Since coming on the scene in 2020, Drunk Fruit, a hard seltzer company with Asian-inspired flavors, has quickly gained traction in the DMV and around the country. Its fruity and crisp flavor profiles are unique to the American alcohol industry, but not to the cultures their drinks pay homage to.
Kenn Miller, one of the co-founders along with Steven Tang, William Zeng, and John Zhang, says their brand vision is encapsulated by the idea of bringing in Asian flavors, and representation, into the alcohol space. “There’s a lack of representation when it comes to that,” Miller says.
They’ve set a goal of making a “portfolio of products” that represent the Asian flavors they love. The products aren’t just business—it’s personal, too. Miller says identity plays a big role: “Being Asian-American myself, we cherish and relish in the things we grew up with.”
Miller and the other founders aren’t originally from the DMV; they all met while attending the University of Chicago, but they knew the D.C. area would be a place their ideas could thrive. “It was part of our strategy,” Miller says. “First is the concentration of Asian-Americans [here] and second, we wanted to have a local presence.” With Miller now calling Northern Virginia home, he’s thrilled to actively share his vision.
Among Miller and his friends, alcohol is also tied to fond memories. When the group was getting started, they noticed an apparent lack of Asian-inspired alcoholic beverages. “We wanted to use that as an opportunity to share the unique sort of flavors that were akin to us growing up as Asian-American kids,” Miller says.
From there, they got to work crafting the perfect drink. Each flavor Drunk Fruit has picked was chosen carefully, Miller says. “We went through a number of other flavors we were formulating … but we gravitated towards lychee, yuzu,…
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