From “Cali sober” to condescending mocktails, SipSteady tells all in The Pitch Questionnaire

SipSteady Co-Founders Kayla Mason and Sarah Pretorius// Photo by Samantha Levi Photography

If you’ve noticed an uptick in chatter, ads, or events for alcohol alternatives, you’re not alone. In fact, our very own Kansas City is home to the first-ever creative agency focused solely on non-alcoholic beverages and sober-friendly businesses: SipSteady. 

SipSteady co-founders Sarah Pretorius and Kayla Mason have been championing alcohol-free events and products in KC and beyond since 2022. Some of the larger public events in the last year have included the Zero Proof Lounge at Boulevardia, Dry Vibes, and a cocktail class with Jay Sanders of James Beard Award-nominated Drastic Measures and Wild Child.

In The Pitch Questionnaire, Pretorius and Mason divulge their current consumption habits, beverage trends, and how they view the intersections of cannabis, wellness, and fun. Plus, they include some strategies and resources for those considering sobriety.

The Pitch: Tell us about how you each got here and what sparked SipSteady.

Sarah Pretorius: SipSteady was inspired by my experience of going alcohol-free in 2021. It was a personal choice, and I am so glad I made it. My husband and I moved to Kansas City in 2020, and being new to Kansas City, I loved exploring new bars, restaurants, and music venues. When they had awesome non-alcoholic options or were open to creating something from scratch for me, I felt seen, valued, and welcomed. When soda, coffee, and iced tea are the only non-alcoholic options, it feels like sober people, or anyone not wanting to imbibe alcohol are not as welcome. 

At the same time, there was an explosion of innovative non-alcoholic brands emerging all over social media. I relished being able to try new non-alcoholic elixirs, cocktails, beer, and wine. These brands made my choice to live alcohol-free feel seen and supported. Kayla and I would get together to try different drinks, and she always provided fun zero-proof alternatives at her parties and get-togethers. I think that’s when our shared interest in the category began. 

In 2022, “SipSteady” kept rolling around my brain. I started to imagine what it would be like to leverage my decade of experience in communications, marketing, events, and PR to help non-alcoholic brands grow and reach more consumers like myself. I knew that if this idea was ever going to be the success I believed it could be, I would need the perfect co-founder, and that’s when Kayla came in. 

Kayla Mason: My trained background is on the more technical and operational side. I worked as a project engineer in industrial construction for twelve years which took me all over Canada and the U.S. I chose to come to Kansas City for work nine years ago, and I haven’t looked back since! 

Moving to Kansas City was a huge “aha” moment for me. I felt as though I could finally breathe and pursue my passions outside of work…which led to my creating a company called Breathe KC (now called Awake & Relaxed). 

Breathe KC was an outlet where I was able to get super creative and balance the very structured part of my business life. During this time I also expanded my creative ventures into the real estate world which led me to create some fun A-frame rental properties that garnered global press and, at the time, a viral moment. 

When Sarah and I met, I had left my corporate career to pursue both real estate and the wellness world, but wasn’t feeling as ‘lit up’ as I once had in that space. Being a long-time fan of alcohol alternatives myself and experimenting with brands such as Ghia and Amass early on, the idea of SipSteady intrigued me and the creativity of how to make a difference in small business brands started flowing! 

We have a really natural work cadence together, which is so refreshing and, I think, pretty hard to come by. Together, we have been able to grow SipSteady to a level that neither of us has reached in business before, which has been incredibly rewarding and keeps us on our toes!

As the first-ever creative agency to exclusively focus on non-alcoholic beverage brands and sober-friendly businesses, what obstacles have you faced in launching?

Pretorius: We love to help bootstrapping businesses get creative and leverage every marketing dollar to the maximum. It’s one of the core parts of our mission is to help new and small non-alcoholic beverage businesses grow. However, as we learned, it can be challenging when many of these brands haven’t yet built up their income to sustain operations and invest in outside PR and marketing support. 

Mason: It’s a really interesting time for marketing right now when businesses have the most exposure to consumers (B to C) than ever before with social media such as TikTok, Instagram, X, etc. For this reason, a lot of consumer packaged products are putting very little into their marketing budgets, and trying to direct the funds that do make it into marketing from top management down. This pigeonholes creativity and directs attention away from needed time spent on storytelling to more analytical, data-based structure. Instead of putting a plan together for big, long-term vision, we sometimes get stuck in small budget loops where there is not enough time or financial resources to see big change.

SipSteady appears to balance at the intersection of fun and wellness. Are you settled there, or do you prefer to tip one way more than the other?

Mason: We both try to live our lives with health at the forefront, but let’s be honest, Tiki Taco has a grip on our bank accounts and that’s okay too! There can be fun and ease in both. We don’t try to take ourselves too seriously, but we do push eachother to be the best versions of ourselves, both in business and in our personal lives. I think SipSteady reflects that and will probably always be of the two.

