.svg)
.svg)
Search
Functional Beverage Brand Growth: Inside Brēz’s $28M First Year
In April 2023, Brēz launched with a simple but ambitious mission: offer a social, relaxing beverage that delivers all the connection of alcohol without the hangover or regret. Less than two years later, the company is on pace for more than $50 million in annual sales.
At the center of that explosive functional beverage brand growth is founder Aaron Nosbisch — an entrepreneur who’s been building and scaling consumer brands since his teenage years. In a recent conversation with Michael Bitar for Cracking the Code, Aaron shared how Brēz came to life, the strategies behind its rapid rise, and his blueprint for building a strong team without overhiring.
From MySpace to Market Leader
Aaron started young — at 13, designing t-shirts in Photoshop, selling them through Big Cartel, and promoting them on MySpace. That early crash course in e-commerce and digital marketing laid the foundation for later success.
He cut his teeth in wellness with Monq, a portable aromatherapy diffuser brand that became one of the fastest-growing in the space. By 2018, when the Farm Bill opened the market for hemp products, Aaron launched a CBD brand — only to hit a wall with digital advertising restrictions.
Instead of giving up, he saw opportunity. He co-founded Lucid, an advertising agency built to solve the hemp and cannabis ad challenge. Lucid went on to become the largest cannabis social advertising firm in the U.S., running as much as 80% of all cannabis ads on social media for 60–70 top brands.
That experience — plus a growing curiosity about THC beverages — set the stage for Brēz.
The Brēz Idea
The spark came after trying an early hemp-derived THC drink. As someone who enjoyed alcohol’s social benefits but disliked the next-day impact, Aaron asked a simple question:
“Why can’t there be a drink that helps you feel better, connect, and celebrate — without costing you the next day?”
That question became Brēz, a product positioned at the intersection of the THC beverage market and the functional drinks category. Launching on April 20, 2023, Brēz took an e-commerce-first approach, leaning into Aaron’s digital background rather than traditional beverage distribution playbooks.
The results:
- $1.25M in sales in the first eight months
- $28.9M in 2024 (first full year)
- $12M in Q1 2025 alone
Bootstrapping Smart
Aaron had seen brands struggle with undercapitalization, so he launched Brēz with around $150K and a carefully selected group of partners. Equity deals were structured with clear roles, vesting schedules, and a focus on cultural alignment.
That clarity created trust from the start — and let the team move fast without the distraction of misaligned expectations.
Lean Team, High Output
While many startups equate growth with headcount, Brēz has kept its team lean — around 50 people — by hiring for resourcefulness, cultural fit, and complementary skills.
Team members are expected to:
- Understand and love the product.
- Align with Brēz’s mission of reducing human suffering and maximizing potential.
- Bring unique expertise that strengthens the group without redundancy.
It’s not about building a team of friends — it’s about building a team you’d “cross the desert with,” Aaron says.
When It’s Time to Move On
Aaron’s philosophy on parting ways is simple: no surprises. If someone’s not in the right role, the first step is exploring other positions within the company. If that doesn’t work, the conversation turns to helping them transition — often with direct introductions to opportunities in his network.
Holding onto someone in the wrong seat, he believes, is more harmful than helping them move forward elsewhere.
Rapid Product Expansion
Brēz began with a 5mg THC sparkling beverage and quickly expanded:
- A 2.5mg THC size
- THC-free Flow, made with cacao, lion’s mane, L-theanine, and black seed
- THC spirits and portable shots for on-the-go use
- Effect-based blends like Drift (sleep-focused) and Elevate (energy-focused)
- Non-infused functional tonics with adaptogens and botanicals
Aaron believes the future of beverages is effect-driven — drinks designed for a specific benefit, from mood and focus to relaxation and recovery.
Aaron’s Advice for Founders
For those chasing functional beverage brand growth, Aaron’s blueprint is straightforward:
- Believe in yourself and find people who believe in you.
- Build a strong support system — personally and professionally.
- Start with enough capital to execute effectively.
- Partner with people who complement your skills and share your values.
- Commit to success as the only option — and keep iterating until you get there.
Bottom line: Brēz’s first-year numbers aren’t just a win for one company — they’re proof that with the right vision, team, and execution, the path to rapid functional beverage brand growth is wide open.
