did you hear about this, but you know, a
word's getting out and I think, you know, social media
is a big part of it, and you know, we've
you know, we've had you know, some of our competitors
have also been on social media and been on some
TV shows, which I'm sure you've heard about. So I
think the word is getting out there. But I got
to be honest with you, I think what's really driving
us and what we're doing is really the business model
and taking the you know, taking the opportunity for entrepreneurs
(04:59):
to not only have fun with our brand, but also
you know, make money and build a legacy for themselves
and their family, you know, and their organizations. So, you know,
being in the beverage business, the margins are really strong
and we want to continue, you know, to drive that.
And we've created a whole new concept of what our
brand looks like now and the way it's going to
look in the future. So we're excited about that, and
(05:21):
I think people are really you know, really catching on
and getting excited, and you know, we're going to continue
to grow. My my goal right now is I want
to get to five hundred units. So we're a little
over halfway there. But you know what, we've got a
tremendous amount of opportunity. What's what's unique also about our
concept is we have the space, right because we're so new,
(05:42):
especially in the Midwest, the southeast, and the East coast,
there's some there's such an opportunity there, and our competitors,
you know, we're also you know, kind of going to
those markets, but we're trying to get there, you know,
first to market if we can. But but I will
tell you we're in markets now where us and our
competitors are both existing and we're both thriving and doing well.
(06:02):
So I think that just gives credibility to the category, right,
And whether somebody's interested in drinking coffee or they're interested
in drinking soda, it's kind of the same concept, right,
And it's really unique in that, you know, we drive
our Our customers are coming into our stores not once
or twice a week, but they're coming in three, four
and five times a week. And that's that's what's really
driving our growth right now.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
What is it?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, so you have a couple of things going on.
Eighty to eighty five percent of your sales right now
drive through, so that starts to put a little bit
of a stranglehold on the type of unit that you
can build. What does the walk us through the prototypes
or the models that you have right now that you can.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Get Yeah, great question.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
So so yeah, so eighty eighty five percent of our
business is coming through our drive through. Listen, the world
has changed really since the pandemic, right you know, if
you go back five or even ten years ago, we
were building you know, twenty twenty five hundred square foot
locations with big lobbies and seating for twenty five plus.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Those days are over.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
People are not interested in conjugating and these types of
you know, fast casual types of restaurants. They're really looking
more for that convenience. Get go through the drive through,
grab their stuff, take it home, you know, and so forth.
So it's kind of changed the way we look at
things so right now, Like, for example, the last one
we just opened up was a thousand square feet and
(07:22):
cap drive through a thousand square feet. You know, I
think we have eight seats in the front, but it's
all really focused on you know, on drive through. We
also do encourage, you know, if you have to do
outdoor seating as well, that that's great. But in addition
to that, we're really we just created a prototype. We
actually we're launching it right now. We've now got a
seven hundred square foot drive through only model that we're doing.
(07:47):
We have some inline options as well, because in some
certain in certain markets, in line is definitely, you know,
an opportunity. And the last thing I'll just share with
you is we actually just did a deal with Walmart
where we're actually negotiated to deal with Walmart where we
can now go into Walmart locations. As you know, when
you walk into Walmart's they have these front retail areas,
(08:07):
they've got other brands, they've got you know, you know,
banks and hair salons and and things like that. So
we thought that was a great opportunity for us. In
a lot of communities, especially in the US, Walmart is this,
you know, is kind of the center of that of
those especially though some of those smaller communities, and the
traffic patterns are incredible. So for us to be able
(08:29):
to go in there at a fixed amount is a
great opportunity for our partners in our franchisees. So we're
really excited about that as well. But listen, at the
end of the day, drive through is driving our business
right now. We want to you know, we want to
continue that and we recognize that real estate costs are
you know, it's tough, right finding real estate. All these
brands were all searching for the same you know, for
(08:49):
the same locations. So being able to take and be
able to go down from say a twenty to twenty
five hundred square foot all the way down to seven
hundred square feet really gives our partners and opportunity, you know,
to build something really cool, really special, and be cost
effective at it.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
You mentioned you were talking about real estate costs, which
in build out costs, which I think is interesting because
when I was doing some research your your competitor, Swig,
it looks like their build out costs are more than
double than your guys's build out costs. So I thought,
it's all that interesting.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Why do you think that, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
What, we'll take some credit for that. I you know,
we're really keen on value engineering our buildings, right And
for example, I mentioned we just opened one in Utah
and it was a thousand square feet and we really
went in and I had our architects and our engineers
really go in there and design this thing. You know,
really really tight, and uh, I think we were successful
(09:42):
at it. The other thing also is, listen, we're pouring
sodas all day right like, we don't really have a
full service quote unquote kitchen like some of these other
brands do. The food items that we do have, we're
making sure that you know, either out of a turbo
chef or a thaw and serve type products where I don't.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Need to have and ovens and you know all that stuff.
