We recently connected with Jordyn Alander and have shared our conversation below.
Jordyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
One day I was scrolling Tik Tok and noticed how popular these “dirty sodas” really were everywhere but in our area here in Duluth/Cloquet, MN. So I decided to try gathering a few ingredients together to make them at home. I fell in love with the idea of it and more enough the taste of them as well as how creative I really could get with them. I thought to myself, well what the heck, who says I am incapable of starting my own soda business here and seeing where it could really take me? I personally stopped drinking about a year ago and have noticed the minimal amount of beverages offered to those who don’t drink, you are almost only offered a bottle of water or a canned soda. Boring. So going forward with this idea, those who choose not to drink deserve something fun, too!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
My husband, River and I have three children whom are Navy (5), Hattie (3) and Maverick (2) along with two dogs Beau (Great Pyrenees) and Millie (New Foundland). We have quite a full house but wouldn’t trade it for the world! I graduated from Denfeld High School in 2016 and then from University of Wisconsin-Superior in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. Throughout this entire time, I have worked at The Buffalo House since I was 17 years old as a dishwasher, waitress, and bartender. I am still employed there to this day, 11 years later, mainly bartending! My husband is an Auto Body Mechanic at Quality Collision. We have made it work to avoid daycare costs by working opposite shifts, as I stay at home with them during the day and my husband is home with them during the evening. I decided to go forward with Soda Spot Co, early January of 2026. A mobile pop-up handcrafted soda bar that can pop up anywhere, think baby showers, bridal showers, graduation parties, weddings, local small business hosting an event, you name it. The products I serve include dirty sodas, lemonades, refreshers and energy drinks. A dirty soda is taking a base and mixing it with flavored syrups and cream. I certainly find myself most proud of being able to start this small business from the ground up, meeting and connecting with so many new people, and encouraging amazing women/mothers that you can do anything you set your mind to and the sky is never the limit.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Growing up next to my dad, I got my first job at Sears at just 15 years old. I have always worked so hard for everything I have. My dad worked so hard to build a foundation that taught me many lessons including the most important one, that there are no short-cuts to any place worth going to, self-belief and hard work will always earn you success. I did know going into this, I was going to have to put in quite a bit of money to start up and get going but what I didn’t realize is, that it would be a lot more than I anticipated and that is okay. I had a goal of not going into debt starting up my business and I have succeeded with that. Everything I have put into this business was funded by my savings, money I have set aside for many years.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
As I am currently still building my audience on social media and truly always will be, posting consistently is highly important. My brand/logo is based off the color pink, which is kind of funny because my childhood bedroom had two bright pink and two bright purple walls, and ever since then I haven’t really cared for the color pink. Both of my girls, Navy and Hattie love pink everything, so when I was starting everything up, getting ideas for my logo, I asked them what color I should go with? And not to my surprise at all, they both shouted pink at the same time. So, I decided how fun to include their ideas on my business as well. Going back to the social media side of things- I am proud to support any women owned business and empowering women owned businesses. Women tend to prioritize social responsibility, community involvement, and diversity within their businesses which benefits many other people.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: sodaspotco
- Facebook: Soda Spot Co.
