Talking Rain facts for kids
 |
|
| Industry | Consumer packaged goods |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | , |
|
Key people
|
|
| Products | Talking Rain Waters, Sparkling Ice |
|
Number of employees
|
250-500 |
Talking Rain is a company that makes drinks. It is based in Preston, Washington. They make both regular water and bubbly, sparkling water. Their most famous drink is called Sparkling Ice. This drink makes up most of their business.
Contents
History of Talking Rain
How Talking Rain Started
Talking Rain began in 1987. It was founded by John Stevens and Pete Hiskin in Bellevue, Washington. Six months later, some investors bought the company. These investors were Lawrence Hebner, Donald Kline, and Donald Jasper. In 1992, Talking Rain started making Sparkling Ice. They also moved to their current home in Preston, Washington, that same year.
Big Moments for the Company
In 2014, a famous basketball player, Kevin Durant, worked with Sparkling Ice. He signed a deal to help promote the drink. Talking Rain was recognized as a fast-growing company. This happened in 2014, 2015, and 2016. They were on the Inc. 5000 list. This list shows the fastest-growing private companies in America. In 2017, Talking Rain made a deal with Tata Global Beverages. This deal helped them sell Himalayan mineral water in the U.S.
Leaders of Talking Rain
Kevin Klock was the company's leader from 2010 to 2017. After him, Marcus Smith was the temporary leader. In April 2018, Chris Hall became the new leader. Marcus Smith then became the company president. Chris Hall was the CEO from 2018 to 2022. Today, Ken Sylvia is the CEO. He used to be the Chief Operating Officer.
New Looks and Partnerships
In 2018, Talking Rain changed the look of their Sparkling Ice bottles. They also changed the drink's recipe. Now, the colors in Sparkling Ice come from natural things. Also in 2018, Talking Rain sponsored a race car driver. Her name is Leah Pritchett. She drives a special race car called a Top Fuel Dragster. In 2019, the company made a new way for people to find recipes. You could ask Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa for Sparkling Ice drink ideas. By June 2019, Sparkling Ice was very popular. It had about $500 million in sales each year.
Talking Rain Products
Sparkling Ice and Other Drinks
In 2006, Talking Rain launched two new drinks. They were called Twist and ActivWater. The company stopped making these in 2011. They decided to focus mostly on Sparkling Ice. Sparkling Ice became very important to the company. In 2013, it made up 95% of all their sales. In October 2018, Talking Rain released a new Sparkling Ice. This version had caffeine in it. Caffeine is what gives you a little energy boost. In May 2020, the company launched a special water. It was called Talking Rain Essentials Hydration Water. This water was later renamed Talking Rain AQA in 2021. It is an alkaline water, which means it has a higher pH level.
Popwell Soda
In 2025, Talking Rain released a new soda called Popwell. This soda is special because it has prebiotics. Prebiotics are good for your stomach. Popwell comes in different flavors. Some have caffeine, like Lemon Lime and Orange Cream. Others do not have caffeine, like Blackberry Lime and Tropical Mango. All Popwell sodas have about 25% of the fiber you need each day.
