Wild Bill’s Original Cola
Since 2002 the soft drink company Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage Co., based in Millington, New Jersey, has built its business around mobile beverage stands at fairs, festivals, and other public events in the United States. The operating model centers on a refill-based concept in which visitors purchase a branded mug that provides unlimited soda refills for the rest of the day. This event-driven setup came to an abrupt stop in 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to public gatherings.
The interruption forced the company to rethink its business model and led to a shift toward packaged beverages in cans. The transition proved commercially successful and triggered a significant expansion of the product portfolio. As part of this development, Wild Bill’s Original Cola was introduced in May 2022, simultaneously with a Diet Cola variant. Canned sodas now exist alongside the original event-based business model, which resumed and expanded after the pandemic.
The company was founded by two military veterans and has developed a business structure with a pronounced social component focused on veteran employment. The mobile beverage stands are operated as franchises and provide veterans with an opportunity to gain experience with entrepreneurship.
The Wild Bill range includes several craft soda flavors in addition to cola, including Root Beer, Vanilla Cream, and Apple Pie soda. All regular sodas are sweetened with cane sugar, and all diet products are sweetened with stevia and monk fruit. Across the portfolio, the sodas are caffeine-free and marketed as gluten-free and vegan-friendly.
