Encinitas’ Lyda Hanson was a senior at UC Berkeley when she got the idea for a canned mimosa company in 2021.
A year later dreaming it up, perfecting the mimosa recipe and the company vibe, the cocktails were in cans.
In college, Lyda had been studying cognitive science but had always loved her entrepreneurship classes and was influenced by her professors. She always knew she wanted to start her own business, she just didn’t know what it would look like.
“Ironically, I’m not a huge drinker,” Lyda said. “I like fun, fruity and light drinks and for me seltzers are too flat and beer is too heavy. The mimosa is just the perfect drink…it shocked me when I realized that there didn’t seem to be a flagship canned mimosa.”
Lyda’s twin brothers Wyatt and Spencer were at Stanford when she pitched them her idea. They hopped on board and ever since then it’s been a family business, with their mother Hilary Kinney also playing a role.
With Suntide, Lyda wanted her mimosa to taste as authentic as possible—just sparkling wine and real juice, coming in flavors of classic orange, raspberry and peach. And, of course, bubbles. As many bubbles as they can in a can.
Their drink is all-natural with no artificial preservatives, no added sugar.
“I always tell people there are no big words on the back of the can, we keep it really simple,” Spencer said.
The siblings were born and raised in Northern California and Lyda moved to Encinitas three years ago for the surfing.
“Encinitas had a huge influence on us,” said Lyda. “ Encinitas embodies what we stand for, our target consumer likes to get out of the house and get into the sunshine.”
After she moved to Encinitas, her mom couldn’t help but follow her south.
The Hansons worked with a consultant from Liquid Opportunities and used BevSource as a stepping stone to find a packer, flavor company and help streamline the process of getting the product into cans.
“For six months we went back and forth—more bubbles, more orange juice,” said Spencer of the ideal mimosa mixture. “We spent a lot of time making the product.”
While Suntide is headquartered in Encinitas and the wine is sourced in California, production is located in Iowa for freight shipping practicalities. They initially launched the product in Oklahoma and Kansas and took their time getting into the San Diego market, launching two years ago with a big party at the former Home and Away in downtown Encinitas.
“People were dancing on the tables at 10 p.m. drinking mimosas,” Lyda said. “We were stoked.”
Lyda said it has been a crazy ride over the last three years and Suntide is now available in 23 states, sharing a taste inspired by the California sunshine. They hope to launch a variety pack soon with tropical flavors, just in time for summer.
Locally, Suntide can be found at Total Wine & More and Village Liquor in Encinitas, Mar Vista in Cardiff and the Butchery in Carmel Valley’s One Paseo.
Visit drinksuntide.com/ for more information.
This story originally appeared in Encinitas Advocate .
Most Popular
Comments / 0