Homewood couple start soda company

Eric Holsomback could not find the perfect ginger ale, so he decided to make it.

That was five years ago.

Holsomback, now a West Homewood resident, went through countless variations on his favorite soda to find the exact taste he was looking for. Along the way, friends began pushing him to make more soda flavors and sell them.

Last year, he and his wife, Kayla Holsomback, who “married into” his soda-making hobby, decided they wanted to start Wholesome Sodas. They didn’t begin selling until May, when Eric Holsomback was finishing up a business incubator class with REV Birmingham. Both of the Holsombacks work in graphic design and branding, so while they know how to market their products, they said the business side is still new to them.

Wholesome Sodas is a play on the couple’s last name, as well as a nod to their ingredients.

The Holsombacks use organic cane sugar instead of corn syrup and try to use less sugar and artificial ingredients. With her own dietary restrictions, including limited sugar intake, Kayla Holsomback said one of her favorite parts of the business is simply having something to drink that she doesn’t have to worry about.

“So it tastes like a lightly sweetened soda,” she said.

They sell bottles at Tropicaleo, a pop-up in Crestwood started by one of Eric Holsomback’s REV classmates, and at Magic City Sweet Ice on Oak Grove Road. Wholesome Soda flavors include ginger ale, orange-lime, grape and “Ginger Hell,” which has a hot-pepper extract added.

While the Holsombacks have tried between 15 and 20 experimental flavors, including odd choices such as tomato basil, only about a quarter of them are deemed good enough to sell.

“Every now and then you get the one [and] you’re like, ‘Oh, I just want to drink this all day,’” Eric Holsomback said.

Ginger ale was that flavor for a while, but grape has more recently taken the top spot.

Grape is their newest flavor to sell, but the couple have also created a blueberry soda and a root beer they both enjoy. Eric Holsomback said they’re thinking of selling the root beer this fall, but that he’s also created a cola drink that he enjoys mixed into the root beer.

“I really like it more than I like my cola or my root beer, so I think I’m going to go with that,” he said, adding that they’ve yet to come up with a name for the drink.

Going forward, Kayla Holsomback said they want to get into more bars and restaurants with their sodas.

Eric Holsomback said he likes the idea of having a soda that can be used in mixed drinks as well as by nondrinkers or designated drivers while out with their friends.

Right now, Wholesome Sodas is a side job and both have kept their regular careers. The Holsombacks said they have considered making a retail soda shop, but may just stick to distribution.

The next step is finding a warehouse for soda creation, bottling and storage. Wherever the next step takes them, for the Holsombacks it will still be about enjoying the flavors they create.

“My original favorite part is drinking them,” Eric Holsomback said.