To the unfamiliar, “ranch water” sounds odd—no, it’s not drinkable salad dressing—but thanks to Katie Beal Brown, it’s quickly gaining currency from coast-to-coast. Quite literally: The Texas-born cocktail turned canned, malt-based seltzer was a blip in 2019, became a multi-million-dollar category in 2020, and in 2021 is now found in chain grocery and convenience stores all over the country. And Beal Brown’s Lone River Beverage Company is at the center of this year’s historic run.
A fourth-generation Texan and Southern Methodist University graduate, Beal Brown is doing her home state proud. Lone River’s lineup of ranch water seltzers was already a category leader when Diageo, one of the biggest alcohol companies in the world, announced it was buying Beal Brown’s business. After selling $3.7 million in chain retail stores last year, Lone River will sell more than $20 million in 2021.
Diageo leadership described the deal as “keeping with our strategy to acquire high-growth brands in fast-growing categories.” And indeed, ranch water is growing so fast that international competitors like Molson Coors (via its Topo Chico partnership) and Heineken (with its Dos Equis brand) entered the fray this year, too.
Beal Brown started her company in 2019, caught the eye of Texans and global companies in 2020, and made ranch water a national entity in 2021. In interviews over the past year, she regularly cites a desire to bring the once little-known Lone Star State refresher to as many people as possible. Thanks to her efforts, 2021 has made for a dream come true.
Words,Bryan Roth