A LIFESTYLE BUILT AROUND THE SIMPLE THINGS, THE SIMPLE MOMENTS
BY EMILY BROUILLETTE
Last September, I randomly and serendipitously met the founders of Denver-based, Vaqit, Tuffli Nguyen and Chris Wood. While lunching in Cherry Creek, I overheard two people passionately discussing their startup. I interrupted their lunch and introduced myself. I was a new empty-nester looking for something more, and the universe answered. I am now a part of the Vaqit family, and am excited to share their origin story.
Let’s start from the beginning. How did you and Chris meet and decide to start VAQIT?
Chris and I have both worked in Energy for 20 years which is how we initially met. We became fast friends as our love for our families, skiing, golf, hiking, wake surfing, and real estate created a special common bond. For years Chris had been mixing and concocting various flavored seltzer waters with different vodkas, due to a gluten intolerance. After many trials over the years, Chris was able to find the right balance of flavor and alcohol to create his Orange Creamsicle and Black Mamba vodka soda blends. In February 2019, Chris introduced me to his drinks during a ski trip in Vail. I instantly fell in love with the mix and drank them during the entire trip. Several months went by and it wasn’t until later that summer when I was drinking a hard seltzer with some friends by the lake in Wisconsin and it made me think of Chris’ drink. I went to the local grocery store to find the same ingredients and introduced the mix to my friends. It was an instant hit!
I always had an entrepreneurial spirit and owned several Airbnb/rental properties, but wanted to create something to bring to the marketplace. Although I had no real experience in the alcohol business, I felt that this was a great opportunity considering the lack of options in the market at the time. In September 2019, I approached Chris with the crazy idea of starting a canned cocktail company together based on his Orange Creamsicle and Black Mamba drinks. Chris didn’t have any formal alcohol experience either, but absolutely loved the idea! His first question was: “How do we start a canned cocktail company?” and my quick reply was: “I have no idea…., but I know that together, we can figure it out.”
When did VAQIT officially launch in Denver?
In June 2022, we found a co-packer located in Golden, CO and completed our first production run. Our plan was to organically enter the marketplace with the goal of “launching” VAQIT at the Denver Seltzerland event in September 2022. Over the next several months, we took to the streets to introduce VAQIT and find long-term partnerships. We found out first-hand how challenging it is to enter the RTD (ready to drink) marketplace, especially going up against the biggest names in the industry. Yet, we were able to find several retail partners who were willing to give us a chance and found ourselves with about 20 retail partners by the end of summer.
In September 2022, Denver Seltzerland hosted their event to over 1,000 thirsty consumers looking for the latest and best new beverage. This was VAQIT’s opportunity to shine and determine if our product would stand up against the other big brands. It was finally time to put our drinks to the test. VAQIT came out with a bang, surprised many people, and left a positive first impression. As a result, VAQIT took first place in: Overall Favorite, Best RTD/Canned Cocktail, and Best On-Site Experience!
For our readers who have not yet tried your tasty canned cocktail, what makes it unique compared to others on the market?
There appears to be some confusion in the marketplace as many have seen or heard of hard seltzers, hard sodas, vodka seltzers, vodka sodas, canned cocktails, and ready-to-drink cocktails. Hard Seltzers are derived from cane sugar or malted barley. Canned cocktails or ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails are spirit-based products made from gin, tequila, whiskey, rum or vodka. Our goal is to be very transparent with our consumers, which is why our cans are labeled Real Vodka Soda.
Our goal is to provide a premium product with bold and dynamic flavor notes that has a crisp and clean finish. We felt that many options in the market were single note flavors, contained sugar and sodium, and had higher alcohol percentages. Chris and I have very active lifestyles where higher alcoholic beverages were too much for us to consume for long periods. We wanted to offer a lower alcohol option, so that one could enjoy and not get hung over or still perform well throughout the day. This is why we crafted our canned cocktails with 6x distilled vodka, natural flavors, no sodium, and no added sugar. Also, we wanted our flavors to provide a more dynamic experience with multiple flavor notes, so we carefully crafted our three flavors: Clementine Pineapple, Strawberry Guava, and White Peach Ginger.
VAQIT has grown much more quickly than you both could have imagined. What do you attribute to your early success?
VAQIT launched in Denver last summer, with about 20 retail locations and today, we’re located in over 100 locations from bars to restaurants, golf courses, Magness Arena, pickleball, axe throwing, and liquor stores! Recently, we expanded into Colorado Springs. Check out our store locator (https://letsvaqit.com/contact/) for a store near you or let us know where to bring VAQIT to your neighborhood.
Although we market tested in LA, we consider ourselves Denver born. The entire team lives, or is closely tied to Denver, and we produce in Longmont. We consider ourselves a local startup working with local businesses to create shared long-term success. We also pride ourselves in connecting with our community, supporting our neighborhoods and foundations that share similar values to VAQIT. Our continued success will ensure we are a trusted partner that takes the time to understand our partner’s goals and find ways to achieve shared successes.
We attribute early success to a wonderful team. We were very fortunate to have a few important people walk into our lives at the right time. Tuffli and I both work full time at our day jobs. This is an evening and weekend job that takes up a great deal of time while we are also raising families. With the right people anything can happen. We were very fortunate to find a few individuals to help kick-start the progress. We are still looking for high energy, outgoing individuals to continue helping grow our team and brand.
Tell us a bit more about your philanthropic collaborations.
One of our pillars and something we’re proud of is our goal to support our community and initiatives that positively impact people. Over the last year, VAQIT has proudly sponsored: The Chubb Foundation, whose mission is to activate human potential in kids, The Romito Foundation, which is a community making a difference in the lives of those with duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Fxck Cancer whose mission is to fight cancer by raising awareness and to educate about prevention and early cancer detection.
Where can our Wash Park neighborhood find VAQIT?
You can pick up a 4-pack at Bonnie Brae Liquor, Morgan’s Liquors, Bottle Shop 33, and Pearl Wine Company. We are also being served in a few Wash Park staples: Blackbird Public House, Campus Lounge, Reivers, & Max Gill & Grill. Please also visit our website for a thorough list of retailers.
What can we expect from VAQIT in the future?
We continue to create great partnerships and we’re excited to come into summer 2023 and bring the VAQIT experience to your neighborhood. You can expect to see VAQIT at the Wash Park run the bird Wednesdays at Blackbird Public House, Firefly Summer/Holiday Market, in Magness Arena, and at the Civic Center Park Summer Concert Series presented by AEG. We’re excited to continue our growth in the Denver metro area, Colorado Springs as well as Summit County this year.
I believe this quick growth in Colorado will expand rapidly throughout this year and into next.
When you are not busy with your day jobs and VAQIT, what do you enjoy doing with your free time?
TN: My family is really important to me, and I make sure to be present for them when I’m free and attend all things dance and cheer. I love biking with my wife, running with my dogs and when I can find time, you’ll find me out on the slopes in the winter and the golf course in the summer.
CW: I stay busy helping raise my 10 year old little girl. We go camping on a regular basis in the summer, and ski in the winter. We spend a great deal of time on a boat surfing and wakeboarding. While my daughter doesn’t love it as much as I do, we also like UTVing since covid.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us! If you have a great local spot that needs to be pouring Vaqit, reach out to me personally at emily@rockthevaq.com. I’d love to hear from you!