Sanzo Puts Filipino Spark in Sparkling Water
/
Sandro Roco (Photo courtesy of Sanzo)
So “Barman, slide me a lychee Sanzo chilled, hold the lime, but don’t shake the can.”
The fizzy water wars were already raging in 2019 when Sanzo sparkling water made its debut. The space couldn’t fit another brand sandwiched between soft drink powerhouses PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and National Beverage, maker of those colorful cans of LaCroix. Founder Sandro Roco had other plans that would expand the seltzer market through a neglected niche whose thirst only Sanzo could quench.
Sandro was born in Queens, New York, 34 years ago and lives in Brooklyn with wife, Ysa. He has a chemical engineering degree from Villanova University. His mother is Carmela from Quezon City and his father is Angel from Manila. He has two siblings.
The seltzer craze didn’t influence Sandro’s decision to start Sanzo. He originally targeted Asian beverages as his competitors. The Brooklynite recalls, “The idea for Sanzo was born in 2018 when I was walking through a popular Asian supermarket in Manhattan’s Koreatown. I noticed that the legacy Asian beverage brands were filled with sugar, preservatives, and artificial flavors, which stood in stark contrast to the ‘clean’ American sparkling water brands available at other retailers. My goal with Sanzo from the very beginning has been to celebrate high-quality Asian flavors without all the bad ingredients and extra sugar.”
The fruit purees in his beverages are non-GMO and mostly sourced from Asia. Mango, lychee, calamansi and yuzu with ginger are familiar to consumers with Asian roots. “I also see Sanzo as an ongoing opportunity to bridge the cultural gap between the East and the West through authentic flavors that represent over sixty percent of the world’s population.”
The flavors of Sanzo, Yuzu, Lychee, Mango and Calamansi (Photo courtesy of Sanzo)
The Little Company That Could
A large, assumed audience isn’t the safest bet for a startup, especially not in a pandemic panic. The little outlier with 15 employees in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn reached 400 percent annual growth within two years of operation. Its distribution network brings Sanzo to more than 3,500 retailers, including Amazon, Erewhon, FreshDirect, Panda Express, Sprouts, Target, and Whole Foods.
This link shows how near a can of Sanzo is to a fan of the four flavors.
How It All Began
Sanzo had the humblest of beginnings in an unwelcoming environment. “The big beverage companies have research and development budgets of tens of millions every year with hundreds of people on their payroll.”
Sandro says, “I started Sanzo with my own money from a 500-square foot studio with cans of seltzer water and purees from Amazon, a $20 kitchen scale and a Google Sheet. The sheer difference in resources available to me versus the big conglomerates was wide enough without mentioning that this was my first time starting a beverage company. I had to be really scrappy and thoughtful about what I spent my money on and how I launched the brand.”
Sandro’s comfort with long hours carries over from a past career in banking. He has settled into a routine that that is demanding but within mortal limitations. “Most days, I’m up by 5:30 a.m. and checking my phone for urgent emails or phone calls I may have missed overnight from our West Coast team. Assuming all is well, I enjoy getting to the office before most New Yorkers wake up. I live about a fifteen-minute bike ride/thirty-minute walk to the office, so my commute is when I can let my mind wander. Most days, I’m used to prioritizing what I need to do or which team members I need to support that particular day.”
“Its distribution network brings Sanzo to more than 3,500 retailers, including Amazon, Erewhon, FreshDirect, Panda Express, Sprouts, Target, and Whole Foods.”
Filipino in Body, Soul, and Belly
Calamansi, mango, and lychee are flavors that showcase the influence of the Philippines. “Sanzo in many ways is a manifestation of my own journey as a first generation Filipino American,” says Sandro. “It’s a way for me to tap into and attempt to pay proper homage to the favors and cultures that make me who I am, and it’s also a way for me to introduce these flavors to people who may not know about them, but seek a deeper cultural connection.”
Sandro has visited the Philippines but never lived there. His fluency in Tagalog is self-taught. Filipino culture is embedded in his soul. “What gives me the most pride about our culture is our hospitality. We are a loving, nurturing community. We take care of our family, but, even more than that, we treat others like extended family and always seek to bring people into our community.”
Food is the basic measure of a Filipino American. Sandro knows the dishes. “My party favorite is, for sure, kare-kare, but when done right, laing is one of the most unbelievable dishes Filipino cuisine has to offer. Creamy but with a kick from labuyo chili, leafy and also meaty. Laing and white rice might be the meal I’d want on my deathbed.”
Sandro matches the ideal Sanzo drink for some iconic Positively Filipino Happy Homecooked meals:
Lumpia — pair with calamansi or yuzu
Adobo — pair with calamansi
Turon — pair with lychee or mango
Filipino spaghetti — pair with mango
Lechon — pair with calamansi or yuzu
Email Sandro at hello@drinksanzo.com and tell him when and where Sanzo tastes best.
Positively Filipino Staff Correspondent Anthony Maddela is completing a novel that’s filled with Filipino and American life.
More articles from Anthony Maddela