So that really helps drive you know, the cost down. Listen.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
We're never going to be in the burger business or
the chicken business or things like that. We want to
be in you know, the handheld you know, savory and
sweet type of products. And we feel that we can
find really good, high quality products at a at a
really good price at a off of a cook platform
that's relatively inexpensive and for us that that's important. That's
(10:27):
kind of where you know, where we're going right now.
So again, we just launched a line of cookies and
what we call our fizz Puffs, which are kind of
like Beignet's and it's a thaw and served product right now,
and they love it, and somebody wants to get to
heat it up.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
You know, we can heat it up, but at.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
The end of the day, it's a real simple product
to prepare and to serve and uh.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
And people are enjoying it.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So yeah, So that that's where I think a big
part of that cost, you know, really comes in. That
eliminating that kitchen piece is really really important. And and
let's and we have great partners, you know, being able
to work with you know, Pepsi and Coca Cola excuse me,
and Doctor Pepper. These are three of those some of
the largest consumer you know, brands companies in the world.
And the fact that we get to work with them
(11:11):
and partner with them on R and D, on innovation,
on product quality, that's something that I get excited about.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, that's interesting. Usually you see that it's just it's
either Pepsi or Coke or we.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yeah, we we that you know what, they recognize that
this is a big industry and they recognize It's funny.
You know, we just had our Coca Cola annual review
and they actually said to us, we're one of their
leading partners right now as far as growth. So our
Coca Cola, for example, we were up sixteen percent in
gallon served over you know, the previous year.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
So they get excited about that.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
And listen, at the end of the day, you know,
we could all co exist, right and they recognize that,
and believe it or not, I sell more Pepsi product
than I do Coca Cola product, just you know, just
the But that will change, I think as we become
more of a national brand. You know, casee profiles are different,
right in the Southeast is going to be different than
(12:09):
the Northeast and the West and all that. So listen,
there's enough product to go around, and you know, and
we're excited about that. And by the way, we're innovating
our own stuff. You know, we're coming up with our
own energy drinks, We're coming up with our own frozen drinks,
We're coming up we're actually just launching our new hotchoffl
it line, so we're really really excited about that.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
That'll be part of our fall and winter menu. So yeah,
I mean that's you know what we're excited for. All
of that.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
With the idea of obviously dirty soda, you know, kind
of the innovator, I would say the og innovator of
dirty soda would go all the way back into Sunnic
Drive in which really kind of built a lot of
their business on the drink industry. When you look at
where you guys are right now, is there anything that
you're finding as far as a specific trend when it
(12:57):
comes inside the dirty soda model? What are you finding
that's working and what's not?
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think you know what, I think what's really worked
for us is the fact that people can customize their
own drinks. Like we have a whole menu of name
drinks that we've come up with and created. But the
reality of it is our customers can come in and Hey,
if they want a doctor Pepper with uh, you know,
vanilla cream and a splash of you know, strawberry flavor
(13:24):
shot or whatever.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
They can do it.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
And and I think that's what's unique about us, you know,
in the soda world, is being able to create your
own stuff. And we have customers that'll come in in
the morning and get one thing. They'll come back the
next day in the afternoon and they'll get something, you know,
you know, totally different.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
What's the most unique that you're seeing coming out of
the customers.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Oh, man, I see some crazy stuff like I've seen
people with like you know, a mountain dew with you know,
some funky flavor and they'll throw in some you know,
coconut cream and I'm like, for me, I'm like.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Oh, like what is that? You know? But but that's
what people one.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
And it's funny, like the young folks like they'll they'll
try anything, you know. But you know, look the world,
you know, taste profiles are changing, and people are, you know,
having energy drinks now and being able to offer energy
drinks by the way, people are getting energy drinks and
then pouring soda inside of it and you know other stuff.
So like which to some people may say like, oh,
what is that? But you know what we're you know,
(14:22):
they're exploring I guess their taste profiles and uh and
we're happy to do that for them.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Is there any is it? What does it share? Is
it swalty or swicy?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Well, they're both spicy and swalty are kind of a
kind of a thing right now, sweet and spicy and
salty and spicy.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Do you have any kind of that that savory element available?
