Gigli Building a New Kind of Beverage Brand for a New Generation of Consumers

In a beverage market filled with familiar categories, Gigli is building something different. Founded in October 2023 by Kam Talebi and Jared Day, the company began with a clear belief: consumers deserve better choices for how they socialize, recharge, unwind, and connect.

From the beginning, Gigli was designed to be more than a beverage. Talebi and Day saw an opportunity to create a modern lifestyle brand centered on flavor, experience, functionality, and choice. As consumer preferences shifted toward alcohol alternatives and better-for-you products, Gigli positioned itself at the intersection of beverage innovation, social connection, wellness, and changing consumer behavior.

The result is a growing portfolio that began with alcohol-free, THC-infused beverages and is now expanding into functional beverages, energy products, and premium mocktails. Across every category, Gigli remains focused on delivering bold flavor, approachable formats, modern branding, and a better option for today’s consumer.

A Brand Built Around Changing Consumer Behavior

The idea for Gigli came from observing a shift in the way people were thinking about drinking. Alcohol has long played a central role in celebrations, dinners, vacations, and everyday moments of relaxation. However, more consumers have begun reconsidering their relationship with it and paying closer attention to what they consume throughout the day.

Many still want the ritual of sharing a drink, but they are looking for alternatives that better fit their lifestyles. They are also looking for beverages that can support different moments, whether that means socializing without alcohol, finding a cleaner source of energy, staying hydrated, improving focus, or enjoying a flavorful mocktail.

Talebi and Day recognized that consumers wanted something social, functional, flavorful, and exciting that could stand on its own.

Rather than approaching the market from a highly technical or cannabis-first perspective, the founders focused on creating a beverage brand consumers could immediately understand. Taste, packaging, personality, purpose, and occasion were placed at the center of the experience. THC remained an important part of the product portfolio, but it did not have to define the brand’s entire identity.

This approach helped Gigli create a more welcoming entry point into the THC category while establishing a foundation that could extend into the broader beverage market. The goal is to connect with consumers looking for better options across THC, energy, functionality, hydration, and alcohol-free social occasions.

From an Idea to a Growing Product Portfolio

Since its founding, Gigli has expanded beyond a single product concept into a broader beverage and lifestyle platform.

The company’s current portfolio includes alcohol-free THC cocktails in familiar flavors such as Blood Orange Margarita, Pineapple Mojito, Raspberry Mule, Strawberry Spritz, Cherry Limeade, and Blueberry Lemonade. Gigli has also expanded into seltzers and punches, giving consumers multiple ways to experience the brand.

The next chapter of Gigli introduces a broader lineup of better-for-you beverages designed around the different needs and occasions consumers experience throughout their day. This includes functional beverages created to support energy, hydration, focus, performance, and everyday wellness, as well as premium skinny mocktails that deliver the flavor and experience of a cocktail without the alcohol or unnecessary calories.

Together, these products allow Gigli to move beyond a single category and become a beverage brand that can serve consumers from morning through evening. Whether someone is looking for functional support, clean energy, hydration, an elevated mocktail, or a THC-infused social beverage, Gigli aims to provide a flavorful and approachable alternative.

The company’s growth has been driven by its willingness to listen closely to the market. Consumers have different preferences around flavor, ingredients, dosage, carbonation, functionality, and occasion. By creating a diverse portfolio with approachable formats and clearly communicated benefits, Gigli can meet consumers where they are while building education, transparency, and trust.

This variety also allows Gigli to fit naturally into different consumer occasions, from morning routines and active lifestyles to dinner parties, weekend gatherings, and casual evenings at home. Each product has its own personality and purpose while remaining part of a consistent and recognizable brand.

Growing Through Retail and Market Expansion

One of the most important parts of Gigli’s growth story has been its expansion into new retail channels and markets.

Building a consumer packaged goods company requires distribution, retailer relationships, merchandising, consumer education, and consistent demand. Gigli has continued investing in each area as it grows.

The brand has expanded through major and regional retailers, including Target, Total Wine, Top Ten Liquors, MGM Wine & Spirits, and Cub Liquor. This wider availability has introduced Gigli to consumers who may not have actively searched for a THC beverage but are open to discovering one in a familiar shopping environment.

As Gigli expands its functional and mocktail portfolio, the company will also be able to reach consumers across additional sections of the store and throughout more moments of their daily lives. The broader product lineup creates opportunities within functional beverages, energy, hydration, non-alcoholic adult beverages, and better-for-you refreshment.

Retail growth helps normalize the THC beverage category by positioning Gigli alongside premium beverages, ready-to-drink cocktails, seltzers, and alcohol alternatives. It also provides the foundation for Gigli to become a recognized beverage brand across multiple categories rather than being limited to a single product type.

Gigli’s growth has also been supported by a strong focus on branding and packaging. Its visual identity is designed to feel bright, modern, premium, and social. Rather than relying on traditional cannabis imagery or overly clinical wellness branding, the brand presents itself as a contemporary beverage company.

