4 8 C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 2
also wanted to take the beer straight to the kind of customer he felt
would understand the brand, and that meant seeking out athletes.
"Bill would go to all the races in New England," Walker recalls,
"drive there at three o'clock in the morning and go be at the finish
lines, sharing the beers and embracing that celebratory culture."
Hand-in-hand with the taste of the product was their determi-
nation to revamp the dusty image of nonalcoholic beer. e name
Athletic was a key first step. It fit the image they were going for,
and it's what Shufelt calls "an easy bar-call."
His point being, it's not always easy to ask for a nonalcoholic
drink in a loud, crowded bar.
"I feel like anytime people used to ask that, the music would
stop and everyone would look at you — Athletic is an easy-
to-hear, positive word," he says. "It's a brand people can get
excited about and has cool, outdoor imagery on the can."
Shufelt and Walker want their customers to feel proud of
what they're drinking, and not feel like they have to hide the
label.
"It has to be their favorite routine," says Shufelt. "Whether
it's in their house aer a busy day of work or with friends and
colleagues at a bar, we wanted the Athletic can in their hand
to be the favorite part of their day."
Expanded production
e passion and the image, combined with a tasty prod-
uct, paid off. e fledgling company found itself struggling to
"We broke down the traditional
brewing process, dissected it
entirely. We formulated our finished goal
and what we wanted to be drinking and
worked backwards." – John Walker
Continued from page 47
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