who we are
Meet the Oogavé family and founders. It's more than just about the soda.
Stephen "Esteban" Anson
A native of Greeley, Colorado, Esteban grew up with a daily sampling of the best homemade Mexican foods a kid could ever want. His personal favorites were the salsas and chili rellenos. Ever the entrepreneur, always a fan of natural handcrafted foods, and never one to take the conventional path, Esteban found his first calling in the restaurant business. He fondly remembers the great tastes and experiences of his childhood, and now gets to be a kid again with his Oogavé soda creations. At the Oogavé factory, Esteban runs all the production, distribution, and operational details (including being the chief soda mixologist and taster). He’s an avid film buff and has even produced several short films of his own. Stop by sometime for a soda, a movie, and some funny stories. When he’s not “working” at making these tasty sodas, Esteban loves nothing more than goofing around in the mountains with his three dogs Ellie, Rodney and Stuart.
Gannon "Fulcrum" Merrell
Gannon Merrell is originally a small town boy from Rossford, Ohio. He has many fond memories of his bucolic midwestern upbringing, and became a fan of Oogavé sodas for taking him back to those good times. Like many midwestern kids, his dad had him shoveling snow, doing yard work and mowing the lawn at a tender young age. On hot and muggy summer days, Gannon could think of little else than a cold refreshing soda as a reward for his hard work and rowdy play. When not trying to earn a few bucks working at the local greenhouse, Gannon was active in soccer, wrestling, sailing, and water skiing. He also read everything he could get his hands on, between his occasional pursuits of a new high score at Space Invaders and PacMan. When Gannon grew up and moved to Colorado, he became passionate about healthy eating and clean living. His refrigerator is stocked with lots of fresh green stuff and plenty of Oogavé soda.
Along the way, Gannon got himself a fancy economics degree, which helps him oversee all the financial and accounting details of running a soda business. He joined the Oogavé team in early 2009, applying his financial wizardry to help the company manage the finer details. Gannon likes to count beans, agave plants, and cases of soda. And honestly, he’s more likely to be found sampling soda than playing with his calculator. In his free time, Gannon is an avid endurance cyclist (powered by the Oogavé sodas), grows his own arugula, and gets involved in many local Denver causes. He does curse a little too much, and he values friends and colleagues with integrity, curiosity, and intelligence.