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Yeah, we definitely have some savory And we're actually from
a food stampoint. I will tell you.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
We're actually looking at so one of the things, which
is growing part of our business. Is kind of like
that breakfast day part. Like you'd be surprised at how
many people you know. And I think in the in
the coffee world where I came from, you know, whether
you're Starbucks or dunkin Donuts, you know, coffee is a
big part of their day. Right. I am shocked when
I first came to this brand. I'm like, what time
(15:09):
do you guys open And they're like, oh, we're open
at seven am. I said, wait, people come in at
seven am for soda and they do, like they literally
line up at seven am and they get their thirty
two outs soda.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
My point being is that we.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Understand that that breakfast day part is a is a
growing part of our business. And having a savory, you know,
breakfast item, whether it's a breakfast burrito or some egg
filled something, we think is important. So we're actually in
the process we're testing that right now. We want to
be able to come up with some savory items that
you know, meet our customer needs in addition to some
(15:42):
of the sweet stuff that we have you know as well, Scott.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
We we've been tracking a category and looking at different
industries that has kind of gone toward this low sugar
to no sugar craze, which obviously targets right into the
zone of soda. How do you especially if you look
at whether it's kind of the functional, better for you
kind of products that we're seeing, and a lot of
(16:06):
this is coming from direct to consumer products who are
building these brands around influencers and so on. How do
you see that affecting you guys right now in the future.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
I think it's great to be honest, and I got
to tell you, I give Coke and Pepsi and Doctor
Pepper a lot of credit for this because their business,
you know, has evolved.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Over the last few years.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Because the healthier, you know, the better for you is
definitely a big part of what we do, and we've
got to make sure that we can offer those products.
So the fact that you can now get a Coke
zero or you know, Doctor Pepper sugar free or whatever
it is, that that's.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Huge for us.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
So we're really really excited that now we have the
ability to offer those drinks and and that's a big.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Part of what we do.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
And by the way, not only just the sodas, but
we you know, we have flavor shots now that are
sugar free. We've got some other added you know, other
you know things that we can get sugar free and
what's really nice and you might have mentioned it, but
you know, energy is a big piece right now, and
the fact that there's now sugar free energy drinks available
as well is a huge, huge part.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And again, these.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Young people they're eating this stuff up right, like, they
definitely want that, and I think a lot of you know,
having these better for you products is really really important.
And like I said, I do, I really do give
the Big three you know, credit for that because they've
they've had to change and evolve kind of where they
go because the reality of it is, you know, regular
SODA's are kind of been on the decline.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
But the fact that they're adding all these healthier options.
And by the way, like you.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Heard about PEPSI just bought you know, a big probiotic brand.
We're actually testing that right now. You know, these are
just examples of better for you products that potentially can
be part of our menu.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
You know, are you.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Guys looking into it, like we've also done research, you know,
are you guys looking into other functional beverages like what
they have protein in them or they have collagen in
them or you know, things like that.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Yeah, we're definitely looking on the protein side. So yeah,
it's something that's in our lab. And by the way,
that's an other example of being able to work with
Pepsi doctor Pepper and Coke.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
They're helping us through this process.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Right, So you know, you know, these guys are the
guys like, they're the ones developing a lot of this stuff.
They're the ones creating some of these new technologies. They're
out acquiring some of these brands. The fact that we
have access to them and we can innovate with them
is a huge huge win for us. And listen, if
we stay stagnant, we're not going to grow, right. We
(18:26):
understand consumer behavior changes and we understand you know that,
you know, we've got to you know, we've got to
be at.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
The forefront of that.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
So we're constantly looking to upgrade and you know, a
change and evolve.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Hey, last question to you, Scott. We're gonna be first
of all, for all everybody that's listening in right now,
we're going to be doing a series of specials around
what's happening for twenty twenty six. We'll continue this conversation
on uh, the idea of drinks and how beverage is
going to play into this, so you guys will get
more of that. But Scott, last question on where you
see twenty twenty six going, especially in the beverage category.
(19:03):
Do you think the winner will be some brands or
brand that comes up with a unique menu trend or
do you think it's going to be a brand that
connects to gen Z and this emerging market in a
better way. What do you think is going to drive it?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, I think when it comes to Phizz, it's really
about connecting with our communities and that's kind of the
way we're kind of positioning ourselves.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Listen, soda and soda, beverages or beverages.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
But at the end of the day, you know, we've
got to be able to connect with our not only
our consumers, but also with our franchisees. Right and the
fact that we're now going into a lot of new markets,
you know, is exciting, but we also have to go
in and educate, you know, the consumers of what we're about.
