Los Angeles-based MiddleBar is landing its flagship Bloody Mary mocktail on JetBlue beginning this month, with the ready-to-drink beverage available on all routes and in all cabin classes. The fleet-wide rollout marks the most visible distribution milestone yet for the brand, which has previously focused on bars, restaurants, and boutique hotels.
The Product & Partnership
MiddleBar Mary is formulated as a zero-proof mocktail that can be served on its own or paired with vodka, tequila, gin, or beer — a flexibility that makes it a practical fit for the airline's beverage program, where serving options and crew simplicity matter. The product is packaged as a ready-to-enjoy can, removing preparation variables that traditional Bloody Mary service at altitude typically introduces.
Co-founder and CEO Corrie Scully framed the partnership around shared positioning. "JetBlue has always approached travel differently, and we approach the Bloody Mary differently," she said. "We crafted MiddleBar Mary because we believed people should be able to have a great Bloody Mary with all of life's choice moments, especially at 35,000 feet."
Co-founder Renie Schoenkerman added that the airline channel extends the brand's core hospitality identity: "MiddleBar has always been about gathering, relaxing and enjoying. There's something pretty wonderful about getting to bring that experience to the skies."
Why This Matters for Operators
For the hospitality and beverage industry, the JetBlue listing signals a wider trend: premium, craft-positioned RTD beverages — particularly those with non-alcoholic versatility — are winning placement in channels once dominated by legacy brands. Airlines represent a high-visibility proving ground; a product that performs well in-flight often gains credibility with on-the-ground buyers in hotels, lounges, and food-and-beverage programs.
MiddleBar Mary's dual-use design — functioning as both a standalone mocktail and a mixer — also aligns with growing operator interest in low- and no-alcohol options that don't require separate menu infrastructure. As beverage industry analysis has shown, the sober-curious movement continues to reshape on-premise pour strategies across hospitality segments.
The brand, founded by Scully and Schoenkerman and identifying as women- and LGBTQ-owned, has earned both People's Choice and Judges' Choice awards in competition. Its hospitality-industry roots — both founders come from the trade — informed a formulation built for ease of service without sacrificing flavor, a balance that resonates with restaurant technology and beverage operations buyers weighing back-of-bar complexity.
For operators tracking the RTD Bloody Mary segment or evaluating no-and-low beverage programs, MiddleBar's airline placement puts the brand in front of a national audience and positions it for broader foodservice and hospitality distribution conversations ahead. Industry coverage of similar craft-to-channel moves is available through restaurant hospitality coverage on emerging beverage partnerships.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