That distinction has helped Gigli reach a broader audience, including consumers who want products that feel polished, approachable, functional, and appropriate for modern lifestyles and adult social occasions.

Building Trust Across Emerging Categories

As the THC and functional beverage markets develop, one of their greatest challenges is consumer education.

Many consumers are still learning how THC beverages differ from alcohol, how dosage affects the experience, and how to select the right product. At the same time, consumers are increasingly evaluating functional beverages based on ingredients, benefits, caffeine levels, calories, sugar, and how each product fits into their daily routine.

Gigli supports that learning with clear dosage information, responsible-use messaging, age restrictions, straightforward product descriptions, and transparent communication around ingredients and functionality.

For consumers trying a THC or functional beverage for the first time, a positive and predictable experience can build lasting trust. For Gigli, education is central to creating a sustainable brand.

This responsibility extends across the entire customer journey, from what consumers see on the shelf to the information available online. By keeping its communication clear, approachable, and benefit-focused, Gigli is helping consumers make more informed decisions across every category it enters.

Refining the Brand During a Time of Change

Gigli’s growth is taking place during a period of regulatory uncertainty for the hemp-derived THC industry and continued transformation across the broader beverage market.

Rather than allowing that uncertainty to slow the company’s momentum, Talebi and Day have used this time to strengthen the business, expand the company’s vision, and refine the Gigli brand. The company invested in a thoughtful rebrand designed to create a clearer, more cohesive identity while better reflecting Gigli’s personality, quality, and long-term potential.

The rebrand allowed the team to refine its packaging, messaging, positioning, and consumer experience, with greater emphasis on flavor, approachability, functionality, and the different occasions Gigli can serve.

For Talebi and Day, the rebrand represents more than a visual update. It reflects the company’s growth from a THC beverage startup into a broader better-for-you beverage platform. Gigli remains focused on improving its products, strengthening retail relationships, educating consumers, and building a brand with national potential.

The founders recognize the challenges facing the hemp-derived THC industry, but they remain optimistic. Gigli supports thoughtful regulation that protects consumers, prevents access by minors, creates consistent standards, and gives responsible adult beverage companies a path forward.

At the same time, expanding into functional beverages, energy, and mocktails provides Gigli with additional opportunities to serve consumers and build a more diversified beverage company.

By focusing on what it can control and using this period to strengthen its foundation, Gigli is moving ahead with confidence and high hopes for the future.

The Founders’ Vision

Talebi and Day created Gigli with a long-term vision for where consumer culture is headed. They believed alcohol alternatives would continue moving into the mainstream and that THC beverages could become a meaningful part of the modern social landscape.

They also recognized a larger shift. Consumers increasingly want beverages that provide more than refreshment alone. They are looking for products that complement how they want to feel, perform, socialize, and live.

Gigli’s vision is to deliver a better-for-you option across the beverage categories consumers already enjoy. That means creating THC beverages that offer an alternative to alcohol, energy products designed for everyday use, functional beverages with understandable benefits, and mocktails that deliver a premium social experience without compromise.

The founders understood that widespread adoption would require brands capable of reaching beyond existing cannabis or wellness consumers. Navigating regulation, supply chains, retail growth, product development, and new category expansion has shaped the company’s strategy and strengthened its ability to adapt.

Their goal has never been to create a short-term trend product. Their ambition is to establish Gigli as a recognizable national beverage brand capable of growing across product categories, retail channels, consumer occasions, and different moments of the day.

Building brand awareness remains a major priority. As more consumers encounter Gigli through retail shelves, online shopping, events, creators, and word of mouth, the company aims to become a familiar and trusted name within the evolving beverage industry.

The Next Chapter

As Gigli moves forward, its primary goal is clear: build greater brand awareness while continuing to expand distribution and strengthen its product portfolio.

The launch of Gigli’s functional beverage and mocktail lines represents an important step in that evolution. These products build upon the same belief that inspired the company’s original THC beverages: consumers deserve flavorful, modern, and better-for-you choices without having to sacrifice the experience they enjoy.

Future growth will come from product innovation, market expansion, consumer education, strategic partnerships, retail activations, and consistent brand storytelling. Gigli will also continue adapting to regulatory developments while advocating for responsible standards that protect consumers and support legitimate businesses.

Since its founding in October 2023, Gigli has evolved from a startup concept into a growing beverage company with an expanding market presence and increasingly diverse product lineup.

Its mission remains simple: give consumers a better choice.

Whether the occasion calls for THC, energy, hydration, functionality, or a premium mocktail, Gigli is working to deliver an option designed around the needs of a new generation of consumers.

By combining thoughtful product development, modern branding, responsible education, and a strong understanding of consumer culture, Kam Talebi, Jared Day, and the Gigli team are helping redefine what the future of beverages can look like.

Consumers can explore the full product lineup, shop online, find nearby retail locations, or have Gigli delivered directly to their doorstep at Gigli.com.

For Gigli, this is only the beginning.