Founder Stories: Laura Markewicz of Lotza

When Laura Markewicz talks about Lotza, a non-alcoholic beverage she calls a ‘Functional Party Punch’, the first word that comes up isn’t “healthy”.

“If one word describes our brand, it’s fun. If one mission describes our brand, it’s fun,” she said. “How can we empower people to say yes to those moments?… I want to be able to give people an excuse to unapologetically just enjoy the fun aspects of life and not feel like they have to pay for it later”.

That clarity of purpose has emerged from a winding career in advertising, consulting, and podcasting, a near-death experience, and a Midwest upbringing that taught her both grit and optimism.

A seed planted in college, sparked in the shower

The idea for Lotza traces back to Laura’s college days in the early 2000s.

“I was very much like a work hard, play hard girl and so were all my friends,” she recalled. “We’re like how do we ace all of our classes and still go out every night? So we would experiment with things … B vitamins, things that we thought might decrease the downsides of alcohol”.

Nothing serious came of it then. Fast forward twenty years though, and Laura was pregnant when inspiration struck. “I actually came up with the idea nine months pregnant in the shower, where all of our best ideas come from,” she laughed.

The concept crystallized: a beverage that could make people “feel good now, feel good later”, something that worked as both a non-alcoholic option and a mixer.

Lotza isn’t just another sparkling drink. According to Laura, its plant-based formula combines adaptogens, fatigue fighters, and a core ingredient called dihydromyricetin, or DHM for short. DHM comes from a Japanese raisin tree, which research shows may help the body process alcohol more effectively.

“We’re the first to put it in a beverage,” Laura explained, noting NIH studies on liver health and alcohol-related toxins. But science alone doesn’t sell. Laura insists that the real differentiator is emotional.

She says she used to be very social, “When I became a mom… I felt like I lost all of that,” she admitted. “It was really important to me to put something out that kind of was a reflection of the fun girl in all of us”.

So Lotza’s mission isn’t just liver support, it’s an invitation to fun that doesn’t punish you the next morning.

A near-death moment and the decision to leap

Laura’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t begin with Lotza. The moment that made her realize what she should do with her skills and experience took place in a hospital room.

While working at Laughlin Constable, an award-winning ad agency with offices in Chicago and Milwaukee, she had risen to be VP of Digital Strategy when her first son was born. But the delivery nearly killed her.

“I had a near-death experience. It was… horrible…(a) medical C-section … multiple surgeries after that. Almost had a blood transfusion, hysterectomy,” she said. “I remember looking over at [my mom] in the middle of the night and I was like, I’m going to quit. I’m going to start my own thing”.

That moment reframed everything.

“I think a lot of entrepreneur stories begin with like that holy s*** moment, like YOLO, if we are in this life not pursuing something that we love, what are we here for?” she reflected.

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I wanted to go for something large … something that would have a massive impact

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It was a turning point, one made even sharper by the challenges of being a new mother.

For female founders, she notes, the stakes are different. Motherhood can feel like the opposite of risk-taking, yet Laura decided to take the biggest risk of her career.

From Biz and Booze to Lotza

The years that followed were experiments in entrepreneurship. She launched a consultancy and started a podcast, cheekily titled Biz and Booze.

“I would drink in front of the camera and talk about business. … I did build a pretty big following and kind of leveraged a lot of what I learned from that when I started Lotza”.

“I had drunk the Kool-Aid of the entrepreneurial space. I wanted to go for something large … something that would have a massive impact … and be a name brand staple that people have in their kitchens”.

Lotza became that vehicle. 

Within ten days of her shower epiphany, she had a business plan, a brand, and a website. 

The non-alc boom: why Lotza is different

On paper, the adult non-alcoholic beverage market is exploding: the global alcohol market is worth $1.7 trillion, with the US accounting for approximately 30% of that, according to data from Grand View Research. The 'no-alc' market? A smidgen of that, but growing at double digits. Laura thinks that much of it is hype.

“Looking at the VC money going into adult non-alc, it’s about 80% of the market size. … All of these investments and all of this buzz is much greater than the current demand,” she said.

That’s why Lotza isn’t positioning itself as strictly non-alc.

“The real immediate and much larger opportunity is mindful consumption,” Laura explained. “We as a brand want to be that bridge that meets people where they are in their consumption habits and evolves with them”.

It’s not about quitting. It’s about celebrating smarter.

Why Wisconsin, and why the Midwest?

Launching a CPG startup in the Midwest, and specifically a startup in Wisconsin may sound counterintuitive for a health-focused beverage, with the state ranked fifth in the nation for beer consumption. But Laura argues it’s exactly the right place.

“Wisconsin is a brilliant place to start… because A, we’re the alcohol capital of the world. … If a beverage that is designed for professional drinking was created, it would be here,” she said.

There are other advantages.

“I’m a bigger fish in a smaller sea,” she explained. “If I were to have launched a beverage in LA, I would be one in a million. … Whereas launching Lotza in Wisconsin, it’s easy to get attention”.

That’s all well and good, but she’s realistic enough to agree that challenges remain within the Midwest. 

“The investors that I do come in contact with (here) tend to be tech, healthcare, ag investors, not consumer brand investors,” she noted. But Laura refuses to see geography as a barrier.
“There is no shame in my game. I will blind cold call people. … I just in general think as a society we need to look less at the hurdles and more at the opportunities”.

Lessons from advertising: never an imposter

Before founding Lotza, Laura spent twelve years in advertising. That experience taught her lessons she still draws on today: how to position a product, how to tell a story, how to connect emotionally with a consumer.

It also gave her confidence.

“I have never had imposter syndrome,” she said flatly. “Having worked my way to the top of the ad industry as the youngest executive, I realized that nobody knows what they’re doing. Everyone is faking it until they make it”.

For a woman founder in a male-dominated industry, that clarity is powerful. 

Lotza is still early in its journey. Laura has self-funded a substantial amount of her own savings, at a figure that would constitute a good seed round in Wisconsin. She also raised a $100,000 injection from local accelerator gener8tor, and is now closing a $400,000 friends-and-family round ahead of a larger institutional raise.

She is betting on herself, a mindset she credits to her upbringing. Born and raised in Bloomington, Minnesota, she moved to Wisconsin for college, where she graduated from Marquette University. She says that growing up, she felt like anything was possible.

“I have an inflated optimism and an inflated belief that, you know, why not me and anything is possible” she says. That optimism may be the biggest differentiator of all. In an industry crowded with functional claims and sober-curious branding, Laura has planted her flag in joy.

Because at the end of the day, Lotza isn’t about abstinence or restriction. It’s about living fully.

“As women, we’ve always been meant to believe that we can’t quote/unquote, have it all,” she said. “And I really wanted to bring this concept of being able to have it all … lots of things going on in your life, and not having to choose one or the other”.

A Midwest brand with global ambition

Lotza is still young, but Laura is already thinking big. She’s joined top-tier accelerators, built relationships with advisors from Hershey’s to Liquid Death, and trademarked the name to prepare for scaling.

And she’s clear-eyed about what it will take.

“Alcohol is fun,” she said. “Nobody has ever quit drinking because of how they feel while they’re drinking it. … So we are here to really empower people to make their own decisions … and do the best that we can to combat the negative effects”.

It’s a vision rooted in where she grew up and where she lives and works, but aimed far beyond it: a beverage that makes celebrations healthier, more inclusive, and above all… more fun.

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