“A soft creamy white robe that offers an authentic Lemon splash for a delightfully tasty experience.” That is how Eurobubblies describes its bestselling lemonade, the Effervé Lemon. The beverage distribution company aims at bringing a part of the French gourmet culture across the world by selling Effervé, a range of artisanal sparkling lemonades produced by Soultzmatt Springs in Alsace, eastern France. And it has widely expanded since its foundation in 1992.

“It’s a family business that was started by my brother Pascal who first specialized in exports of French gourmet products in the United States in the 1980s before founding Eurobubblies” recounts Françoise Bénichou, Eurobubblies’ vice president. “He first focused on selling the beverages in the U.S. and later on, as I had emigrated to Montreal, he asked me to join the company to expand its operations in Canada.” 

The company conquered new international markets following the team’s personal journeys. In 2001, Françoise Bénichou moved to Barcelona: “So we reorganized our business to expand in Europe, particularly in the Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland)”.

Today Eurobubblies is working with retailers and distributors in more than 25 countries across the globe, from North America, its biggest market, to Europe, Asia and Latin America. “We adapt depending on our clients, which vary from big chains such as Aldi in the U.S. to small grocery stores, with each customer having its own way of working,” says Françoise Bénichou.

Eleven Made In France flavors to seduce international customers

Adaptation is indeed a key word of Eurobubblies’ success. While the company started first by selling the traditional transparent lemonade, it soon developed different flavors to seduce more customers. “We realized that the transparent version of the beverage isn’t as popular as in France, as clients in other countries tend to associate it with simple water,” explains Eurobubblies’ vice president, “That is why, in collaboration with the Soultzmatt Springs, we created the pink and lemon lemonade which, thanks to their colorful robes and natural aromas, became our best-sellers.”

When expanding in Europe, the company added pear and green apple to its portfolio, which now includes 11 flavors in total. And it continues working with the factory to twist the aromas depending on the customers’ demands. “Lately the trend has been red fruits, so we modified our blood orange lemonade to add some berries after receiving a request from American clients,” says Françoise Bénichou, who also notes that while there are small differences between some countries’ tastes, “there are universal trends and a certain unity on the best flavors.”

Eurobubblies also leans on the artisanal Made In France appeal that “is synonymous with quality abroad,” as well as its several certifications (non GMO, Biological Agriculture, gluten-free). The embossed glass bottle with a traditional airtight swing top plays its part as well: “It’s a beautiful product in itself that buyers tend to keep to store water for instance.”

Brazil, a promising and creative market

It’s a recipe that is spread these days on their very active social media accounts, recently finding success in Brazil, for example. “We had many positive responses from Brazilian social media users who create cocktails with our lemonades. It’s a very creative and enthusiastic market that we would like to develop more in the future.” The company has also recently made its comeback in the UK after a six-year absence, with a new partner called The French Comté in London.

Despite the current challenges the company has to face, with the increase of glass, sugar and gas prices, Eurobubblies is hoping to consolidate its main base of customers, while attracting new ones. “Our 2023 strategy will be to steer towards countries with high purchasing power for our gourmet products.” To this end, the family business relies on the support of French organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Grand Est (CCI) and Business France to find new contacts. France’s network also includes Team France Export, which gathers all solutions from public institutions such as Bpifrance, that facilitate exports for companies.

And while there are many unknowns for the future, Françoise Bénichou feels confident that the company’s capacity to adapt will prevail: “Our product could have declined over the years, but it was able to remain relevant and attractive to customers around the world as we continue to renew ourselves. And I’m sure there’s more to come.”