Pour It Up: Beverage Brands Cash in on LA's Sobriety Trend

Andria Moore

Andria is the Social and Engagement Editor for dot.LA. She previously covered internet trends and pop culture for BuzzFeed, and has written for Insider, The Washington Post and the Motion Picture Association. She obtained her bachelor's in journalism from Auburn University and an M.S. in digital audience strategy from Arizona State University. In her free time, Andria can be found roaming LA's incredible food scene or lounging at the beach.

Pour It Up: Beverage Brands Cash in on LA's Sobriety Trend
Melati, Leisure Project, XICAMA

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The drink to impress mentality has permeated tech and startup culture for nearly a decade. But with the rise in popularity of brands like Olipop and Liquid Death, that’s all about to change.


Meagan Loyst, the 26-year-old founder of Gen Z VCs, a global collective of young investors, students, entrepreneurs and founders said there has been a noticeable shift in how she and her peers interact with alcohol, especially in professional settings.

“If you think about Gen Z, we’re max 26 years old,” Loyst said. “Even the people that can drink alcohol are choosing not to.”

To her point, in 2018, Insider reported that Gen Z drink alcohol about 20% less than millennials did at their age, and millennials already less than boomers. According to the BBC, part of the shift in Gen Z’s sober preference is that 41% associate alcohol with anxiety, abuse and vulnerability. But the shift in preference toward non-alcoholic beverages isn’t merely a tendency amongst Gen Z, but large portions of L.A.’s tech scene.

While hosting various events across Los Angeles, Loyst has also noticed an increased demand for non-alcoholic beverage options among attendees.

“I think part of it is wellness, just feeling good,” she explained. “Alcohol doesn’t always make you feel good. And I think for optimal performance — both for your brain and even your gut health — I know that for me to operate on a Thursday night at a happy hour, if I have one or two glasses of champagne I won’t be productive for one or two hours.”

Here are three L.A. startups looking to capitalize on the sober moment in SoCal.

Melati

Upon first glance, Melati’s rustic color palette and elegant branding style are reminiscent of a bottle of high-end booze. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Melati, a non-alcoholic botanical spirit, is a plant-based alternative to alcohol.

“Instead of doing dealcoholizing or extracting an ethanol, I wanted to make something that was super inclusive for everyone who wasn't drinking,” said 30-year-old Melati Founder Lorin Winata. “So I do a cold extraction in water for six weeks.”

Winata is Indonesian and grew up in Singapore. “Throughout Asia, we have tonic drink remedies that have been used for centuries to kind of be more preventative medicine than curative,” she explained. “So Melati drinks are a blend of 20 ingredients for the fresh flavor and then 25 Ingredients for the classic, of these Asian botanicals used in tonic drink remedies.”

Before Melati, Winata worked in venture capital helping startups grow from an early stage, and was constantly attending happy hours, dinners, events — all of which included alcohol.

“I didn't used to drink in work situations, just with traveling one to three times a week, not sleeping much, trying to get my workout in, and also just trying to attend every single work event and happy hour that’s needed in my career,” she said. “Alcohol just didn’t serve that purpose.”

Which is why creating a drink that was both delicious and could fit into the drinking culture of the tech world was important to Winata.

“I wanted something else that still had the complexity of flavor,” she said. “And that still, you know, gave me that same experience and gave me that glass in my hand.”

Leisure Project

Like many people, 29-year-old Steve Michaelsen was sitting at his parents house in the early days of COVID, bored out of his mind and realizing he was having a difficult time focusing on work.

“I mentally just like, wasn't there a lot of the time,” he said. “And I started to realize, ‘Oh, s**t, I haven't had water today.’ I was dehydrated all the time and it was leaving me irritable, constant headaches, and unfocused.”

After discovering his brother had a similar issue, they began to shop around for products to help keep them hydrated.

“There's liquid IPs that are essentially Gatorade, there's Pedialytes, there's electrolytes, there's all these powders, but there isn't a lifestyle hydration drink that just helps you feel good,” he said.

As a former digital brand manager at Nike, it didn’t take long for Michaelsen to form a plan of action. In 2022, with the help of his brother and co-founder Alex, they launched Leisure Project, a non alcoholic, “hydration drink that has a unique electrolyte complex compared to legacy brands that are primarily sugar and sodium," Michaelsen explained. "We over index on electrolytes that have benefits for both mind and body like magnesium, potassium, chlorides and trace minerals, with only a small amount of sodium. We also infuse functional ingredients like L-Theanine and Ashwaganda that are known to help lift your mood."

