Crisp air and water, northern light, woods and meadows...a simple, natural way of living where tradition and contemporary thinking coexist. Welcome to Sweden, where Swedish ciders, noted for their refreshing light crisp taste, have been enjoyed for generations and are the inspiration for Kristian Regále sparkling beverages.

A family gathering

At a family gathering in Minnesota in 1987, someone handed Nancy Bieraugel a glass of sparkling beverage. After one sip, Nancy wanted to know what she was drinking because it was so delicious!

"This is a Swedish Sparkling Apple Cider," she was told by family relatives from the August Schell Brewery in New Ulm, Minnesota. The brewery was importing a special concentrated apple syrup from Sweden to make the cider. Following the traditional Swedish recipe, this all natural, non-alcoholic sparkling cider had a refreshing light crisp taste.

Later that year, Nancy served the Swedish Sparkling Cider to guests who toured her home during the Annual Christmas Home Tour in Hudson, Wisconsin. The response was amazing. "Where can we buy this?" The beverage was not widely distributed, so Nancy began to help the brewery sell the product into local grocery stores.

Kristian Regále is born

In 1988, Nancy purchased the brand from August Schell, renamed it Kristian Regále, and redesigned the packaging. It was then that Kristian Regále, Inc. was born and an office in Hudson, Wisconsin was established. For the next eighteen years, Nancy's two sons, John and David, and her husband Bob helped Nancy grow the brand.

Kristian Regále gained additional exposure during New Sweden '88, a year-long celebration in Minneapolis, Minnesota commemorating the 350th anniversary of the first Swedish settlement in North America. Co-sponsored by the Swedish government, the celebration included numerous exhibitions, performances, and a 14-city tour by King Gustav and Queen Silvia...and Kristian Regále was served at many of these events.

A successful partnership

In 1992, Nancy formed a partnership with Jack Berntson, a customer and former owner of Skandia Foods, the largest US importer of Scandinavian food products. Jack and his wife Lizzie grew up in Sweden where Jack helped run his parents' small grocery store in the small town of Stravalia. Intuitively, they knew that if marketed properly, the Kristian Regále product would grow in popularity.

Nancy and Jack together built Kristian Regále into a multi-million dollar national brand that now enjoys a significant presence in US specialty food stores. They expanded on the traditional Apple and Pear Swedish Style Ciders and created a Lingonberry-Apple Sparkler using real lingonberry juice from Sweden. Due to consumer requests, flavors like peach and orange were also added to the product line.

Resources for growth

Jack served as president of Kristian Regále for 12 years. When Jack retired in 2005, Nancy decided to seek partners who could provide additional resources to help support the continued growth of the Kristian Regále brand. This initiative resulted in a major investment in 2006 by a partnership group consisting of four executives with significant experience in the food industry.

In addition to Nancy Bieraugel, Chairman Emeritus, the new partnership group consists of Bob Gillespie, the former Executive Vice President and Director of Bestfoods, a multinational food company, Bob Gluck, the Vice Chairman and COO of Smart Balance, the maker of a line of heart healthy food products, Ed Doherty, the Chairman and CEO of Doherty Enterprises, a privately owned franchisee of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants, and Panera Bread bakery cafés, and Steve Lypinski Jr., a non-operating partner and former marketing executive with Bestfoods.

Grant Gillespie, COO, manages the day to day operations of the company along with Dave Baldwin, the company's CFO.  Peter Strnad, Business Development Associate, assists in the selling and marketing activities of the business.

Satisfying today's consumer

Sparked by strong marketplace health and wellness trends, consumer interest in all natural, non alcoholic sparkling juices like Kristian Regále has continued to increase. Consumers are looking for healthy, all natural products without preservatives or artificial flavors. They are also looking for products that do not contain alcohol, since consumer research has shown that now over 46% of US adults do not drink.

To help meet these growing consumer needs, Kristian Regále has recently added new flavors to the line like Pomegranate-Apple and Black Currant that are high in antioxidants. At the request of a growing number of consumers who need to control their sugar intake, the brand has also added Lite Apple and Lite Pear flavors.

A sparkling choice-all year long

We are committed to making the special taste of Kristian Regále available to every consumer at all times of the year. Presently, the brand is mostly used to celebrate special occasions like the holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. For consumers looking for beverages lower in sugar and calories than traditional soft drinks for everyday, away from home, refreshment, a new single serve bottle was launched in 2007. Kristian Regále is also certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union and proudly wears the OU symbol on its label.

Thank you

There are many stories over the years of successes and failures, but it is largely friendship that has carried us through to this day and for this we are grateful. To our families and friends, our manufacturing partners and valued customers, we extend our gratitude and we toast to your continued health, happiness and success.