Stay in Grown Folks Business: Danica Dias’ Hard Seltzer Rooted in Culture

Grown Folks, a unique hard seltzer drink, is a testament to the power of community and cultural heritage. Its founder, Danica Dias, gathered inspiration for her creation from her childhood and family.

“When we were kids,” Dias reminisces, “There was a grown folks table and kids’ table. The adults were so happy and free when drinking, eating, and gathering. This cultural tradition of togetherness and freedom is the essence of Grown Folks.”

The culture is present in every sip of Grown Folks. The hard seltzer is made with natural fruit juices and comes in key lime, ambrosia, and peach cobbler flavors, all reminiscent of soul food recipes of the Dias family.

“My maternal grandmother is my Louisiana family, and my dad’s side is Portuguese, from Cape Verde.”

It Truly Takes A Village

Dias talks about her village, which consisted of maternal grandmothers who helped raise the entrepreneur and her sisters while their parents worked.

“One grandma lived with us full-time for many years, and our other grandma cared for us during the summer and weekends. They did not have careers like you and I do, but they were trailblazers, creators, and cooks. They taught me a great deal about family, life, and business. Both of my grandmothers have passed away, but my mom, sisters, niece, and cousin all continue to help me with this business every day. That was taught to us by our grandmothers: Lean on family.”

Dias planned to study law after graduating from UCLA but decided to go into hospitality instead. “I’ve worked in the food and beverage industry since I was 15.”

Starting as a hostess, the Grown Folks founder worked in restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and everything in the food and beverage industry, including the front and back of the house. She became a top sales performer for large and small CPG brands.

Then, the pandemic hit, and she decided to start her own business.

“Several factors aligned during COVID that led to what I’m doing today. I have a background in the beverage industry as a bartender and business acumen through leading sales teams for various brands, so I have a solid understanding of the beverage industry. I worked for other major beverage brands, so it was my world.”

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Seeing that existing brands are “very health-focused, with no carbs, no sugar, and low-calories” and that their primary audience is “White millennials,” she entered the beverage refreshment market.

Dias realized there were numerous peach-flavored seltzers, but none tasted exceptional, and she wanted to differentiate herself from the competition. So, she and her family went through their recipes and decided to turn their grandmother’s peaches n dumplin’ recipe into a delightful drink.

Flavor is Key (Lime, Ambrosia, and Peach)

“The base of the hard seltzers is fermented sugar, and our base is entirely natural, allowing the natural fruit flavors and inherent sweetness to shine through. With many other seltzers, you will have this weird aftertaste on the back end of the palette. We wanted clean, bright, full flavor throughout. Our consumers care about taste overall, so when I was crafting the product, it was essential to use real fruit juice and quality ingredients.”

Grown Folks hard seltzers are not just about unique flavors; they also pack a punch. With a generous 6% alcohol content, Grown Folks stands out from the typical seltzers that hover around 4-5%.

“Yes, this means a slightly higher calorie count, but the rich taste and quality ingredients more than make up for it. That’s more alcohol and real fruit juice, so there are more calories,” Dias explains.

“But we’re giving our consumers more value. Again, we’re crafting for a consumer that hasn’t been spoken to meaningfully. Our consumers care about flavor, authenticity, value, and culture and want to align with the product.”

Dias had her family and a few close mixologist friends to help with the research and development of Grown Folks, which started in her kitchen. When Dias was happy with the final result, she contacted distributors. However, despite her connections, it proved to be complicated.

“Distributors and wholesalers are hard ones to crack. I was calling on every connection I had, and everyone was busy, and nobody wanted to work with you. You encounter many people during production and your go-to-market strategy. But no one looks like us. It feels daunting. There’s this illusion that entrepreneurship and building a business or a brand is glamorous. But the journey has many lows, hurdles, and challenges.”

Not letting the rejection deter her, Dias used her sales background to tackle specific brands whom she thought would appreciate Grown Folks.

“I believed 100% in my product. So, I knew if I could approach certain retailers, get my product in their hands, and tell them my origin story, I could land it somewhere. That’s how I got my spark.”

Dias found that retailer in Whole Foods Market. The company loved her story and took a chance on her.

“We launched in March 2024 at a handful of high-traffic Whole Foods Markets like Downtown LA. Because it’s densely populated, a diverse range of shoppers come through. Once I got into Whole Foods, it opened doors, and Grown Folks is now available at Whole Foods, Total Wine, and Sam’s Club, to name a few.”

A Grown Folks Business With Cultural Meaning

Dias added her grandmother’s recipes for key lime (after key lime pie) and ambrosia (after ambrosia salad) flavors to the mix and continued to see success.

Due to the popularity, she created a Grown Folks Front Porch lager beer. “My oldest memory of great grandpa is always drinking a can of Budweiser in his overalls and chilling on the porch. So, I incorporate the same brand pillars into our craft beer as the seltzers. Our flavors are sweet-focused, and I created a lager with some sweet corn notes. It’s named Front Porch to capture that Louisiana Creole image of my great grandpa sipping on his brew.”

Dias expressed immense gratitude to Whole Foods for taking a chance with her and hopes that other brands will be willing to help elevate diverse talent.  “Give someone [who is] hungry an opportunity to perform. Perhaps it’s not the person with 20 years of experience, but someone who, if they get this opportunity, will mean something to them, and it could change the trajectory of their life in a very positive way.”

You can find Grown Folks at Whole Foods, Total Wine, and Sam’s Club. Visit their website , Instagram , and TikTok .

This story originally appeared in Cuisine Noir Magazine