RIDGEFIELD — Whenever town resident David Vogel said he thinks of a badger, an image of a tough little animal comes to mind. That’s why he said he chose the animal’s name for the new cocktail mixer company he founded — Badger Bevs, LLC.
“It’s one of these animals that’s gone viral in recent years for their relentless nature,” said Vogel, referring to badgers. “We love the resilience, that tenacity, because we’re this small brand and we’re going up against billion dollar brands. We have high ambitions but we have to be tough,” said Vogel, who is 39 and a member of the Ridgefield High School graduating class of 2003.
Badger Bevs, which was launched last summer, sells ginger beer, tonic water and club soda. The products are distributed by Chefs’ Warehouse in Ridgefieldand Opici Family Distributing, which is headquartered in New Jersey with an office in Milford. Badger also makes a variety of cocktails, the recipes for which are available on the business’ website.
Vogel said all his drinks are intended to be mixed with a spirit to make a high-end cocktail but can also be enjoyed on their own.
Customers can find Badger Bevs all over Ridgefield, in nearly a dozen liquor stores, specialty food stores and restaurants including Ancona’s Wines & Liquors, Village Wine And Spirits, Caraluzzi’s Wine & Spirits, Cellar XVand Ridgefield Liquor Shop.
They’re also carried in town at Nature’s Temptations, 109 Cheese & Wine, Luc’s Café, The Lantern, and Gallo Ristorante, and in Wilton at Cactus Rose Restaurant & Tequila Bar and Marly’s.
Vogel has big goals for Badger Bevs, he said.
“We want to expand across the country. We want to be in every country club, Michelin Star restaurant, (and) boutique hotel that really appreciates quality,” Vogel said. “We’re not interested in going mass. We’re not interested in the Walmarts and the Targets.”
Vogel continued: “We really (want to focus) on fine dining and the local aspect of your local liquor store, your mom and pop liquor store owner — we want to be loyal customers to them.”
He said he has “hundreds” of customers since establishing the brand.
Sandra Lee, director of sales for Badger Bevs., said “We know what we have to do (and) we have the grit to get it done together. We’re in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Florida and (Massachusetts) .. and then we’re going out west. That’s our strategic plan for 24.”
‘Room for something new’
Vogel has worked in the food business his entire career including at Blue Buffalo Company, a national pet food business in Wilton, Hain Celestial natural organic food in New Jersey and Chef’s Warehouse.
After working over 20 years in the food industry, he said he felt ready to take the next step “and start to build a brand.”
He added he was determined to be “unique” in wanting to create his product domestically.
“I felt that there was room for something new and especially made here domestically so we didn’t have to deal with the importing issues and the very expensive container costs,” he said. “We could give the customer the highest quality product and the customer didn’t have to pay for the importing cost. They just paid for the product.”
Another quality he said makes Badger Bevs stand out is its taste.
“Being a gin and tonic nerd for many years, I always felt like there was room for something better. The stuff that comes out of the fountain gun is, in often cases, not cleaned as frequently as it should be. It has high fructose corn syrup, low carbonation,” he said.
He continued: “That’s the base and then you graduate to some of these more conventional products which contain chemicals, artificial ingredients … and the carbonation isn’t there and the taste profiles aren’t there.”
Additionally, he said the glass bottles on his beverages are also unique in that they have “almost the double the wall thickness of a beer bottle, so they can hold these really, really tight small bubbles.”
He added he enjoys his job so much, he doesn’t consider it work.
“You find what you love and pursue it — that’d be my advice to any person just starting in the work world and sometimes it takes time to find that and that’s OK,” he said. “You have good experiences, you have bad experiences. You learn what you like, what you don’t like, but for me, 20 years later, it’s brought me to this really fun brand-building experience.”