You know, some some markets don't really know what the
dirty soda craze is and we've got to go in
and take to make the time and the effort to
(19:51):
kind of.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Educate them on that.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
But at the end of the day, listen, we we
just want to create an experience for our customers. You know,
Fizz is fun and you know, and we want people
to come in, whether to the drive through or they
walk in, we want them to leave with with with
a great experience.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
And and I think you know, when you look.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
At other brands, when you look at Chick fil A
and you look at some of the other brands out there,
they do a phenomenal job from a guest service.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Standpoint, and and that's kind of what we want to be.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
And we think that's how we differentiate ourselves from our competition.
But we want obviously, listen, we want to offer great products.
We want to offer good value from a you know,
from a pricing standpoint. But at the end of the day,
we want our consumers to be you know, to enjoy
what we offer, have fun and uh and you know,
and come and uh you know, and and and.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Visit our shops.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
And and the fact that we're going to be able
to do that now throughout the country and not just
in one specific regional market.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
You know, we're we're really excited.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
About so and listen, by the way, if we come
up with some new soda, you know, fun ideas and whatnot,
and that's just great and that just leads to our
you know, adding to our marketing and so forth.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
But at the end of the day, we want we want.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
People to get excited about you know, the soda and
and really about beverages because that's where what we are.
You know, we're a soda company at heart, but at
the end of the day, we're a beverage company and
that's what we want to be.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Well, it's going to be fun to watch share of
the growth in this category because we see a lot
of up and comers. You know, absolutely well see beverage category, right.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
It's also interesting that we see like some of the
old guys bringing McDonald is testing it, White Castle is
testing it. TG Friday rolled out a dirty soda program.
So to me, that's like that says it all right there.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Yeah, no, and listen, that's why you know, it's funny
with you know, I'll take a step back to my
Duncin days.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
But people used to say to.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Me, you know, hey, what do you think of Starbucks?
And I said, oh, my god, that's the best thing
that ever happened to Dunkin Donuts because it made coffee cool, right.
It created an opportunity of.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
The market in for sure, and I think you're gonna
you're gonna probably see that with some of the QSR too.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
And by the way, that's why McDonald's got into it,
you know.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
There, you know, people kind of caught on at what
was going on, and uh, yeah, so listen, we're we're
excited about the brand. We're excited about you know, where
this category is going. And uh and listen, there's enough
space and there's enough opportunity for all of us to coexist,
and you know, we're excited for that.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Very cool, you guys. We're going to be back here
on more episodes from Fast Casual Nation. We've got a
whole series of specials, so stick around, make sure and subscribe,
and like, if you have not done that already, thanks
for stopping in. We'll catch you next time. Right here
of Fast Casualation.
Welcome back to another episode of Fast Casual Nation podcast.
Used to be the podcast that started it all, but no,
not today. Today, Fast Casual Nation is the number one
restaurant business podcast in the twenty five big deal in
the entire.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
In the entire universe.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I love it. That's right.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
It was the universal podcast ranking, so exactly we were
able to make it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Chera.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
We are joined by none other than mister Scott Ball,
who is the president of Fizz Drinks. How are you, Scott?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
I have great beautiful fall morning here in Salt Lake City,
and yeah, we're excited to be here today and excited
to be part of you know, the Fast Casual podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Sure, fastest growing specially soda shop French in the US
right now, you guys are pretty much the birth of
the dirty soda and of course this sector is starting
to really show some growth. We're starting to see some
big opportunities. Scott, let's just jump right into it. Give
us a little bit of rundown of where Fizz is today.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Great, So I've been with Fizz a little over a year,
about fourteen months now, and you know, when I came on,
we were at about fifty or so locations We're up
to over seventy right now. We've got a few more
scheduled open between now and the end of the year.
But the great news is, you know, we've sold over
two hundred units just this year alone, So goodness, we are.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
We're trending fast, and we're excited.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
And you know what people are excited about the whole
you know, Dirty Soda, you know craze going on right now,
which I think is really more than a craze. It's
really an opportunity. And you know, with our business model
and you know, with the excitement around our brand, you know,
we're real excited. And we've we've actually expanded into Cana.
We've opened up in Canada, and we're also exploring other
(02:04):
opportunities internationally as well. But but obviously North America is
a big part of what we do. Obviously we're based
in Salt Lake City, so kind of the birthplace of
Dirty Sodas is Utah. But you know what I'm really
excited about is the concept is doing great in outside
of Utah.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So we've opened up in.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
Nevada, we just signed our first deal in California. We're
opening in Washington State, We're in Idaho, We've got our
first door actually in Colorado opening this week. You know,
we've signed deals in Florida, New York, Connecticut, the Midwest.
