The beverage industry is currently witnessing a paradigm shift. As wellness and longevity move from the periphery to the mainstream, the “sober-curious” movement has evolved into a full-scale demand for functional, sophisticated, non-alcoholic alternatives. No longer satisfied with sugary drinks or uninspired club sodas, modern consumers are seeking beverages that do more than just quench thirst – they want to feel something.
Enter Osia. Born from the vibrant event scene in Denver, Colorado, Osia (pronounced oh-see-uh) is not just another sparkling water. It is a lightly functional beverage brand designed to elevate moods through herbal tinctures and real fruit juices.
Founded by the creative and strategic duo Isabella Hoag and Gabriel Walsh, Osia has rapidly transitioned from a local Denver pop-up experience to a retail brand with major wins, including distribution in Total Wine and a coveted KeHE Golden Ticket win via a RangeMe submission, as well as another retailer currently being onboarded.
The Accidental Empire: From Kitchen to Community
Unlike many CPG startups that begin with a rigid business plan, Osia’s origin was entirely organic. Hoag, coming from a background in brand design rather than beverage manufacturing, began experimenting with ingredients in her own kitchen simply because she wasn’t drinking alcohol and wanted something better to sip on.
“We never planned for it to be a business,” says Hoag. “I was making mocktails in my house, and people loved the drinks. I had friends request them for different events or shows that they wanted, and it kind of just snowballed from there.”
What began as a personal preference quickly turned into a high-demand event company. Isabella found herself creating “pop-up NA bars” for settings where alcohol was traditionally the only option. These events served as a great, real-world product market test, providing feedback from thousands of people on the recipes she was hand-crafting in commissary kitchens.
The consistent refrain from her customers? “You need to bottle this.”
The Partnership: Design Meets Strategy
As the demand for Isabella’s NA beverages grew, the logistical challenge of scaling an event-based business became apparent. This is where Walsh, a tech industry professional with a background at Ball Aerospace, stepped in to help launch the brand, fueled by a shared vision with Isabella. The decision to move from events to manufacturing was a turning point for the brand.
“My thought process around it was we need to grow one way or another,” says Walsh. “Either we do more events or we go into canning manufacturing and have this physical product that we can share and spread all over the place. I was thinking it’s going to be a lot easier to manage a hundred cans versus a hundred people.”
The two founders realized that while Hoag provided the creative genius and the formulations, Walsh provided the operational grit to take those formulations to the masses.
A Name Written in the Stars (and Note Apps)
One of the most serendipitous moments around Osia’s launch is the story behind its name. Before they even officially partnered, both Hoag and Walsh had independently arrived at the same inspiration: Ambrosia, the mythical nectar of the Gods that granted youth and vitality.
Walsh had the name tucked away in the notes of his phone for years, while Isabella discovered it while researching synonyms for “nectar” to describe the way customers reacted to her drinks.
“I searched up different ways to say nectar and I found the word Ambrosia,” says Hoag. “I saw what it meant, but I was like, oh my God, it’s the last four letters. It was this tunnel vision of me just seeing OSIA.”
When she pitched the name to Gabriel in a car, he was stunned. “I literally pulled it up in my file to show her,” says Walsh. “That’s insane. We both had the same idea at different times.”
Hoag eventually streamlined the name to “Osia” to make it shorter, more unique, and modern.
Crafting the Mood: The Four Pillars of Osia
At the heart of Osia’s beverages are its four core “moods.” Hoag’s philosophy on functionality is rooted in herbalism, using plants like rhodiola, ginseng, and lemon balm to create effects that are buildable and lightly functional without the use of caffeine, THC, or alcohol. Unlike many competitors that rely on natural flavors – a term often used loosely in the industry – Osia uses 100% real fruit juice and botanical tinctures.
The Osia Flavor Profile:
- Boost: A citrusy, energizing blend using rhodiola and ginseng to promote mental clarity without the jitters associated with caffeine.
- Ease: A top-selling relaxing beverage featuring tart cherry (a natural source of melatonin), lemon balm, and juniper berry.
- Passion: An aphrodisiac-inspired, stimulating drink that uses damiana and maca, currently featuring a limited-time prickly pear and sage profile.
- Bliss: A tropical “in-between” drink designed for moments of chill, utilizing Yuzu, pineapple, and L-theanine.
Scaling Scrappy: The Retail Journey
Before finding success on RangeMe, the founders were the definition of scrappy. They spent months driving around Denver with cases of Osia in the back of their car, speaking directly to independent retailers, managers, and buyers to get their product on shelves. “We were literally trying to figure out everything from the ground up, whether it be the pricing or case deals or just placement,” says Walsh.
This hands-on approach allowed them to fail fast and iterate quickly, transitioning from pressure-sensitive labels to printed cans and refining their four-pack boxes to stand out on the shelf. The hard work paid off in January 2024 when they landed their first major chain: Total Wine & More.
The RangeMe Revolution: Landing a KeHE Golden Ticket
While the car-trunk distribution model built their local foundation, RangeMe provided the bridge to national scalability. Hoag and Walsh treat their RangeMe profile like a digital storefront, ensuring every word and image was in perfect alignment with their sleek, “understated but elegant” branding.
The results were transformative. Through a platform submission, Osia was selected as a Golden Ticket winner during KeHE’s quarterly Trendfinder event. This win provided the brand with free distribution in 12 distribution centers – a massive leap for a bootstrapped company.
Walsh emphasizes that success on RangeMe requires active participation and constant refinement. “Put that time, put that effort into it,” he says. “We were actually denied by one retailer a few months ago. I tweaked our profile a couple days ago and I just got a sample request from them this morning. So that really goes to show you when you make those changes, it has a big effect.”
Advice for Fellow Founders: The Marathon Mindset
As they look toward the future – including new product rollouts and expanding their New York presence – Hoag and Walsh remain focused on the slow-and-steady nature of the beverage industry. For other founders just starting out, their advice is simple but profound: Persistence is everything.
“Don’t quit,” Walsh says bluntly.
Hoag adds a layer of wellness-focused perspective: “I would say persistence, but also, we’re all human at the end of the day, and I think it’s important to try to take care of ourselves,” she says. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, but work hard.”
By leveraging platforms like RangeMe and staying true to their “nectar of the gods” roots, Osia is proving that a bootstrapped brand with a clear vision can indeed find its place among the industry giants.