The brothers positioned Leisure Project to be a modern vitamin enhanced water beverage. But Michaelsen said, “a lot of people during dry January were buying us and putting us in a wine glass and drinking it like an alcohol replacement.”

Michaelsen thinks the success of Leisure Project can be attributed largely to Gen Z’s sobering, but also the cultural shift of there being “less pressure” to drink in public settings.

“Brands that are winning are the ones that are saying, ‘We're here to help you feel good,’” he said.

XICAMA

Mona Sharma was working in luxury cosmetics before two heart surgeries as a result from anxiety and lack of sleep led her to rethink her life. “I could see my heart on the monitor and the doctor said, ‘You might have to wear a pacemaker for the rest of your life,’” the 41-year-old Sharma recounted.

That reality check propelled Sharma back into her Ayurvedic roots — a large part of which included regularly incorporating jicama into her diet.

“The model in my house growing up was food is medicine,” she said. “So knowing this when I started working with my clients, I started using Jicama.”

But it wasn’t until her husband randomly suggested one afternoon that jicama might taste good in a drink that her entrepreneurial journey began.

“By chance we partnered with these world famous mixologists [Barlab] who made us these three flavors— this is not even knowing we were going to start a beverage brand — and a couple weeks later they called us and said, ‘Hey do you guys want to be an official beverage of Coachella?’” she said.

They ended up with record-breaking sales at Coachella in 2019 and would have taken their brand into hospitality if not for COVID.

Despite that hiccup, XICAMA has still found success.

“Especially in California, there is a bigger trend to enjoy a non-alcoholic drink, but something that’s still delicious,” she said. “So you don’t really feel like you’re missing out on the act of fun or enjoyment.”

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Billion-Dollar Milestones and Snapchat’s New Features

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles!

This week’s spotlight showcases LA’s thriving tech scene, featuring Snapchat’s latest feature updates and two local startups Liquid Death and Altruist, making TechCrunch’s Unicorn List for 2024.

Image Source: Snap

Snapchat’s recent fall updates bring fresh features, including a new iPhone camera shortcut for instant snaps, Halloween-inspired AI-powered Lenses, and Bitmoji costumes inspired by Mean Girls and Yellowstone. Bitmoji stickers now reflect trending Gen-Z expressions like “slay” and heart symbols for added flair in chats. Plus, the “Footsteps” feature on Snap Map allows users to track their past adventures privately, adding a nostalgic touch.

Image Source: Liquid Death

ICYMI, two LA startups joined the Unicorn Club—achieving valuations over $1 billion. Liquid Death, based in Santa Monica, is a canned water company with edgy branding and a humorous sustainability focus. Known for viral marketing and brand partnerships, it redefines bottled water as a lifestyle brand and environmental statement. In March, Liquid Death closed $67 million in strategic financing, raising its total funding to over $267 million and valuing it at $1.4 billion.

Image Source: Altruist

Altruist, a Culver City-based fintech platform, offers financial advisors streamlined tools to better serve their clients. With a user-friendly investment and account management platform, Altruist has gained strong traction in the finance world. In May, it announced a $169 million Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to over $449 million and earning a valuation of $1.5 billion.

Together, Liquid Death and Altruist exemplify LA’s capacity for innovation across diverse sectors, from lifestyle branding to fintech. Whether reshaping financial tools or redefining sustainable branding, these companies showcase LA’s unique entrepreneurial spirit. Go LA!

Check out TechCrunch’s 2024 Unicorn List here. And don’t miss Snapchat’s latest features—perfect for adding some fun, connection and maybe a few selfies this weekend!


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Freeform, a company bringing AI to metal 3D printing, raised $14M in funding from NVIDIA’s NVentures and AE Ventures to further develop its AI-powered 3D printing technology for industrial-scale production. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
  • Anthos Capital participated in a $70M Series D round for Carbon Robotics, which develops AI-powered robotics for precision agriculture, and the funding will be used to accelerate the growth of its autonomous weeding technology. - learn more
  • Anthos Capital participated in a $3.5M seed round for Plasma Network, aimed at expanding access to USDT stablecoins on the Bitcoin network, with the investment supporting the network’s growth and efforts to enhance stablecoin accessibility through the Lightning Network. - learn more

LA Exits


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      ⚖️FTC’s "Click to Cancel" Rule and Its Ripple Effect on Tech

      🔦 Spotlight

      Happy Friday Los Angeles,

      The FTC’s new “Click to Cancel” rule is shaking up subscription-based tech. Now, instead of navigating a maze of cancellation hurdles, users can cancel subscriptions as easily as they signed up—with a single click. This shift is a wake-up call for SaaS, streaming, and app-based companies, where once-hidden exit options often kept users around simply because canceling was a hassle.