So we're we're really growing, and we're growing at a
strategic pace, and we're growing at you know, uh bringing
(02:45):
our great franchisees.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
We're franchise models.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
So you know, have you finding those right franchise partners
that understand the restaurant business, that understand, you know, what
it is to run a business, you know, is really
key to our success.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Man, Scott, you came from Duncan, right, I did.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
So I spent fifteen plus years in Dunkin Donuts. I
was a franchise. I had over twenty locations in the
Florida market. But I also was part of the brand
Advisory Council. So I was on the council that was
part of, you know, all the strategic planning, whether it
was product innovation, marketing ops.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
So yeah, so I've been in this industry a long time.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
You know, even before Duncan, I was with the parent
company for RB's and TJ. Cinnamons Trioch Restaurant Group. So
I've been in the industry a long time. I loved franchising.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
What's that I said, You're dog in the drink industry
for sure.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
So yeah, so you listen, it's I'm excited to be
able to take my experience. You know, being in the
beverage world is great. You know, I love the margins,
I love the business model of it. You know, we're
also introducing some you know, some really cool food and
snack concepts as well that we're really excited about because again,
we want somebody wants to come in the morning of
(04:02):
the afternoon of the evening and get their thirty two
OUs soda, but they can walk out with something sweeter savory.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You know, we're excited about.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
And trying to figure out how you guys grew two
hundred units. What was the mechanism that you used to
get that much growth in the franchise.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
Yeah, I gotta tell you A lot of it was
just you know, there was a lot of buzz about
you know, dirty sodas and people. It's funny like we
were up in Canada and you know, we were goes
there for our opening and you know, people are like, oh, yeah, we've.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Heard about this. We're like, wait, you guys are in Canada.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
How did you hear about this, but you know, a
word's getting out and I think, you know, social media
is a big part of it, and you know, we've
you know, we've had you know, some of our competitors
have also been on social media and been on some
TV shows, which I'm sure you've heard about. So I
think the word is getting out there. But I got
to be honest with you, I think what's really driving
us and what we're doing is really the business model
and taking the you know, taking the opportunity for entrepreneurs
(04:59):
to not only have fun with our brand, but also
you know, make money and build a legacy for themselves
and their family, you know, and their organizations. So, you know,
being in the beverage business, the margins are really strong
and we want to continue, you know, to drive that.
And we've created a whole new concept of what our
brand looks like now and the way it's going to
look in the future. So we're excited about that, and
(05:21):
I think people are really you know, really catching on
and getting excited, and you know, we're going to continue
to grow. My my goal right now is I want
to get to five hundred units. So we're a little
over halfway there. But you know what, we've got a
tremendous amount of opportunity. What's what's unique also about our
concept is we have the space, right because we're so new,
(05:42):
especially in the Midwest, the southeast, and the East coast,
there's some there's such an opportunity there, and our competitors,
you know, we're also you know, kind of going to
those markets, but we're trying to get there, you know,
first to market if we can. But but I will
tell you we're in markets now where us and our
competitors are both existing and we're both thriving and doing well.
(06:02):
So I think that just gives credibility to the category, right,
And whether somebody's interested in drinking coffee or they're interested
in drinking soda, it's kind of the same concept, right,
And it's really unique in that, you know, we drive
our Our customers are coming into our stores not once
or twice a week, but they're coming in three, four
and five times a week. And that's that's what's really
driving our growth right now.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
What is it?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, so you have a couple of things going on.
Eighty to eighty five percent of your sales right now
drive through, so that starts to put a little bit
of a stranglehold on the type of unit that you
can build. What does the walk us through the prototypes
or the models that you have right now that you can.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Get Yeah, great question.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
So so yeah, so eighty eighty five percent of our
business is coming through our drive through. Listen, the world
has changed really since the pandemic, right you know, if
you go back five or even ten years ago, we
were building you know, twenty twenty five hundred square foot
locations with big lobbies and seating for twenty five plus.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Those days are over.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
People are not interested in conjugating and these types of
you know, fast casual types of restaurants. They're really looking
more for that convenience. Get go through the drive through,
grab their stuff, take it home, you know, and so forth.
So it's kind of changed the way we look at
things so right now, Like, for example, the last one
we just opened up was a thousand square feet and
(07:22):
cap drive through a thousand square feet. You know, I
think we have eight seats in the front, but it's
all really focused on you know, on drive through. We
also do encourage, you know, if you have to do
outdoor seating as well, that that's great. But in addition
to that, we're really we just created a prototype. We
actually we're launching it right now. We've now got a
seven hundred square foot drive through only model that we're doing.
