These aren’t your grandma’s aguas frescas. That’s the first thing to know about the venture from sisters Vicki Ochoa-Medrano and Sophie Ochoa.
The pair took the Mexican tradition of aguas frescas, passed down from generation to generation in their family, and twisted them for Aguas Chicas DFW, a pop-up business that sells infused waters with inventive flavors.
The sisters, who have roots in Mexico and more than four generations in Texas, wanted to start their own business after the pandemic that would afford them more flexibility. That product was Aguas Chicas DFW, which emerged in April 2023.
“We wanted to offer an alternative to soda for people looking for something different. More and more people are identifying what aguas frescas are because they have fresh ingredients, and we offer something to catch somebody’s eye,” said Ochoa-Medrano. “I also think the Hispanic demographic of shoppers is growing a lot, and they all know the aguas frescas.”
These are not the classic aguas frescas you drink in Mexico, and that’s not just because they’re not as sweet as the traditional beverage.
While made of natural fruit, the combination of flavors and other edible garnishes elevate them to avant-garde.
They take on a modern identity when, for instance, pineapple is combined with dragon fruit or cucumber lemonade with fruit and a popsicle. That newness translates to the Chica Chica Boba, a creation involving pineapple and chamoy with Tajin and strawberry popping boba.
But one of the sisters’ most popular drinks is the Topo Chica, which adds fruit juice to Topo Chico in its original glass bottle. The neck of the vessel is then dipped in chamoy and Tajin.
After learning about the special beverage, Topo Chico offered to sponsor the sisters at events, supporting the pop-up with marketing and product work.
“That collaboration happened unexpectedly. One day, we were selling at an event at the Dallas Arboretum, and a Topo Chico person was walking around there and saw our Topo Chicas,” Ochoa said. “She saw bottles of Topo Chico with a pink liquid in many people’s hands and tracked us down in the park. She didn’t tell us anything and just left us her card. Days later, she told us on Instagram that Topo Chico wanted to be our sponsor. We can’t believe it! They elevated us to another level.”
They sell their beverages at street markets, fairs and community events and have private catering services.
Due to the success of their concept, Ochoa put her beauty business, Lash Lash Dash, on hiatus, so she could work full-time on Aguas Chicas DFW.
Ochoa-Medrano combines her business with her work as an on-air personality on KKDA-FM K104 Dallas, where she hosts the show “Weekend Vibes with Vicki OH.”
“With COVID, the industry took a major turn, to the point where I didn’t know if this was something I would be able to retire from,” Ochoa-Medrano said. “So when Aguas Chicas was developed, the vision just got bigger, and the more popularity we got, our vision and our ideas and our inspiration and our hopes and dreams for Aguas Chicas are just bigger and to the moon right now.”
The sisters’ dreams include having a booth at the Texas State Fair, AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field take their business to the next level.
“Do we want to open a store? Do we want brick-and-mortar? Do we want a concession stand? We want to be able to have our drinks touch everybody, and the State Fair of Texas and the stadiums are some of those locations,” said Ochoa-Medrano.
You can find out where Aguas Chicas DFW will be in the next few days by visiting the company’s Instagram account. instagram.com/aguaschicasdfw.
