Frescos Naturales wins top prize in the Naturally Boulder Annual Pitch Slam and Autumn Awards, receiving a cash prize of $3,000 and earning a spot at Natural Foods Expo East 2021.

On October 29th, Boulder-based Frescos Naturales participated in Naturally Boulder’s 17th Annual Pitch Slam and Autumn Awards. Frescos Naturales competed against four other brands for the top prize, which includes a $3,000 cash prize, a guaranteed spot in next year’s Expo East Pitch Slam, and a host of in-kind business consulting services, such as branding strategy, finance and brokering. 

Frescos Naturales are flavorful, low sugar, real fruit refreshments inspired by vibrant Latin American cultures, modern taste and traditional aguas frescas. Co-founder and CEO, Juan Ignacio Stewart, draws inspiration from his own childhood in Guatemala, but the idea to bottle aguas frescas came from his son, while drinking a tall glass of rosa de jamaica, which is a strong hibiscus and cinnamon infusion, served cold. “Nobody in the commercial space is making aguas frescas,” he said. “There’s lots of kombucha, tons of CBD sparkling waters, plenty of iced tea… but nobody is making homestyle, all-natural, low sugar, aguas frescas. Like, legit refrescos latinos.”    

Launched in January 2021, in the middle of COVID winter, and with only one flavor--rosa de jamaica--Juan hit the pavement, going door-to-door up and down the streets of Boulder. Within months, as the pandemic intensified, he had secured over 20 accounts in Boulder and developed two new flavors. He now has over 60 accounts throughout the Denver metro area and beyond, from grocery stores, to coffee shops, breweries and more. There are also now a total of six flavors: rosa de jamaica, tamarindo, maracuyá, mango, piña and guayaba. 

A few things that stand out in Frescos Naturales’ branding are language and color. The cans spotlight the Spanish names for their flavors, for example, maracuyá is passion fruit and guayaba means guava. This is to celebrate the brand’s culture and authenticity, and a nod to Juan’s Guatemalan heritage, but also that of brother-in-law and graphic designer, Sebastian Sifuentes, from Peru. It’s also smart business, as co-founder and cousin, Charlie Stewart, says: “Latino purchasing power in the U.S. has been growing steadily for the past decade and recently surpassed $1.4 trillion, according to a University of Georgia study.” So with these bright products and big win, Frescos Naturales is excited to expand and serve this growing market with a new category of beverage.