(07:47):
We have some inline options as well, because in some
certain in certain markets, in line is definitely, you know,
an opportunity. And the last thing I'll just share with
you is we actually just did a deal with Walmart
where we're actually negotiated to deal with Walmart where we
can now go into Walmart locations. As you know, when
you walk into Walmart's they have these front retail areas,
(08:07):
they've got other brands, they've got you know, you know,
banks and hair salons and and things like that. So
we thought that was a great opportunity for us. In
a lot of communities, especially in the US, Walmart is this,
you know, is kind of the center of that of
those especially though some of those smaller communities, and the
traffic patterns are incredible. So for us to be able
(08:29):
to go in there at a fixed amount is a
great opportunity for our partners in our franchisees. So we're
really excited about that as well. But listen, at the
end of the day, drive through is driving our business
right now. We want to you know, we want to
continue that and we recognize that real estate costs are
you know, it's tough, right finding real estate. All these
brands were all searching for the same you know, for
(08:49):
the same locations. So being able to take and be
able to go down from say a twenty to twenty
five hundred square foot all the way down to seven
hundred square feet really gives our partners and opportunity, you know,
to build something really cool, really special, and be cost
effective at it.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
You mentioned you were talking about real estate costs, which
in build out costs, which I think is interesting because
when I was doing some research your your competitor, Swig,
it looks like their build out costs are more than
double than your guys's build out costs. So I thought,
it's all that interesting.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Why do you think that, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
What, we'll take some credit for that. I you know,
we're really keen on value engineering our buildings, right And
for example, I mentioned we just opened one in Utah
and it was a thousand square feet and we really
went in and I had our architects and our engineers
really go in there and design this thing. You know,
really really tight, and uh, I think we were successful
(09:42):
at it. The other thing also is, listen, we're pouring
sodas all day right like, we don't really have a
full service quote unquote kitchen like some of these other
brands do. The food items that we do have, we're
making sure that you know, either out of a turbo
chef or a thaw and serve type products where I don't.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Need to have and ovens and you know all that stuff.
So that really helps drive you know, the cost down. Listen.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
We're never going to be in the burger business or
the chicken business or things like that. We want to
be in you know, the handheld you know, savory and
sweet type of products. And we feel that we can
find really good, high quality products at a at a
really good price at a off of a cook platform
that's relatively inexpensive and for us that that's important. That's
(10:27):
kind of where you know, where we're going right now.
So again, we just launched a line of cookies and
what we call our fizz Puffs, which are kind of
like Beignet's and it's a thaw and served product right now,
and they love it, and somebody wants to get to
heat it up.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
You know, we can heat it up, but at.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
The end of the day, it's a real simple product
to prepare and to serve and uh.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
And people are enjoying it.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
So yeah, So that that's where I think a big
part of that cost, you know, really comes in. That
eliminating that kitchen piece is really really important. And and
let's and we have great partners, you know, being able
to work with you know, Pepsi and Coca Cola excuse me,
and Doctor Pepper. These are three of those some of
the largest consumer you know, brands companies in the world.
And the fact that we get to work with them
(11:11):
and partner with them on R and D, on innovation,
on product quality, that's something that I get excited about.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, that's interesting. Usually you see that it's just it's
either Pepsi or Coke or we.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yeah, we we that you know what, they recognize that
this is a big industry and they recognize It's funny.
You know, we just had our Coca Cola annual review
and they actually said to us, we're one of their
leading partners right now as far as growth. So our
Coca Cola, for example, we were up sixteen percent in
gallon served over you know, the previous year.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
So they get excited about that.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
And listen, at the end of the day, you know,
we could all co exist, right and they recognize that,
and believe it or not, I sell more Pepsi product
than I do Coca Cola product, just you know, just
the But that will change, I think as we become
more of a national brand. You know, casee profiles are different,
right in the Southeast is going to be different than
(12:09):
the Northeast and the West and all that. So listen,
there's enough product to go around, and you know, and
we're excited about that. And by the way, we're innovating
our own stuff. You know, we're coming up with our
own energy drinks, We're coming up with our own frozen drinks,
We're coming up we're actually just launching our new hotchoffl
it line, so we're really really excited about that.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
That'll be part of our fall and winter menu. So yeah,
I mean that's you know what we're excited for. All
of that.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
With the idea of obviously dirty soda, you know, kind
of the innovator, I would say the og innovator of
dirty soda would go all the way back into Sunnic
Drive in which really kind of built a lot of
their business on the drink industry. When you look at
where you guys are right now, is there anything that
you're finding as far as a specific trend when it
(12:57):
comes inside the dirty soda model? What are you finding
that's working and what's not?
