DRY SODA CO.

DRY Soda Co. flavors include lavender, kumquat, rhubarb and lemongrass.

SEATTLE - Coca Cola and Pepsi take note: Seattle is about to give you a run for your money.

This spring, Seattle-based Jones Soda beat out the cola giants for soft drink rights at Qwest Field.

And now a 2-year-old Seattle company called DRY Soda Co. is appearing in retailers and restaurants throughout the west coast, with plans to expand nationwide by the end of 2008.

DRY Soda Co., which markets sophisticated, alcohol-free drinks that can be paired with fine meals, was featured in the May issue of Reader's Digest as part of a "Best of America" list of the quirky and extraordinary.

The owner of DRY Soda says it demonstrates customer demand for something new in the soft drink market.

"There's been such little innovation in last 100 years," Sharelle Klaus said.

The Idea behind DRY Soda

Klaus' DRY Soda Co. opened its first shop in Pioneer Square last year. In addition to a retail store, it serves as a tasting room for her sodas, which come in lavender, kumquat, lemongrass and rhubarb.

Klaus first started producing the sodas in 2005. She saw a need for an upscale beverage that was alcohol-free after giving birth to her children.

"I'm really passionate about pairing wine with food," said the mother of four. "But I kept getting pregnant."

Her sodas are all-natural, non-caffeinated and flavored with extracts of fruit and herbs. They're sweetened with a small amount of pure cane sugar and carbonated in the style of champagne.

In addition to appearing on the menus of Seattle restaurants like Chez Shea and Cascadia, DRY Sodas have caught on as a casual drink.

"It's turned into this very sophisticated every-day drink," she said. "Not just for special occasions."

Big growth

Younger customers who are on the lookout for new trends have embraced DRY Sodas too, says Abby Calvo, a spokesperson for the company.

They've helped pull the company ahead of financial projections for 2007.

DRY Soda is available on the West Coast, in Nevada, in Arizona, and most recently - Texas and Colorado. By 2008, when it will release two new flavors, the company will expand farther east. As another testament to the company's growth, the former chief executive officer of Red Bull North America recently agreed to sit on DRY Soda Co.’s Board of Directors

"We're definitely going deeper into each market we're in," Calvo said.

Jones Soda

Meanwhile, Jones Soda Co., which has an office in South Lake Union, told KING 5 it’s the first soft-drink company to get a stadium contract.

In May, the company announced a five-year deal to sell its drinks at Seahawks games. Its sodas come in quirky flavors like Fu-Fu Berry and Green Apple.

"That says a lot about consumer's need for more innovative carbonated soft drinks," Klaus said of the contract.

Calvo says DRY Soda's popularity indicates customers want a change that's healthy, too.

"They're looking for something much less sweet," she said. "Not something that they can't pronounce the ingredients."