Location: Menomonee Falls
Founders: Laura Markz
Founded: 2023
Service: Beverage manufacturer
Website: getlotza.com
Employees: 1
Goal: Achieve $400 million in sales within five years
Experience: Digital marketing and consulting
As the popularity of non-alcoholic and low-ABV beverage options continues to rise, Menomonee Falls-based startup Lotza is looking to carve out its own space within the alternative beverage market.
Company founder Laura Markz has created what she believes to be the world’s first “good-for-you” drink mixer that not only protects the body against the negative effects of alcohol, but also provides additional health benefits.
Designed to be mixed as a cocktail or consumed on its own as a mocktail, Lotza contains mood-boosting adaptogens and plant-based nutrients to support liver health and next-day recovery. The carbonated beverage is currently available in three flavors: lemon hibiscus, watermelon cucumber and wild berry mint.
“The whole goal as a business for Lotza, my ‘why’ behind everything, is to help protect people from the damaging effects of alcohol,” said Markz, who launched the startup in February 2023.
Markz is a Marquette University graduate who began her professional journey at advertising agency Laughlin Constable. She quickly climbed the ladder to become vice president of digital strategy but ended up leaving the corporate world after suffering from a severe medical emergency during childbirth. After a stint as a consultant and later working for a colleague’s air purification business, which ended up shutting down, Markz made the decision to start her own company.
The idea of creating a beverage that can be enjoyed in social settings by drinkers of all preferences had always been a half-formed concept in the back of Markz’s head.
“Being with your friends and having a beverage that can be enjoyed equally by people who consume alcohol and people who don’t was really important to me,” she said.
Lotza has a two-pronged approach to how it can help protect consumers from the damaging effects of alcohol. Working with a medical advisory team, Markz perfected a formula that includes vitamins, antioxidants and adaptogens, such as holy basil and rhodiola, which have been shown to naturally lower stress levels and increase energy.
“The adaptogens can either be a supplement to alcohol or a replacement to alcohol, to give you that fun feeling without actually being intoxicated,” said Markz.
The second piece of Lotza’s health-centric approach is DHM, a plant-derived supplement that can help counteract the effects of alcohol. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
“A lot of the big brands think if you consume alcohol, you must not care about your health,” said Markz. “I think that’s a total farce.”
The goal is to achieve $400 million in sales within the first five years of business and Markz has laid out an aggressive growth strategy to reach that milestone. Lotza was recently named a semifinalist in the annual Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