Speaker 3 (13:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think you know what, I think what's really worked
for us is the fact that people can customize their
own drinks. Like we have a whole menu of name
drinks that we've come up with and created. But the
reality of it is our customers can come in and Hey,
if they want a doctor Pepper with uh, you know,
vanilla cream and a splash of you know, strawberry flavor
(13:24):
shot or whatever.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
They can do it.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
And and I think that's what's unique about us, you know,
in the soda world, is being able to create your
own stuff. And we have customers that'll come in in
the morning and get one thing. They'll come back the
next day in the afternoon and they'll get something, you know,
you know, totally different.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
What's the most unique that you're seeing coming out of
the customers.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Oh, man, I see some crazy stuff like I've seen
people with like you know, a mountain dew with you know,
some funky flavor and they'll throw in some you know,
coconut cream and I'm like, for me, I'm like.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Oh, like what is that? You know? But but that's
what people one.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
And it's funny, like the young folks like they'll they'll
try anything, you know. But you know, look the world,
you know, taste profiles are changing, and people are, you know,
having energy drinks now and being able to offer energy
drinks by the way, people are getting energy drinks and
then pouring soda inside of it and you know other stuff.
So like which to some people may say like, oh,
what is that? But you know what we're you know,
(14:22):
they're exploring I guess their taste profiles and uh and
we're happy to do that for them.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Is there any is it? What does it share? Is
it swalty or swicy?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Well, they're both spicy and swalty are kind of a
kind of a thing right now, sweet and spicy and
salty and spicy.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Do you have any kind of that that savory element available?
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Yeah, we definitely have some savory And we're actually from
a food stampoint. I will tell you.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
We're actually looking at so one of the things, which
is growing part of our business. Is kind of like
that breakfast day part. Like you'd be surprised at how
many people you know. And I think in the in
the coffee world where I came from, you know, whether
you're Starbucks or dunkin Donuts, you know, coffee is a
big part of their day. Right. I am shocked when
I first came to this brand. I'm like, what time
(15:09):
do you guys open And they're like, oh, we're open
at seven am. I said, wait, people come in at
seven am for soda and they do, like they literally
line up at seven am and they get their thirty
two outs soda.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
My point being is that we.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Understand that that breakfast day part is a is a
growing part of our business. And having a savory, you know,
breakfast item, whether it's a breakfast burrito or some egg
filled something, we think is important. So we're actually in
the process we're testing that right now. We want to
be able to come up with some savory items that
you know, meet our customer needs in addition to some
(15:42):
of the sweet stuff that we have you know as well, Scott.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
We we've been tracking a category and looking at different
industries that has kind of gone toward this low sugar
to no sugar craze, which obviously targets right into the
zone of soda. How do you especially if you look
at whether it's kind of the functional, better for you
kind of products that we're seeing, and a lot of
(16:06):
this is coming from direct to consumer products who are
building these brands around influencers and so on. How do
you see that affecting you guys right now in the future.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
I think it's great to be honest, and I got
to tell you, I give Coke and Pepsi and Doctor
Pepper a lot of credit for this because their business,
you know, has evolved.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Over the last few years.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Because the healthier, you know, the better for you is
definitely a big part of what we do, and we've
got to make sure that we can offer those products.
So the fact that you can now get a Coke
zero or you know, Doctor Pepper sugar free or whatever
it is, that that's.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Huge for us.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
So we're really really excited that now we have the
ability to offer those drinks and and that's a big.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Part of what we do.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
And by the way, not only just the sodas, but
we you know, we have flavor shots now that are
sugar free. We've got some other added you know, other
you know things that we can get sugar free and
what's really nice and you might have mentioned it, but
you know, energy is a big piece right now, and
the fact that there's now sugar free energy drinks available
as well is a huge, huge part.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And again, these.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Young people they're eating this stuff up right, like, they
definitely want that, and I think a lot of you know,
having these better for you products is really really important.
And like I said, I do, I really do give
the Big three you know, credit for that because they've
they've had to change and evolve kind of where they
go because the reality of it is, you know, regular
SODA's are kind of been on the decline.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
But the fact that they're adding all these healthier options.
And by the way, like you.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Heard about PEPSI just bought you know, a big probiotic brand.
