Serial Entrepreneur Nicole Bernard Dawes Disrupts Beverage Industry with New Soda Line
Serial entrepreneur Nicole Bernard Dawes, known for building successful food brands like Late July tortilla chips, is now aiming to reshape the soda market with Nixie, a zero-sugar, sustainably packaged beverage line.
Dawes’ career began with a formative experience working in her mother’s health food store and later at her father’s snack company, Cape Cod chips. After a brief stint as a management consultant, she rejoined Cape Cod when her father, Steve Bernard, repurchased the business in 1996. “I left the consulting firm to go work with him when he bought Cape Cod chips back. So it just kind of all timed out,” Dawes said. She later served as the company’s director of marketing, navigating a rapid turnaround after Anheuser-Busch divested the brand.
Following the second sale of Cape Cod chips in 2003, Dawes launched Late July, an organic tortilla chip brand that grew to exceed $100 million in revenue before being acquired by Campbell’s Soup Company. This success demonstrated Dawes’ ability to identify and capitalize on consumer demand for healthier snack options. Now, she’s applying that same approach to beverages, noting a lack of healthy alternatives in the soda aisle. Nixie has already secured distribution in over 11,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Amazon, and recently raised nearly $27 million in funding. You can learn more about the evolving consumer packaged goods landscape here.
Dawes describes her career as “fixing broken parts of the food business,” and believes the beverage industry is ripe for disruption. “My entire career has been built around fixing broken parts of the food business,” she stated, adding, “I’m thinking, how has [the beverage] aisle managed to escape, while every other part of the grocery store has improved and become healthier and become more sustainable?” The launch of Nixie comes as consumers increasingly seek healthier and more sustainable options in all categories, including traditionally indulgent products like soda. Soda consumption trends are shifting as a result.
Nixie is expected to expand its product line and distribution network in the coming months, continuing Dawes’ mission to offer guilt-free treats that align with modern consumer values.
