If you’ve been craving your BUBBL’R fix outside of Madison, you’re in luck. BUBBL’R announced at the beginning of this month that it would be expanding to Targets nationwide.
The brand will be expanding from its current 601 Target stores, which are primarily in the midwest and southern regions of the U.S, to the entire country. There are 12 different flavors of BUBBL’R and it’s three most popular — Twisted Elix’r. Triple Berry and Tropical Dream’r — are now being sold chain-wide.
The company has also announced the development of new multipack sizes, including variety packs and new flavors scheduled to come out in 2025.
BUBBL’R markets itself as a functional sparkling water containing antioxidants, vitamins and 69 mg of caffeine, unlike most other sparkling waters. The drinks come in 12 oz cans and are sweetened with stevia and erythritol.
BUBBL’R was founded in 2017 in Madison as a sub-brand of Klarbrunn, a Wisconsin-based company. In 2020, the brand announced it would be expanding to the south central States.
Much of BUBBL’R’s current footprint is in the center of the country, with some presence in Florida, Texas and other large market states, but until now, the company has avoided major coastal markets like New York and California.
Klarbrunn and BUBBL’R are owned and manufactured by Wis-Pak, a Pepsi-Cola bottler whose corporate office is in Madison. Wis-Pak Brand Development Manager Zach Lastrilla told BevNet that BUBBL’R will support the Target expansion with marketing initiatives including in-store sampling programs and social media campaigns.
Wis-Pak Director of Marketing Tyler Hartmann told BevNet the goal is to eventually be nationally distributed beyond target.
“Target is certainly our entry point in many of these new markets and it’s one of the best retailers you can be with in terms of their ability to draw in consumers that are looking to discover that next brand,” Hartmann said in an interview with BevNet.
BUBBL’R already has presence on the University of Wisconsin campus, being sold at the Wisconsin Unions, who sell Pepsi products.
Though the company seeks to establish itself as a national brand, it will always be connected to its Midwest roots according to Hartmann.
“It’s atypical — everybody is always going coasts-in versus Midwest-out,” Hartmann told BevNet.