We're actually testing that right now. You know, these are
just examples of better for you products that potentially can
be part of our menu.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
You know, are you.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Guys looking into it, like we've also done research, you know,
are you guys looking into other functional beverages like what
they have protein in them or they have collagen in
them or you know, things like that.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
Yeah, we're definitely looking on the protein side. So yeah,
it's something that's in our lab. And by the way,
that's an other example of being able to work with
Pepsi doctor Pepper and Coke.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
They're helping us through this process.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Right, So you know, you know, these guys are the
guys like, they're the ones developing a lot of this stuff.
They're the ones creating some of these new technologies. They're
out acquiring some of these brands. The fact that we
have access to them and we can innovate with them
is a huge huge win for us. And listen, if
we stay stagnant, we're not going to grow, right. We
(18:26):
understand consumer behavior changes and we understand you know that,
you know, we've got to you know, we've got to
be at.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
The forefront of that.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
So we're constantly looking to upgrade and you know, a
change and evolve.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Hey, last question to you, Scott. We're gonna be first
of all, for all everybody that's listening in right now,
we're going to be doing a series of specials around
what's happening for twenty twenty six. We'll continue this conversation
on uh, the idea of drinks and how beverage is
going to play into this, so you guys will get
more of that. But Scott, last question on where you
see twenty twenty six going, especially in the beverage category.
(19:03):
Do you think the winner will be some brands or
brand that comes up with a unique menu trend or
do you think it's going to be a brand that
connects to gen Z and this emerging market in a
better way. What do you think is going to drive it?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah, I think when it comes to Phizz, it's really
about connecting with our communities and that's kind of the
way we're kind of positioning ourselves.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Listen, soda and soda, beverages or beverages.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
But at the end of the day, you know, we've
got to be able to connect with our not only
our consumers, but also with our franchisees. Right and the
fact that we're now going into a lot of new markets,
you know, is exciting, but we also have to go
in and educate, you know, the consumers of what we're about.
You know, some some markets don't really know what the
dirty soda craze is and we've got to go in
and take to make the time and the effort to
(19:51):
kind of.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
Educate them on that.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
But at the end of the day, listen, we we
just want to create an experience for our customers. You know,
Fizz is fun and you know, and we want people
to come in, whether to the drive through or they
walk in, we want them to leave with with with
a great experience.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
And and I think you know, when you look.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
At other brands, when you look at Chick fil A
and you look at some of the other brands out there,
they do a phenomenal job from a guest service.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Standpoint, and and that's kind of what we want to be.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
And we think that's how we differentiate ourselves from our competition.
But we want obviously, listen, we want to offer great products.
We want to offer good value from a you know,
from a pricing standpoint. But at the end of the day,
we want our consumers to be you know, to enjoy
what we offer, have fun and uh and you know,
and come and uh you know, and and and.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
Visit our shops.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
And and the fact that we're going to be able
to do that now throughout the country and not just
in one specific regional market.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
You know, we're we're really excited.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
About so and listen, by the way, if we come
up with some new soda, you know, fun ideas and whatnot,
and that's just great and that just leads to our
you know, adding to our marketing and so forth.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
But at the end of the day, we want we want.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
People to get excited about you know, the soda and
and really about beverages because that's where what we are.
You know, we're a soda company at heart, but at
the end of the day, we're a beverage company and
that's what we want to be.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Well, it's going to be fun to watch share of
the growth in this category because we see a lot
of up and comers. You know, absolutely well see beverage category, right.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
It's also interesting that we see like some of the
old guys bringing McDonald is testing it, White Castle is
testing it. TG Friday rolled out a dirty soda program.
So to me, that's like that says it all right there.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Yeah, no, and listen, that's why you know, it's funny
with you know, I'll take a step back to my
Duncin days.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
But people used to say to.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Me, you know, hey, what do you think of Starbucks?
And I said, oh, my god, that's the best thing
that ever happened to Dunkin Donuts because it made coffee cool, right.
It created an opportunity of.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
The market in for sure, and I think you're gonna
you're gonna probably see that with some of the QSR too.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
And by the way, that's why McDonald's got into it,
you know.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
There, you know, people kind of caught on at what
was going on, and uh, yeah, so listen, we're we're
excited about the brand. We're excited about you know, where
this category is going. And uh and listen, there's enough
space and there's enough opportunity for all of us to coexist,
and you know, we're excited for that.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Very cool, you guys. We're going to be back here
on more episodes from Fast Casual Nation. We've got a
whole series of specials, so stick around, make sure and subscribe,
and like, if you have not done that already, thanks
for stopping in. We'll catch you next time. Right here
of Fast Casualation.
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