What messaging is working well for connecting with n/a folks right now?

Pretorius: Many more unique terms are being used today than there were ten or twenty years ago. Some of the most popular tend to be “sober curious,” “Cali sober,” “alcohol-free,” and “mindful drinker.” While we use terms like alcohol-free and sober curious in our messaging, we know that, ultimately, how a person chooses to identify their relationship to alcohol and other substances is deeply personal and can evolve over time. 

Speaking of terms, what are your feelings on the word “mocktail?”

Pretorius: When I see the word mocktail on a bar or restaurant menu, it makes me think these drinks will be overly sweet, hurried afterthoughts like a Shirley Temple or some boring combination of soda water, cranberry, and pineapple juice. For me, the word mocktail has a condescending undertone and implies that a drink is not only alcohol-free but a cheap imitation of a cocktail. You can see I take this verbiage pretty seriously, lol. 

Mason: Although it is not my preferred term, I don’t mind it! I think it’s the clearest way to communicate a non-alcoholic beverage at this time. I think consumers still need time to come around to “cocktails” being either alcoholic or not, and that’s a shift that we have to be willing to support. 

SipSteady Co-Founders Kayla Mason and Sarah Pretorius// Photo by Samantha Levi Photography

What trends are you seeing in the n/a beverage space?

Pretorius: Wine proxies are having a big moment with brands combining wine grapes with innovative ingredients such as different teas, fruit, spices, and complex ferments to give people the taste and sensations of drinking wine without any of the alcohol.  

You recently hosted a Hemp Social event to promote THC/CBD-infused beverages. Tell us about how cannabis and hemp-infused products fit into the n/a industry.

Mason: This is kind of new territory for us as a marketing company. We are constantly balancing the line between sharing supportive messaging that works for people who are sober or may have worked a program, where any mind or body-altering substances could be triggering. And, also supporting those who just choose to not drink alcohol but who have found that hemp-infused products or kava work well for them. We are seeing a surge of hemp and cannabis offerings start to enter the N/A industry, specifically hemp since regulations allow them to more easily get into restaurants and venues. 

What KC-area bars or establishments do you recommend for alcohol-free outings?

Pretorius: I personally love the non-alcoholic cocktail menu at Westside Local, Hotel Kansas City, Swordfish Tom’s, and Verbena. Plus, the bartenders at The Hey! Hey! Club are fantastic at whipping up a delicious non-alc cocktail from scratch based on what you like. 

Mason: We stay up to date with all things “NA” across the US, Canada, and the globe and can truly say that having a place like Wild Child, that offers a curated menu of no and low beverages is not super common! There are very few places like this in the country which makes me extra proud that we have this in the Midwest. We’re also very excited to try the new Free Spirted menu by Loews Hotels at Horsefeather Social. And, Third Place Lounge is really a special place that feels so welcoming and has a fantastic selection of non-alc options.

Do you have advice for folks who are sober-curious or early in their sober journey?

Pretorius: I would say that if someone is questioning their relationship with alcohol or is thinking about changing their drinking habits, a great place to start is tapping into the sober-positive social media community. A few Instagram accounts I adore include @CreativeSobriety, @Abi.Feltman, @JoinSoberish, @ASoberGirlsGuide, and @TheMagicIsInTheMiddle. I also recommend websites like Bardelia or GemLifeCollective. It’s fun to experiment and try mixing up your own non-alcoholic cocktails at home with family and friends. 

Mason: As a mindful drinker myself, I took a break from alcohol for an extended amount of time mainly to analyze the emotions that came up when I wanted to reach for a drink. If you are sober-curious, this could be a good place to start. This practice has allowed me to get really good at making the decision to drink or not from an internal compass versus an emotional reaction. All of the accounts that Sarah mentioned above, including herself shoutout @sarah_pretor, are great places to start if you want to surround yourself with positive and supportive messages in the sober/sober-curious space.

What is your go-to beveragino at the moment?

Pretorius: I love salty and savory drinks and experimenting with different recipes to make the perfect non-alcoholic dirty martini. I also love the Lavender Chamomille Bitters from All The Bitters with sparkling water as an easy after-work drink to enjoy while I am making dinner. 

Mason: I’m in my “Sleepy Girl Drink” era and will make a cherry juice mixture every night with either Good Spirits lavender CBD drink called “French Exhale” or with a Zen Donkey tart lemon-lime sparkling water. When I’m out on the town, nothing beats a soda with bitters topped with lemon and lime.

If you’re interested in connecting with the alcohol-free community, find SipSteady on Instagram. It’s the best spot to find upcoming events, non-alcoholic news, and sober-curious inspiration.