I say to my mates in Australia, I'm like, you know, when it comes to alcohol, there is nothing

united about the states of America. It really is a very complex system. It's a legacy of post-prohibition.

Welcome to the Startup CPG podcast. I'm your host, Jesse Freitag. Today we have a bonus episode for you to celebrate the launch of the alcohol channel in the

Startup CPG Slack.

We realize the alcohol brands face many unique challenges and very different regulations,

and now that we have over 10,000 community members, we wanted to dedicate a space just for emerging alcohol brands.

In the startup CPG Slack, you can now go to the all channels on the sidebar and then join

the new hashtag alcohol underscore brands. And what better way to celebrate this channel launch than

with an interview with one of our earliest

startup CBG community members, Donna Katz, founder of G's Dry Hard Ginger Beer.

G's won a Shelfy Award last year and was a Shelfy Award finalist the year prior.

I am personally obsessed with all the flavors of G's, from the original to the seasonal

toddy. It's a revolutionary the original to the seasonal toddy.

It's a revolutionary product that I cannot get enough of.

In this episode, Donna shares about starting G's, how creating and selling an alcoholic beverage

is unique, and exciting retail expansions with independent stores plus Target and Safeway.

Donna and I recorded this episode in December 2022, and you may notice my audio isn't as crisp as normal.

This day of recording was the inciting incident for a platform switchup, actually.

But Donna's audio is great, and this was one of those conversations that just left me smiling and feeling inspired by Donna's infectious energy and attitude.

Plus, drinking G's hard ginger beer also left me feeling awesome, so double win.

Now let's hear from Donna.

Hi, Donna. Welcome to the show today. I am so excited to have you here.

...