Anna Zesbaugh, middle, with her first place belt from Naturally Colorado’s pitch competition earlier this month. She is flanked by Denver Bone Broth’s Patrick Libonate, left, and Send Bars’ Sasha Digiulian, right. (Courtesy Naturally Colorado)
Corpse Reviver is coming to life.
The electrolyte beverage brand founded by Anna Zesbaugh is fresh off a pitch competition victory and projecting a major jump in sales.
“With this whole sober-curious movement going on, we decided to take our classic alcohol into the non-alc space with a botanically driven, innovative drink,” said Zesbaugh, who also created hard kombucha brand Hooch Booch in 2020.
The “healthy-for-you” drink comes in three flavors: prickly pear, guava rose and botanical. Zesbaugh said the combination of zinc, l-theanine, magnesium and potassium add extra immunity-enhancing and mood benefits.
Instead of sugar, Zesbaugh uses pomegranate juice to sweeten, helping the beverage come in at 10 calories for a 16-oz can. They first hit the shelves in January 2024.
“There’s no real category leader that we see in the functional, healthy beverage-for-you space,” she said. “We’re in that social beverage category, with people drinking it and getting functional health uses.”
After selling 17,000 cases of 12 in its inaugural year, Zesbaugh said Corpse Reviver is tracking to do around 220,000 in its sophomore season. Between 80% and 85% of those sales come from retail, she said.
Cases sell for $37 on the company’s website and Amazon. Supermarket chains like Natural Grocers and local restaurants like The Patio at Sloan’s also stock it.
The drink also pours at Zesbaugh’s RiNo bar, which opened in 2022 as Blind Tiger by Hooch Booch. She said the name was changed to the Blind Tiger Lounge late last year to not be as kombucha-centric.
“Hooch Booch is definitely still going, but Corpse Reviver is our hero product and our winning product,” she said. “The whole shift in consumer preference is proving that it has more product market fit and now the rebrand shines a light on all the products that we make.”
Zesbaugh said she plans on doubling to tripling the drink’s 1,000-store retail footprint, mainly through a Walmart launch in May.
And it’s not just consumers who are taking notice — the brand also won local industry group Naturally Colorado’s pitch competition earlier this month.
“I think there’s so much opportunity that comes with winning,” she said of the $110,000-value prize package. “And winning in and of itself is fuel to the fire to really propel our growth.”
For winning the “SharkTank”-style contest, Zesbaugh gets $6,000 in cash, a booth at the Newtopia Now convention and other services, like consulting and creative assistance.
After pitching Hooch Booch at the same competition two years ago, winning with Corpse Reviver showed her she was on the right track.
“It was really exciting to get back up on stage, even though I was apprehensive because of how the first time went,” she said of the experience. “And winning is such an honor that validated what we’re doing.”
Anna Zesbaugh, middle, with her first place belt from Naturally Colorado’s pitch competition earlier this month. She is flanked by Denver Bone Broth’s Patrick Libonate, left, and Send Bars’ Sasha Digiulian, right. (Courtesy Naturally Colorado)
Corpse Reviver is coming to life.
The electrolyte beverage brand founded by Anna Zesbaugh is fresh off a pitch competition victory and projecting a major jump in sales.
“With this whole sober-curious movement going on, we decided to take our classic alcohol into the non-alc space with a botanically driven, innovative drink,” said Zesbaugh, who also created hard kombucha brand Hooch Booch in 2020.
The “healthy-for-you” drink comes in three flavors: prickly pear, guava rose and botanical. Zesbaugh said the combination of zinc, l-theanine, magnesium and potassium add extra immunity-enhancing and mood benefits.
Instead of sugar, Zesbaugh uses pomegranate juice to sweeten, helping the beverage come in at 10 calories for a 16-oz can. They first hit the shelves in January 2024.
“There’s no real category leader that we see in the functional, healthy beverage-for-you space,” she said. “We’re in that social beverage category, with people drinking it and getting functional health uses.”
After selling 17,000 cases of 12 in its inaugural year, Zesbaugh said Corpse Reviver is tracking to do around 220,000 in its sophomore season. Between 80% and 85% of those sales come from retail, she said.
Cases sell for $37 on the company’s website and Amazon. Supermarket chains like Natural Grocers and local restaurants like The Patio at Sloan’s also stock it.
The drink also pours at Zesbaugh’s RiNo bar, which opened in 2022 as Blind Tiger by Hooch Booch. She said the name was changed to the Blind Tiger Lounge late last year to not be as kombucha-centric.
“Hooch Booch is definitely still going, but Corpse Reviver is our hero product and our winning product,” she said. “The whole shift in consumer preference is proving that it has more product market fit and now the rebrand shines a light on all the products that we make.”
Zesbaugh said she plans on doubling to tripling the drink’s 1,000-store retail footprint, mainly through a Walmart launch in May.
And it’s not just consumers who are taking notice — the brand also won local industry group Naturally Colorado’s pitch competition earlier this month.
“I think there’s so much opportunity that comes with winning,” she said of the $110,000-value prize package. “And winning in and of itself is fuel to the fire to really propel our growth.”
For winning the “SharkTank”-style contest, Zesbaugh gets $6,000 in cash, a booth at the Newtopia Now convention and other services, like consulting and creative assistance.
After pitching Hooch Booch at the same competition two years ago, winning with Corpse Reviver showed her she was on the right track.
“It was really exciting to get back up on stage, even though I was apprehensive because of how the first time went,” she said of the experience. “And winning is such an honor that validated what we’re doing.”
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