Flavorful fortune: An on-trend manufacturer drinks up sales

As sparkling water increasingly grabs market share that once belonged to soda, Clearwater-based Monin has reaped big rewards. How will it keep the growth flowing?

By Brian Hartz
| 6:00 a.m. August 23, 2019
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Mark Wemple. Monin executive Bill Lombardo says the company does a lot of research at its Clearwater facility.

Strategies

The backlash against soda has been a boon for the carbonated water industry, which has soared to revenues topping $2.2 billion in the U.S. alone. This shift in consumer tastes, in turn, has opened a path to massive growth for Monin Gourmet Flavorings, a French company that makes all-natural syrups and flavorings for cocktails and sparkling water drinks — with a U.S. headquarters in Clearwater.

“We do a lot of what we call flavor-forward research. We usually have product made before the market's ready for it.” Bill Lombardo, CEO of Monin Gourmet Flavoring’s U.S. subsidiary