FROM ACQUISITION TO SMILE AT SOLLY’S: HOW ALTERNATIVE FINANCING HELPED LAUNCH A CRAFT SODA INTO WALMART
Solly’s Craft Soda was born from two things: a father’s concern about what his sons were drinking, and the instinct of an entrepreneur who has never been able to leave a good idea alone.
Adin Wener, the founder of Solly’s, had been watching his two sons — high-performance athletes — reach for diet sodas loaded with aspartame. The research on long-term health effects troubled him. When his eldest son, Solomon, challenged him to do something about it, Wener took that literally. He created a craft soda made with real cane sugar, named it after his son, and set out to bring it to market.
“He said, ‘What are you going to do, Dad — make your own soda?’ So I thought, not only am I going to make my own soda, I’m going to name it after you.”Solly’s — 30 to 40 calories, 6 to 8 grams of real cane sugar, no aspartame — launched with a clear identity. The tagline says it simply: Smile at Solly’s.
FAST AND FLEXIBLE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
Before the product had much time to find its footing in independent grocery stores, a major opportunity arrived. Solly’s distributor pitched the brand to Walmart Canada. Walmart was looking for a Canadian craft soda — and Solly’s won the contract.
It was a breakthrough. It was also a logistical and financial challenge Wener had weeks, not months, to solve.
“I’ve been running a company for 10 or 12 years. I wouldn’t say it was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done — running a business during COVID was easily the most stressful. But this was right up there.”
Walmart’s requirements were precise: tight timelines, specific volumes, packaging compliance, UPC codes, SKU counts, and forecasts that were still moving. Wener was operating with a co-packer and needed to build inventory, get product to the distributor, and wait for the payment chain to clear — all while his manufacturer expected payment in 30 days.
“The cash flow challenges were huge. And we didn’t really have six months to plan for this.”
WHY TRADITIONAL BANKING WASN’T THE ANSWER
Coming out of COVID, the business had taken a hit — as had much of the hospitality and beverage industry. Traditional banking wasn’t positioned to move at the speed the Walmart launch required.
“Our bank wasn’t available for financing. They were like, look, your numbers are okay and improving coming out of this pit that was COVID — but it wasn’t there.”
Wener needed a financing partner who could understand the business quickly and move with it. A personal recommendation through a trusted contact led him to Capitally.
“I didn’t really have the bandwidth to search out other financing companies. Capitally came recommended by somebody I trusted implicitly — and that’s how it really happens. The personal recommendation put me at ease.”
After three or four conversations with the Capitally team, Wener had the clarity and confidence to move forward.
“They were able to, after a few phone calls, understand my business. There was a decent relationship built pretty quickly.”
HOW THE FINANCING WORKED
Capitally provided a combination of PO financing and invoice factoring structured around Solly’s distribution cycle. The speed of execution was what made it work.
Walmart placed orders weekly through a distributor, who issued a purchase order to Solly’s every Monday. With Solly’s fulfillment warehouse and the distributor both located in Mississauga — five minutes apart — the logistics moved fast.
“We’d get the PO on a Monday. We’d deliver the product on Tuesday. We’d have the signed bill of lading by end of day Tuesday or Wednesday. We’d upload it to the Capitally website — and we’d have 80% in our bank by the end of the week.”
For a business managing Walmart’s supply demands while paying a co-packer on 30-day terms, that turnaround changed everything.
“Once things got rolling and the paperwork was in order, everything moved very quickly.”
A RELATIONSHIP BUILT ON ACCESSIBILITY
Like most launches of this scale, the Walmart onboarding came with its share of complications — inventory hiccups, coordination challenges, moving parts. What Wener found at Capitally was a team he could pick up the phone and call.
“We ran into a few hiccups. But I was able to call the Capitally team and explain the situation, and that was never a problem. They understood what I was going through, as long as I communicated with them.”
“Capitally helped me through a very chaotic time in our growth — onboarding the Walmart business. The Capitally team were excellent at helping me through that.”
WHERE SOLLY’S STANDS TODAY
Solly’s is now available at Walmart Canada locations and approximately 100 independent grocery stores across Ontario. Sales are tracking in line with Wener’s own expectations, and the brand is actively in conversations with additional retail partners — with potential expansion into the United States on the horizon.
“We’re very proud to be in Walmart. We’re working on innovation, new products as we go.”
There’s also something significant in what came after the financing: Wener has already referred Capitally to another founder who called him for advice.
“I would have no issues, should I find myself in a position to need more capital, going back to Capitally.”
THE IMPACT
When asked what the Walmart launch would have looked like without the financing, Wener was characteristically straightforward.
“I would have got it done — I don’t know how. But Capitally allowed me to manage it through. They certainly allowed me to make it happen.”
“Capitally helped me through a very chaotic time in our growth — onboarding the Walmart business. The Capitally team were excellent at helping me through that. And once things got rolling and the paperwork was in order, everything moved very quickly.”
“Capitally helped me through a very chaotic time in our growth — onboarding the Walmart business. The Capitally team were excellent at helping me through that. And once things got rolling and the paperwork was in order, everything moved very quickly.”
— Adin Wener, Founder, Solly’s Craft Soda
