Has your vacation ever created business inspiration? For Bryce and Jill Morrison, founders and owners of Mom Water, that’s a reality.
In 2018, the Ferdinand, Indiana, couple visited the Dominican Republic where Jill mixed vodka with the hotel’s passion fruit-infused water. The resulting light, refreshing cocktail was bereft of the bloating, hangovers, and headaches common with consumption of other alcoholic drinks.
In March 2021, after recreating the mixture, taste testing, and brand development, Mom Water launched in Indiana and Kentucky. The brand takes its name from the handwritten “mom’s water” labels Jill affixed on her early concoctions so they could sit in the same cooler but be distinguished from standard bottled water.
Described by the Morrisons as an all-natural spiked water, Mom Water has no carbonation, no sugars, and thousands of fans.
“It’s just something different to get away from the world of seltzers,” Jill says. “I made the drink to enjoy it myself, but now traveling to wine fests, beer fests, and seeing people’s reactions when they try it, they’re blown away.”
“A lot of these moms are saying they didn’t feel represented, and we’ll see a young guy drinking it that falls in love with the product,” Bryce adds. “It’s just really fun.”
The company has been on the fast track since its debut, with Jill, a former occupational therapist, and Bryce, previously a senior hospice consultant, quitting their jobs in late 2021 to run Mom Water full-time.
Four 4.5% ABV flavors — given the mom-like monikers Linda, Julie, Karen, Sandy — are manufactured in 12-ounce cans by Blue Marble Productions in Indianapolis, Indiana. Locally, Mom Water can be purchased at Schnucks, Meijer, Kroger, Walmart, Liquor Locker, High Spirits, Varsity Liquors, and Wine Tree.
It’s available in 12 other states, with 10 more lined up in the next few months. In January 2022, it became a proud partner of the Indiana Pacers. Mom Water is also the official ready-to-drink canned cocktail of the Dallas Mavericks, a sponsor of PGA golfer Roger Sloan, and is sold at the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park stadium.
“We are really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish and what I think we’re planning to accomplish in the next couple years,” Bryce says. “We’re glad to be able to maybe help add some more business to put on the map in Southern Indiana.”
Photos provided by Mom Water.