On a brisk day this past October, Juan Ignacio Stewart invites attendees at an annual pitch slam in Boulder to sip samples of Frescos Naturales—canned, carbonated aguas frescas he started making just nine months before. The event is hosted by Naturally Boulder, a membership organization that supports the Front Range’s natural products industry, and Stewart is a finalist. In a few hours, he will present his product to a team of judges and investors who—if he wins—could provide his fledgling company with funding, mentorship, and the chance to exhibit Frescos at a major national trade show.
Frescos’ packaging, with its bright colors and bold lettering, conveys the same confidence as Stewart, and those who can read the Spanish words on the labels—tamarindo, rosa de Jamaica, maracuyá—know instantly what’s inside. The all-natural, low-sugar fruit drinks flavored with ingredients such as tamarind, hibiscus, and passion fruit are popular through-out Mexico and Central and South America. But Stewart’s versions are unique: The soda substitutes are not only bubbly (a refreshing twist on classic, flat aguas frescas), but they’re also made by and for the Latino community, a market that, according to Stewart, is untapped
