Partner Content: Busty Lush
As the wife of a brewer, Laurel Harrop’s entry into the non-alcoholic space might be surprising. But it wasn’t just an opportunistic business venture; it was a personal mission sparked during her pregnancy. Frustrated by the lack of flavorful non-alcoholic options and inspired by the potential to create beverages that resonate with women, she founded Busty Lush—a brand that champions female empowerment in a traditionally male-dominated space.
In this Q&A, Laurel shares the origins of Busty Lush, the rationale behind her female-forward brand identity, and the creative vision for her expansion from non-alcoholic beers to mocktails. From the artistic collaborations that shape Busty Lush’s aesthetic to the challenges and triumphs of scaling her brand, Laurel provides a candid look into the non-alc world.
Dry Atlas: Laurel, as the wife of a brewer, your journey to the non-alc space is a bit unique. Tell us about your background and what initially inspired you to create Busty Lush.
Laurel Harrop: I had the idea when I was pregnant with my second child. I sampled a few non-alcoholic beers—the non-alc space was different back then, before the boom—and there just wasn’t much there. I became very excited about the idea of making some NA beers that had more variety and flavor.
Specifically, I thought there should be products that speak to women. Having been around craft beer for many years, all the packaging felt very masculine and geared towards men. I envisioned baby showers with these fun, non-alcoholic beverages, birthday parties, celebrations, and playdates where a female-driven NA brand like this would be so welcomed.
DA: Today, your brand identity is female-forward. Can you share more about this decision, given the traditionally male-dominated beer space?
LH: I’ve been around craft beer for many years. It’s very masculine. Or at least that has been my perception. I wanted to connect with women through the can/package design.
I’ve always been a fan of Chambers Austelle, the artist who creates the art you see on the cans. Her portraits capture these lovely, fierce, strong, confident women. When you look at one of her portraits, you know exactly what that woman is thinking and feeling. It was everything that I wanted to say about the brand.
From there, my very good friend Ashley Little from Little Print Design does the beautiful graphic design. And the two of them are magic. Busty Lush is unapologetically female, and I believe that translates exactly the way it was intended through the package art and design.
DA: Back to the product itself, you’ve expanded beyond beer alternatives to mocktails with your Lavender Margarita and your Grapefruit Paloma. Typically, brands that start with non-alc beers stay in that lane. Why take a broader approach in product development?
LH: I recall having a wild hair about the mocktail idea one day. It’s sort of the way I am in life. I love to immediately run with ideas once I get excited about them. If we could do the beers—the beers are fairly complicated—I knew we could tackle mocktails.
Besides that, mocktails are perfect for Busty Lush. I was immediately spinning with photoshoot ideas for these really beautiful, colorful drinks that can be dressed up in a glass. I want Busty Lush to be fun, sexy, stylish, and sophisticated—to capture that nothing is lost by not drinking. I want that to come across through the drinks. With mocktails, this concept really comes alive.
DA: Did you encounter any challenges as you brought your products to life?
LH: From start to finish, beverages are difficult to make. As a small brand, it’s hard to compete with the big ones. Obviously, you don’t have the financial resources that they do. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years about being creative with what we do have, and how to overcome financial hurdles. I’ve been so fortunate to meet some great fellow NA brand owners, like Jess from Joyus Wines and Sierra from Tropink. There’s a great network of all of us. We don’t act like competitors; we support each other through a lot of the same challenges.
DA: As a founder, what have been some of the most rewarding moments in your journey so far?
LH: One of my favorite moments was getting into Whole Foods. Every time I go in there, it’s still really exciting. I think highly of Whole Foods and I’m proud to be on those shelves.
Last year, we launched on Amazon and it took months and months for us to be ready to do that.
That journey has been very rewarding. I’ve learned so many things about logistics, production, and labeling requirements. I’ve learned how everything gets from the production facility to the fulfillment center to a retail store or to someone’s home via Amazon. It’s awesome. It’s very challenging and stressful, but very rewarding.
DA: Thinking about the average consumer who’s not familiar with this category, what’s one thing you’d like them to understand as they browse your products at Whole Foods?
LH: I’d like to tell customers to just give them a try. They’re not what non-alcoholic products used to be! I’d like to help customers understand how far this category has come, and how many fantastic drinks are out there. You can have the same great flavor experience without the alcohol.
DA: Sipping is believing in this category! With Whole Foods and Amazon under your belt, what’s next?
LH: I’m most excited about our newest mocktail coming out this fall. Right now, I’m gearing up for getting that into production. I always have a great time launching new products. If I could just keep launching new products, I would! The new mocktail is front and center going into fall.
DA: Taking a step back, as you think about Busty Lush’s future, what do you think the future of social drinking itself is going to look like?
LH: I predict there will be a spectrum of non-alcoholic and alcoholic options wherever you go: restaurants, bars, grocery stores. You can already see this happening. There are more and more people who want to moderate, and I’m in full support of that. For whatever reason you don’t want to drink, or want to drink less, we should empower everybody. There shouldn’t be any negativity around this movement. No matter why you’re not drinking at a given moment, there are now amazing options to enjoy. That’s just really cool.
Photo Credit: Lance Gerber
