Dear Mr. Berko:

There’s a soft drink company called Jones Soda that sells at $3.55 a share. I’ve tasted some of their stuff and it’s awful, but here in Vancouver a lot of yuppies seem to be very enthusiastic about this product. I could buy 1,000 shares as a speculation, and although I don’t care for their flavors, I know that some of my contemporaries are becoming Jones Soda devotees. Please tell me what you can about the company and whether I should take a gamble on the stock.

W.G., Vancouver, Wash.

Dear W.G.:

Jones Soda Co. (JSDA-$3.55), a brilliant, offbeat company, was founded in 1996 by “pop head” Peter van Stolk, a 40-year-old ex-ski instructor from Seattle. This nutty soft drink company peddles silly flavors like cucumber/licorice, strawberry Manilow, d’peach mode, turkey and gravy, chocolate fudge, blue bubble gum, mint cheesecake and other crazy tastes.

Clearly this is the coolest soft drink company north of the South Pole and it doesn’t have a well-known celebrity to hawk its flavors, a theme song to identify its products or an advertising campaign to boost its revenues. JSDA is a New Age, uplifting, upbeat, blithesome, lightsome soft drink company that takes a page from the wonderful silliness of “cone-heads” Ben & Jerry, who made a king’s ransom peddling ice cream.

JSDA’s 2004 revenues ($28 million) account for 0.035 percent of the $64 billion soft drink business. The beverages of this alternative, hippie-like company are distinguishable from what the mainstream dispenses because they have less carbonation, less sugar and almost all natural ingredients. The company’s main products (Jones Natural, 20 flavors of Jones sodas, Jones Energy and WhoopAss) are sold in 40 states and Canada.

JSDA thinks it will earn $900,000 this year, or 6 cents a share, and Wall Street believes JSDA can earn 14 cents in 2005 and 22 cents in 2006. JSDA traded at 25 cents per share in January 2003, reached $1.60 in January 2004 and now trades at $3.55. By next January the price could be much higher again.

Its quirky flavors — Bada Bing, Bohemian raspberry, peanut butter, Dave, bananaberry, caramel eggplant, etc. — are appealing, particularly because JSDA provides a venue for consumers to design and create their own private labels. Just sign on to www.myjones.com, select a flavor, upload a photo and for $49 (including shipping and handling) Jones will ship a 12-pack of Swiss cheese soda anywhere in the country. It’s a barrel of fun and some of those pop-culture flavors are a real treat to your taste buds. These 12-packs make great birthday and unusual holiday gifts.

JSDA also promotes its products via its privately owned independent music site www.myjonesmusic.com. This site sponsors 500 bands and allows unsigned groups to post original music that you can download for free. Bands need a following and this allows a band to be heard, which makes it easier to get signed by a major label. Music has always been a passion of van Stolk’s, and Jones Soda has released several compact discs. Jones Soda also sponsors individual singers and classically trained musicians. This is a delightfully crazy company, run by a menagerie of 55 nutty people who are having a ball and making money.

Van Stolk realized that he could not be successful competing in the same milieu as Pepsi, Coke, Schweppes, etc., but he knew he could win if he played in his own environment. So he created a lifestyle and a brand his target audience (10- to 35-year-olds) could identify with and enjoy. JSDA also sponsors amateur athletic events at the grass-roots level and the company has produced some top athletes as well as a few successful music artists. Van Stolk is passionate about what he is doing and has created a company with pizzazz, a big heart and a mission to enjoy life.

JSDA has less than $100,000 in debt, 11.7 million shares outstanding and van Stolk owns 1.5 million of those shares. Only two analysts follow the stock, and they rank JSDA as a strong “buy.” Meanwhile, Prudential Securities has a report on Jones and also ranks JSDA as a strong “buy.”

I think we’re all going to hear a lot more about this company in the next few years. And I think that a 1,000-share purchase would be a supercalifragilistic idea. I’m told that if you meet van Stolk, you might become so enthusiastic that you’ll decide to buy another 1,000 shares.

Please address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O. Box 1416, Boca Raton, Fla. 33429 or e-mail him at malber@adelphia.net.