Salacious Drinks Premium Water - Where are they Now?

Salacious Drinks, led by Owner Ashley Epperson, is a luxury water retailer specializing in premium bottled water. The company occupies a 1,250-square-foot space at ReadySpaces in Springfield, VA. We last spoke with her in the fall of 2022 and caught up with her recently to see how things are going.

Since August 2022, the retail landscape has been turbulent, with many small businesses closing. Salacious Drinks confronted these challenges by innovating in marketing and redefining their brand connection with customers, focusing on the core questions: “What is Salacious Drinks?” and “Who are we?”

With a slow start to 2023, Ashley emphasized marketing to elevate the brand’s presence among luxury water retailers while educating customers on what they were buying and what the difference was in her products.

“[We had to] focus on the information we send out to people, and answering the ‘why?’ for people – once we started answering that question, the business started to heal itself.”

Achievements:

• Diversification into e-commerce, shifting from a predominantly B2B model pre-pandemic to a 95% B2C online business.
  Significant customer acquisition by clearly communicating the brand’s identity and value proposition.
• Utilization of ReadySpaces: Salacious Drinks has optimized their ReadySpaces facility to adapt to business needs and facilitate operations.

Future Outlook: With an established presence in the area, Plans are underway to expand Salacious Drinks nationally, with Springfield as their first hub. ReadySpaces will continue to play a crucial role in their expansion strategy.