There’s always more to a drink than the liquid inside the can, and Devil’s Foot is a perfect example. From the ingredients they thoughtfully source to their approach to sustainability and the community they’ve built around the brand, there’s so much behind what they’re creating for anyone who simply enjoys a good drink.
In this Q&A, we chat with Ben, founder and CEO of Devil’s Foot, about the moment that brought the brand to life, the funny story behind its iconic name, their approach to ingredients, and the role their home of Asheville continues to play in what they’re creating.
Enjoy this lovely read!
For anyone in the Raising the Bar community discovering Devil’s Foot for the first time, how would you introduce what you’re creating and why it exists?
Devil's Foot started as a group of friends trying to make a better cocktail (or mocktail) mixer, a ginger beer, made with real ginger, because everything else on the shelf tasted like syrup with a ton of added sugar. One evening, after juicing a batch of ginger root, my wife was helping me clean up and asked me to move the 'devil's feet' off the counter, meaning the gnarly, knobby ginger root sitting there and the name, Devil's Foot, stuck! What we're building now goes beyond that first batch, crafted, non-alcoholic beverages made with real ingredients and real people in mind, so that anyone, drinking or not, has something worth raising a glass to.
We’d love to take a peek at how it all started. Was there a particular moment when you realized, “We’ve gotta make this happen”? Who was there, what happened, and what were some of those very first steps?
The moment we realized we needed to make this happen may not be the typical moment businesses have, but ours was special. Seven years ago, after finding out my wife was pregnant, we invited friends out to celebrate the exciting news at a local Asheville brewery, Burial Brewing. After arriving, we quickly noticed my pregnant wife had no option other than water to celebrate with. As we all sat down to enjoy our beers (and her water), a friend piped up and said, 'There has to be something other than water that non-alcoholic drinkers can enjoy at a brewery. What if we turn that ginger beer mixer into something that can be found at breweries, the craft soda of craft breweries?' And that's where it all started, we got a small space out in Woodfin and started brewing.
You talk about a “farm to can” approach. For someone who isn’t quite sure what that actually looks like, can you take us behind the scenes and share what it means at Devil’s Foot?
It means the ginger, the fruit, everything in your can started at a farm, grown in the dirt by farmers, not created in a lab by scientists. We work directly with local and organic farmers, using real ingredients instead of extracts or "natural flavors". It's slower and it's more work but it's the only way the drink actually tastes like what it's named after.
There’s a real simplicity and intention behind the ingredients you use. Why has keeping your ingredient lists minimal and thoughtful been so important, and what do you think that brings to the final drink?
Every ingredient we add has to earn its place. If we can't tell you exactly why it's in the can, it's not in the can. Fewer ingredients means nothing to hide behind, the ginger has to taste like ginger, the fruit has to taste like fruit. That honesty and flavor are the whole point.
Supporting local and organic farmers is a big part of what you do. How have those relationships influenced what you make and the way you’ve built Devil’s Foot?
Working directly with local and organic growers means our recipes and seasonal releases bend around what's actually growing, not the other way around. Those relationships also keep us honest about seasonality and sourcing, and they've shaped Devil's Foot into a company that's as much about who we buy from as what we sell.
Devil’s Foot feels deeply connected to where it’s made. How has your local community shaped what you do, and how do you work to create that same sense of community around your drinks?
Asheville isn't a backdrop for us, it's a collaborator. We've built relationships with other local and regional makers, breweries, spice companies, restaurants, festivals here in town, and those partnerships show up in limited releases and collabs, not just marketing. We try to return that same spirit outward by showing up at local events, working with people making things the same way we are, and treating the drink as an invitation into that community rather than just a product on a shelf.
Drinks are so often tied to celebration, connection, and bringing people together. When you think about making those occasions more inclusive, what do you hope Devil’s Foot brings to the table?
Too many gatherings still treat "not drinking" as something that needs explaining. We want Devil's Foot on the table so nobody has to explain anything, you're just holding a drink that tastes as intentional and crafted as anyone else's, alcohol or not. If we've done our job, the person who isn't drinking that night never feels like an afterthought.
