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Story looks harmless enough: local entrepreneurs use an exotic sweetener to flavor their line of diet soda. That's the line Pee Eye reporter Andrea James swallowed in her piece today about a local brand of soda called Zevia.
Here's the part the paper doesn't tell you: Zevia is one of the greatest "second act" stories of personal redemption in local history. It's also demonstrates how to avoid food labelling laws.
First things first: the cast of characters. And are they ever characters.
Derek Newman, an attorney and one of Zevia's three founders, was once the lawyer for Seattle's king of internet porn, Seth Warshavsky. Okay, so he was no doubt doing his duty as an ambitious young lawyer, upholding his professional oath to serve his client to the best of his abilities. And don't forget, that was 10 years ago.
Ian Eisenberg, another founder, is the son of Joel Eisenberg, the Seattle-based king of phone sex and sometime Warshavsky partner. Ian's own ventures include a decade of tech and internet startups like the failed Blue Frog Mobile, preceded by shady direct-mail dealings that ended with an FTC injunction to reimburse $24 million to defrauded consumers. Oh, and there were the offshore gambling websites, too, but they never amounted to much.
Both guys seem to have settled down, raised families (pictures of the kids on the Zevia website), and turned their lives around. What could be more American, right? We love these stories of sin and redemption, these come-back kids! Writes Newman on the Zevia blog, "I have never been so satisfied professionally as I am here at Zevia." Wow.
So...what's in the can? Regular soda has to list the high-fructose corn syrup. Diet sodas that use artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, and saccharine must mention them as well. But Zevia is made with stevia, a South American plant with a sweetish leaf and a metallic aftertaste, used as a sugar substitute by the earnest people who frequent health-food stores. But stevia's not approved by the FDA as a food, so the Zevia folks pitch stevia as an "all natural," zero-calorie dietary supplement, a trick that legally prohibits them from listing their ingredients. Stevia, by the way, is banned in Europe.
[CLARIFICATION: it's not ingredients they can't mention but calories, carbs, sugars and fats. Here's the back label.]
The whole Zevia concept, in fact, is a stroke of genius: diet soda as a dietary supplement! Of course, you can't sprinkle Zevia on your cereal like sugar, you have to, like, drink it, at $1 a can. Now, that's professionally fulfilling, alright.
You gotta hand it to Newman and Eisenberg for their ingenuity. And to the Pee-Eye for its unquestioning, starry-eyed profile. Gulp!
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Ronald,
You write a unique and compelling food blog, and I would be pleased if you would review Zevia, Nature’s Answer to Diet Soda. I’m happy to send you samples.
Zevia is the first 100% natural, calorie free, diet soda alternative. It contains nothing artificial, and only pure ingredients. My wife, and many similarly situated to her, could not kick the diet soda habit before Zevia. There were natural sodas (but they were full of calories), and there were diet sodas (but they contained harmful artificial ingredients like aspartame). We started Zevia because people needed a tasty carbonated refreshment without calories or negative ingredients. We are very proud of what we created, and we are making a positive impact on the lives of thousands of former diet soda addicts.
I think your post is unfortunate. First, it contains several false and defamatory statements. By way of example (but not limitation), none of your “cast of characters” was a porn king, there was never an order to pay $24mm to redress consumers, and nobody involved in this company was ever involved in offshore gaming. There is no “trick”, and we are not prohibited from listing ingredients. Indeed, we list all ingredients and disclose facts that the FDA does not require (such as the amount of caffeine in the cola, and milligrams of stevia). We are fully transparent about what’s in the can and where it came from.
What’s most disconcerting is that your piece serves only to create salacious propaganda. You could do a legitimate review of the product. The client I represented a dozen years ago is not germane to this company or to my personal values. Your writing about impertinent history may attract some readers, but it does not help your credibility or the quality of your (usually excellent) food and restaurant reviews.
Please send me your address and I will send you Zevia; or, you can pick it up at QFC, PCC, or Metropolitan Market. Hopefully, you will be objective, taste it, enjoy it, and write a story about the product, which is great.
-Derek Newman
Principal, Zevia LLC
dnewman@zevia.com
So let me get this straight - your wife was hooked on diet sodas, and couldn't quit. Now she's hooked on Zevia. Congrats, that must make a big difference.
Could you comment on the use of a substance that results in what the EU considers a genotoxin?
