Q & A with Josh Hayter, President of Spearhead Enterprises

Recently I got a chance to try Akwa, a new hop-infused botanical beverage. While it's a refreshing sparkling water with a crisp, citrusy taste, what I found the most intriguing was that it's made by Spearhead, a brewery known for its top-notch craft beers. I reached out to the president of the company, Josh Hayter, for more about their latest product -  here's what he had to say:

FRANKLIN ON FOOD: Why is Spearhead getting into the water business?

JOSH HAYTER: Don’t get us wrong, we love beer but we wanted to make a refreshing nonalcoholic product that can be enjoyed by anyone, anytime, anywhere.   Our Head Brewer Jacob Schmidt came to us with the idea of making water infused with hops.  The first few attempts were a very bitter disaster, but we kept at it until we had a product that we were proud to put on the shelves.

FoF: Is Akwa made with the same water and hops used in the beer-making process?
JH: Akwa has the exact same water that we use in all of our beer.    Each beer has its own unique blend of hops, the hops that we use in Akwa can also be found in our NEIPA (New England India Pale Ale).

FoF: Who is Akwa's target market?
JH: When it comes down to it everyone really.  We have found through taste testing that people from all walks of life enjoy Akwa.  Given that it has zero calories, zero alcohol, zero sugars, it’s gluten-free, and has antioxidant properties from hops Akwa is a good fit into anyone's rotation.  My kids love it. 

FoF: How has COVID-19 affected your operations over the past year?
JH: 2020 and the beginning of 2021 has not been the easiest time for us.  A very large portion of our business comes from our partners in the hospitality sector.  That sector has been devastated by the lockdowns and restrictions needed to help connotation the Covid-19 virus.   We have worked very hard to establish and grow new retail opportunities as well as our online channel to help get through this pandemic.  We are encouraged and looking forward to working with our licensee partners as things open up.

FoF: What else can we expect to see from Spearhead this year?
JH: We have a lot of exciting new products coming out over the next year.    We will be adding 2 new core brands, continuing our GlobeTrotter Series, adding in a new Series, and we are planning on adding a couple new flavours of Akwa.  If I know more about when this will be published I’ll be able to give more specifics. 

FoF: Where can people buy AKWA?
JH: Akwa is available in over 90 locations (mix of retail and licensees) as well as online at www.spearheadbeer.com and www.akwawater.com.