      The rule also requires businesses to send regular renewal reminders, ensuring customers stay informed about upcoming charges. It's more than a cancellation button—it’s about transparency and giving users control over their decisions.

      For startups, the impact goes deeper than UX adjustments. Many have relied on "dark patterns," which subtly discourage cancellations by hiding the exit. Now, companies must shift toward building genuine loyalty by delivering real value, not by complicating exits.

      While this might affect retention rates initially, it could lead to more sustainable business models that rely on satisfaction-driven loyalty. Investors may start prioritizing companies that emphasize transparent, long-term engagement over those that depend on dark patterns to maintain retention metrics.

      The rule opens the door to more ethical UX design and a truly user-centered approach across the tech industry. It may even set a precedent against manipulative design in other areas, such as privacy settings or payment methods.

      Ultimately, the “Click to Cancel” rule presents an opportunity for the tech industry to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Startups and established companies that embrace transparency will likely stand out as leaders in a new era of customer-centric tech, where trust—not tricky design—is what retains users.

      As the tech landscape continues to evolve, LA Tech Week 2024 offers a chance to explore these shifts in real-time. Check out the upcoming event lineups to stay informed and make the most of your time:

      For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.


      🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies

      • Ghost, a company supporting top brands and retailers with streamlined logistics and fulfillment solutions, raised a $40M Series C funding round led by L Catterton to fuel its continued growth and innovation. - learn more

      LA Venture Funds
      • Assembly Ventures participated in a $27M Series A round for Monogoto, a provider of software-defined connectivity solutions that enable secure, cloud-based IoT and cellular network management on a global scale. - learn more
      • Angeleno Group participated in a $32M Series C round for REsurety, a company that recently launched an innovative clean energy marketplace aimed at providing better financial and operational insights to support renewable energy transactions. - learn more

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        🌴🧑‍💻 Your Guide to LA Tech Week 2024

        🔦 Spotlight

        Happy Friday Los Angeles,

        As many of you know, LA Tech Week is right around the corner, kicking off next Monday October 14th bringing together founders, creatives, investors, and engineers for a week of immersive events, panels, and socials across the city. From blockchain and AI to biotech and design, LA Tech Week is a chance to dive into the ideas shaping today’s technology landscape.


        What to Look Forward To

        Insights from Visionary Leaders: Hear firsthand from industry trailblazers as they share stories, challenges, and key lessons from their experiences. Expect fresh perspectives on AI, venture capital, biotech, and the ethical questions around emerging technologies.

        Interactive Panels: This week isn’t about watching from the sidelines; it’s about engaging directly with the tech community. Participate in hands-on panels discussing everything from startup scaling to ethical AI, with honest insights from those actively shaping these fields.

        Networking Mixers & Social Events: Meet and connect with founders, VCs, developers, designers, and fellow techies across LA. Rooftop mixers, lunch meetups, and creative gatherings offer the perfect chance to spark ideas and collaborate.

        Plan your week with the daily lineup, organized by location for easy navigation:

        For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

        Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!!


        🤝 Venture Deals

        LA Companies

        • Clout Kitchen, a Los Angeles and Manila based startup, has raised $4.45M in seed funding, co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV’s Surge, to develop AI-powered digital twins, which enables gaming creators to produce realistic virtual avatars for content and fan engagement. - learn more
        • MeWe, a privacy-focused social media platform, has raised an initial $6M in Series B funding led by McCourt Global to support Web3 integration and expand its decentralized network for 20 millions users. - learn more

          LA Venture Funds
          • EGB Capital participated in a $10M Series A funding round for MiLaboratories, which develops software that enables biologists to independently analyze complex genomic data, accelerating research and discovery in fields like drug development. - learn more
          • Crosscut Ventures participated in the $13.75M seed round for Airloom Energy, a company focused on developing airborne wind energy technology to harness high-altitude winds, with plans to accelerate a pilot project in Wyoming. - learn more
          • Overture VC participated in a $5.5M Seed funding round for Molg Inc., a company developing robotics and software for circular manufacturing, designed to disassemble electronics efficiently and recover valuable materials to reduce e-waste and support sustainable production. - learn more


            LA Exits

            • Options MD, a Los Angeles based telemedicine platform that provides care for people suffering from severe and treatment-resistant mental illness, is set to be acquired by Resilience Lab, an AI-driven provider focused on enhancing mental health care access. - learn more

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