From the European Scientific Commission on Food:
Nice work, Ronald. You committed journalism here.
"sweetish"??? speaking as someone with a nearly unquenchable sweet tooth, i have to say stevia is way too sweet for even me. isn't it like a thousand times sweeter than sugar (why you use a single drop of the liquid stuff for every tablespoon of sugar)? yuck! i did it for a little while until i couldn't deal with the aftertaste. now, i opt for xylitol. i can't imagine how disgusting a soda sweetened with stevia would be.
Jesus, a genotoxin, according to wikitionary:
I'd love to know why using that in a soda is a good idea as well.
Nice work Ronald. It'll be interesting to see if the PI updates their article. I am sure they have seen your post by now.
As for Mr. Newman's allegations that you defamed him and possibly his colleagues - I am not sure what to believe. Perhaps you'll respond. And/or perhaps he will sue you.
I thanked Mr. Newman for his kind words (and phone call) and pointed out that the post wasn't directed at him or his past deeds but at the credulous hacks at the newspaper. His legal affairs guy, Michael Spain, then phoned to ask if I would clarify the issue of FDA labelling, which I did (in the body of the post, above). Frankly, I think they're digging the hole deeper with every phone call.
Uh Oh, Newman is flexing is flabby law-muscle. The "defamatory" statements to which he is referring may not be 100% literally correct, but they do provide a good idea of who the 'cast of characters' are. By way of example (but not limitation), D. Newman and Joel Eisenberg were not 'Pork Kings', but Ian Eisenberg sure as hell was (see http://www.thereisnomoneyinporn.com/story.php?title=Former_Porn_Kings_Owner_Sues_Falcon_Foto). And Eisenberg did not have a judgment against him for $24 million, it was $17.6 million (see http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0435428p.pdf). And Eisenberg was never actively involved in online gaming, but he did consider it as a business venture at one-time. But that is really neither here-nor-there. The point being made has to do with Eisenberg's character. Ronald was right,...and what a 'character' he is.
I would not worry too much about Newman's assertion any of the aforementioned is 'defamatory'. If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it is not defamatory to call it a duck. Get a life Newman!
Newman- as an ex PR guy. You can get a hold of nearly everyone's email address. Do that before you post a comment on the blog post. It opens you up to a heated rebut from readers.
If you do feel the need to have an online presence, do your research and find a candidate who can do it right, re: scoble.
And one more thing, never request a review like you did. Don't be defensive. Don't insult the writer (all writers have egos, I should know, I have one too). And just... holy crap, you shot yourself in the foot. This is another reason why you should have professionals handling this and not principles.
On another note, nice post Ronald. Good use of hyperlinks to anchor the characterizations and give weight to your article.
For what it's worth, here's my exchange with Glenn Drosendahl, the Post-Intelligencer's Reader Representative.
http://seattlest.com/2008/08/28/peeeye_swallows_porn_kings_soda_sto.php
http://www.cornichon.org/media/peeeye_swallows/
The personal backgrounds of the company owners are relevant because they were well-known locally in their previous endeavors, but there is no mention of their controversial history. The controversy surrounding their product--which would be banned in Europe--is barely mentioned.
This story reads like paid advertising. As such, it a grave disservice to your readers.
I look forward to your reply,
Ronald Holden
Belltown
Reply from Glenn:
To which I replied:
So there it stands. Will advise if there's anything further. Thanks to all the commenters!
Don,
Either point them out, or don't. You don't give yourself any extra credit by acting exactly like the critique said in a public forum.
We (the public) aren't that stupid.
Honestly, pay a PR person to handle these things. You two are making a mess of it. And it's "Ronald" not "Ron." He signed his letter "Ronald" and chances are an ape could figure out that one should address him in his preferred manner.
Seriously, this is a great case study of horrible, shit public relations. Just stop. For the sake of the industry, stop.
Don,
Either point out the inaccuracies, or don't mention them. You don't give yourself any extra credit by acting exactly like the critique said in a public forum.
We (the public) aren't that stupid.
Honestly, pay a PR person to handle these things. You two are making a mess of it. And it's "Ronald" not "Ron." He signed his letter "Ronald" and chances are an ape could figure out that one should address him in his preferred manner.
Seriously, this is a great case study of horrible, shit public relations. Just stop. For the sake of the industry, stop.