What Smooj does

Smooj is a consumer beverage brand that produces canned alcoholic hard smoothies, operating as a brand extension of HOMES Brewery out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 2020, the company introduced a novel format within the ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverage category by combining real fruit with carbonation and a 5% ABV in shelf-stable cans. Its current product line consists of two flavors, Piña Colada and Strawberry Banana, positioned at a $20-per-four-pack price point.

The company's underlying production capability is built on HOMES Brewery's existing brewing and beverage operations in Michigan, giving Smooj access to ingredient sourcing, canning, and quality control infrastructure without standalone manufacturing overhead. Smooj's go-to-market is dual-channel: limited Michigan on-premise and off-premise retail distribution paired with a national direct-to-consumer e-commerce operation. The DTC channel runs on Shopify and uses AccelPay to handle the regulatory complexity of shipping alcohol across state lines, currently reaching 46 states plus Washington, D.C.

Smooj's commercial model is consumer-direct at small scale, with revenue generated primarily through online 4-pack purchases and supplemented by Michigan retail. The company has invested in category-defining media positioning, with coverage in Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Today, and Thrillist, framing it as the first credible entrant in the hard smoothie sub-category. The customer base is a fragmented long-tail of individual DTC buyers rather than enterprise or distributor accounts, and the company is privately held with no disclosed outside funding.

Name

Smooj

Legal name

Smooj

Website

https://drinksmooj.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smooj produces canned alcoholic hard smoothies (5% ABV) in Piña Colada and Strawberry Banana flavors as a brand extension of HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor, Michigan, selling direct-to-consumer nationwide and through Michigan retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Canned Alcoholic Beverages (Hard Smoothies)

NAICS

Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing (312)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Refrigerated Juices & Smoothies (CRADACAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Still Soft Drinks & Flavored Waters (Non-Carbonated) (AFAFABAB)

Keywords

• Hard smoothie beverages
• Canned alcoholic drinks
• Ready-to-drink cocktails
• Fruit alcoholic beverages
• Hard seltzer alternatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Hard Smoothie Product Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of hard smoothie 4-packs at $20.00 per pack ($5.00 per can). Main revenue stream from core flavors Piña Colada and Strawberry Banana.
2. Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including apparel (t-shirts, hats), accessories (koozies, stickers, frisbees) sold through the same e-commerce platform

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Smooj manufactures and sells canned alcoholic hard smoothies (5% ABV) built from real fruit purees with light carbonation. The core product line consists of two 4-pack flavors — Piña Colada and Strawberry Banana — priced at $20 per 4-pack, distributed via Shopify-powered DTC e-commerce shipping to 46 states plus DC and through Michigan retail partners.

Product overview

Smooj is a hard smoothie brand offering a portfolio of fruit-forward alcoholic beverages. The core product line consists of ready-to-drink hard smoothies in 4-pack cans at 5% ABV, featuring two primary flavors (Piña Colada and Strawberry Banana) made with 100% real fruit. The products are positioned as gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. In addition to beverages, the company sells branded merchandise including apparel and accessories through its Swag Shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Piña Colada Hard Smoothie Hard smoothie made with real pineapple, coconut, and key lime at 5% ABV, sold in 4-pack cans for $20 ($5 per can). Features carbonated water, pineapple puree, cream of coconut, and key lime puree; gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Targeted at adults 21+ seeking fruit-forward canned alcoholic beverages.
• Strawberry Banana Hard Smoothie Hard smoothie made with real strawberry and banana at 5% ABV, sold in 4-pack cans for $20 ($5 per can). Features carbonated water, strawberry puree, and banana puree with no artificial flavoring; gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Targeted at adults 21+.
• Smooj Swag Collection Branded Smooj merchandise collection sold through the Shopify storefront, including apparel (t-shirts $30-$34, hats $28-$40) and accessories (koozies $5, stickers $5, frisbee discs $8). Targeted at existing Smooj consumers and brand fans seeking lifestyle merchandise.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shelf-stable for 150-270 days depending on flavor

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HOMES BrewerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOMES Brewery is the parent company and creative force behind Smooj. Smooj was created in 2020 during the pandemic by the HOMES Brewery team who wanted to create something more interesting than hard seltzer.
• AccelPay (Paiseh, Inc.)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAccelPay is a third-party alcohol shipping network that enables Smooj to legally ship alcoholic beverages across state lines to consumers in 46 states and DC.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationShopify provides the e-commerce platform powering the Smooj online store, enabling product sales, checkout processing, and order management.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• De La Calle: De La Calle is a hard tepache brand — canned, alcoholic, fruit-forward fermented pineapple drinks. Closest direct comparable to Smooj's canned real-fruit alcoholic positioning, with a similarly craft, DTC-led go-to-market.
• Sweet Reason: Sweet Reason produces canned sparkling cocktails with real ingredients at low ABV. Closely mirrors Smooj's "real ingredient, low ABV, lifestyle-oriented canned alcoholic" positioning and similar DTC-led early growth strategy.
• Surfside Iced Tea: Surfside is a canned, lightly alcoholic iced tea positioned as a daytime, low-ABV, lifestyle alternative to hard seltzer. Shares Smooj's canned format, light ABV, and "sessionable, real-flavor" angle aimed at non-beer drinkers.

Emerging players

• De Soi: De Soi is a non-alcoholic functional aperitif brand with sophisticated branding and a real-ingredient, lifestyle-forward pitch. Comparable as an emerging player operating in the same premium canned beverage lane and using a similar PR- and influencer-driven growth playbook.
• Töst Beverages: Töst is a premium non-alcoholic sparkling beverage brand with sophisticated packaging and a real-ingredient positioning. Comparable as an emerging, lifestyle-positioned canned beverage targeting the same adult, non-beer occasion as Smooj.
• Nude Beverages: Nude produces shelf-stable canned smoothies using real fruit — the non-alcoholic twin of Smooj's product format. Highly comparable on packaging, ingredient story, and shelf-stable real-fruit technology, but without the alcoholic angle.
• Vibes: Vibes is a DTC-led canned wine spritzer positioned as a lighter, fruitier alternative to beer and hard seltzer. Comparable emerging brand competing for the same occasion and shelf with a similar digital-first growth strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Truly Hard Seltzer: Truly is Boston Beer's flagship hard seltzer line and the second major incumbent in the canned low-ABV alcoholic category. Closely comparable as a broad-incumbent competitor targeting the same occasion as Smooj.
• White Claw: White Claw is the category-defining hard seltzer brand (Mark Anthony Brands) and the dominant incumbent competing for the same low-ABV canned alcoholic occasions as Smooj. Represents the dominant competitive benchmark for share-of-throat and shelf space.
• Sun Cruiser: Sun Cruiser is Constellation Brands' canned wine cocktail line, exemplifying how large brewers/wineries are extending into fruit-flavored, low-ABV canned alcoholic beverages — a direct competitive parallel to Smooj's category positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/drinksmooj
• Facebookfacebook.com/drinksmooj
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drinksmooj

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smooj