It may be Only Beverages, but for its founders, Flora Ma and Jonathan Der, the fizz represents a taste of Canada's health-conscious drinking culture.
It is like a tale of two cities for the two buddies. They met in Hong Kong, even though they are both Vancouverites.
"Jon is actually friends with my husband's sister and they met through university," explained Ma.
For Ma, business was something she always wanted to do - her parents were entrepreneurs as well. "But before I got into this industry, I wanted to build myself a solid foundation in business and finance."
So she read commerce and finance at University of British Columbia and later became a chartered accountant.
Der, on the other hand, never imagined that he would become an entrepreneur.
"I always thought I would go the traditional route: get a university degree and go into the corporate world and have a successful corporate career," he said.
But one of the things they both share is the intrigue and love Hong Kong sparks in them.
Hong Kong-born Ma knew that she always wanted to return to the "vibrant, super busy, very cosmopolitan" financial center.
And while Der was born and raised in Vancouver, he visited the city from time to time as his mother is from Hong Kong.
He was on his last term at the University of Victoria reading economics when he came to the SAR on a three-month program. He never returned to Canada and decided to start a new life here, 10 years ago.
"One of the main reasons I decided to stay is I find the people here are very ambitious. They are very well traveled and well cultured. The fast pace of the city keeps me very motivated and I just find it very exciting."
The other thing that the two shared was a love for healthier drinks.
Being in a sorority, Ma was well versed with the alcohol culture in Vancouver and the health consciousness reflected in the country's drinking culture.
"Growing up in Vancouver, I always opted for healthier alcoholic beverages such as vodka sodas. Every time we went out, I was always drinking vodka sodas," said Ma. "It is just the cleanest drink - vodka is a very clean and neutral spirit."
Vodka has the lowest calories among alcoholic drinks, and with only added soda and sometimes flavorings, vodka soda is vegan and gluten-free.
Der, an avid ice hockey and rugby player, drank a lot of beer in his university years.
"I've been playing ice hockey since I was five. I was born and raised on skates," he said. "What is interesting with the rugby culture is you start with beer, but you end up in the night with vodka sodas. Because you can't drink beer all day all night, it is very filling."
However, as the years went on, Der made the switch to drinking just vodka soda.
"I find now as I grow older, my body cannot handle beer anymore. I get very bloated, very full and very tired," said Der, who explained that there is no sugar in vodka sodas.
"No sugar is key. Sugar can give headaches and severe hangovers."
While the drink is prevalent in Vancouver, the two observed that it is not as common in Hong Kong - and can be found only in bars rather than as ready-to-drink beverages.
"The idea came from abroad, but we wanted to build the brand in Hong Kong," said Ma. "There are very few local, ready-to-drink, health-conscious alcoholic brands. We saw a gap in the market and wanted to create it."
The idea came to Der during a phone call when his real-estate career was in limbo in late 2019. "My friend called me one day and asked me about the new RTD trend of hard seltzer. This led me to do research on realizing this type of drink," he said.
Then he turned to fellow Vancouverite Ma to consult with her about this idea of potentially bringing a similar type of drink to Hong Kong. "What was interesting was that Flora had also, a couple of months ago, been thinking about doing this too," he said.
The duo banded together and founded Only Beverages in March 2020, with their first products - Tahitian Lime and Yuzu Ginger vodka sodas - prelaunching in May 2021.
The ready-to-drink cans are sold online and at outlets such as Slowood, Green Common and HK Liquor Store.
"After we launched, the response was so positive and the growth was so quick and so immediate that Jon could not really do everything by himself," said Ma. "I never in a million years thought I would leave my job."
It was not an easy decision for Der either. "I had a tough decision to make, where either I continue down the real estate corporate route, or I go down an unknown, entrepreneurial route," he said.
Ultimately, he decided to take the leap and commit to the role full-time.
"If you are going to make a company successful in scale, you need to be 100 percent committed. You need to be all in," he said.
Ma added: "If the opportunity is in front of you, you have to go in and follow your dreams and commit, but with the necessary preparations.
"Don't be afraid to ask for advice, and be passionate about what you are doing."
