OEN NewsHow Altitude Beverages is building community through drinks: “So much more than liquid in a can”
It’s nearly cliche at this point to say COVID-19 “uprooted” life as we know it, but for Thomas Angel, the statement is literal.
Originally from Oregon and then Seattle, Angel was working in strategy and business development for Boeing in Beijing, China just before the pandemic arrived. In March 2020, he and his wife Laura were back in the United States visiting when international travel was stopped, essentially trapping them outside the home they’d made in China.
“Life literally did a 180 turn for us,” Angel says. “We ended up repatriating back to the US and moving back to Seattle.”
The sudden change in life plan encouraged Angel to reflect on his career and personal goals, too. While working in China, he’d discovered a large culture of social drinking around work, both on the job and after. “There was this running joke of ‘I gave my liver for this company,’ and I always thought that was an odd thing to brag about,” Angel says. As both he and Laura have seen the effects of alcoholism in their own families, they started evaluating their own relationship with alcohol at the same time many others did during the pandemic.
“A lot of people started considering why they reach for a glass of beer or wine at the end of the day,” Angel explains. “So much of it is built around social rituals or a need to unwind.”
Angel started looking for alternatives on the market and found very few non-alcoholic beverages that fit the profile for a relaxed social gathering. Seeing an opportunity, Angel decided to launch a beverage company of his own, choosing to relocate to Bend, OR in the process. Bend has an ecosystem of beverage companies already, making it a good headquarters for Angel’s new concept: Altitude Beverages.
“Coming from Boeing and rocket science, I mistakenly thought, ‘how hard could making a beverage be?’” Angel says. “There is so much more to this than liquid in a can.”
Angel’s idea for non-alcoholic beverages focused on creating options for social events that helped customers participate and be part of moments together. Wanting a formula that offered relaxation benefits, Altitude initially leaned into CBD-infused flavors.
“Overtime we learned that CBD was a difficult space,” Angel explains. “Those who aren’t knowledgeable about it worried they could get “high” from it, and those who were aware more often wanted actual THC options.”
Angel says he learned to not put all of his eggs in one basket, and Altitude went through a major rebranding in August 2024. The beverages now contain functional ingredients that promote relaxation, but no CBD. A separate brand, LoDo, was launched to offer low dose THC-infused options. Altitude is now focused on growing the products’ presence in both on-premise and off-premise sales.
“Our guiding question now is ‘how do we execute and diversify?’” Angel says. “We aim to do that in line with our company mission to meet mindful drinkers where they are.”
Throughout Altitude’s evolution, Angel has leaned on the Bend beverage hub and broader Oregon entrepreneur community. He says while there can be challenges to being a startup in Oregon, due to lack of consumer packaging resources and funding, the state’s “rugged individualism” builds more resilient and empathetic entrepreneurs.
“We’ve had a ton of help and generosity from folks, especially the brewing community and organizations like OEN and Built Oregon,” Angel says. “The challenges founders go through here make them more empathetic to new entrants in the space, and the support system is unmatched.”
Altitude’s community focus extends to the founders’ inner circle, too. A true family business, Angel, his wife, and their extended family have together overcome some challenges that felt insurmountable the past five years. “You have to strive, then thrive, but you can’t do either if you don’t survive,” Angel says. “I feel like we’ve proved that someone with determination and no background can make things people value.”
Ultimately, Angel hopes Altitude has a positive impact on drinking culture, bringing community together while offering alternatives for sober folks and those who want to be more mindful. Creating products that bring joy, while honoring their family’s Colombian heritage is what keeps Angel going as a founder.
“My wife is an immigrant, and my father was too,” Angel says. “This a family project, now with our child, and our siblings too. We’re proud to be a Colombian family and represent the larger Latino population as entrepreneurs.”
Produced by A.wordsmith for OEN
