#174 Thomas Angel - Altitude Beverages

Meaningful Marketplace Podcast

"Why can’t you have all the good wind-down and relaxed feeling alcohol gives you without the alcohol? That’s the question Thomas Angel had in 2020 along with his partner, Laura Melgarejo Silva. It started the quest for the Bend, Oregon founders to discover a truly delicious taste married with the wholesome ingredients that would offer that relaxed feeling without the after-effects. Thomas calls their company a pandemic baby because that’s the genesis. As you may recall, the isolation of the pandemic led to an increase in alcohol consumption, giving them a challenge to solve. And there was more incentive; both Thomas and Laura came from families that abused alcohol so they were even more determined to offer alternatives to alcoholic drinks but still offer the same relaxing and social benefits. As background: Both became ex-pats living in China, with Thomas having an aviation background. It was an exciting and glamourous life, going from one party to another, but they both soon became aware of the role alcohol consumption took in their lives. When the pandemic hit, they were caught in the quarantine and though most people increased their alcohol consumption, Thomas and Laura went the other way, figuring out how to get it out of their lives. They had always been active people and were in good health, so eliminating alcohol made them feel better. However, they still desired the relaxing part of having a beverage whether with a group of people or just the two of them. So when the quarantine was relaxed, they headed back to the Pacific Northwest and began their entrepreneurial journey. They looked around and saw a social scene that offered opportunity. When there was a social function involving beer, wine or cocktails, people could opt for a can of sparling water of course. However, there was an awkwardness for those people that Thomas and Laura noticed, and that was the gap they intended to close. They decided to move to Bend, Oregon, a beautiful high desert area in central Oregon and begin to chase their dream. Of course, a name was first on the agenda. Three elements went into the name. First, Bend is a high-altitude location. Second, they wanted to reflect the elevated feeling they were achieving in their brand. Last, it’s an ode to Thomas’ aviation background. And so the name: Altitude Beverages. They created routine based beverages designed for a “better you”. The drinks really taste incredible, too; no stevia, erythritol, or allulose and importantly, no metallic aftertaste.
They started selling their home-crafted drinks at local farmer’s markets and have expanded to selling both online and select grocery stores in multiple states in the US. See them online and purchase any of their three mocktails or three lattes on: https://altitudebev.com/. Follow them on Twitter - @altitudebev, Instagram - @altitudebev, Facebook - @altitudebev, LinkedIn - Altitude Beverages.
Our hosts: Twitter - @sarahmasoni and @spicymarshall, Instagram - @masoniandmarshall.

Thank you for Listening to The Meaningful Marketplace Podcast with your hosts, Sarah Masoni of Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center and Sarah Marshall, owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce. Connect with us on Instagram @meaningfulmarketplacepodcast.

Audio engineer, mixer, and podcast editor: Haley Bowers
Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design
Production Coordinator: Kayleen Veatch