How JoJo Fletcher and Mallory Patton Built a Thriving Beverage Brand With No Industry Experience

The sisters-in-law launched Saint Spritz in 2023, and are gearing up to work with their dream retailer in a larger capacity this spring.

JoJo Fletcher and Mallory Patton / Courtesy of Saint Spritz

A few years ago, sisters-in-law JoJo Fletcher and Mallory Patton were in Italy for a family wedding. Their drink of choice during their summer trip abroad? A refreshing, bubbly Aperol Spritz. When they returned to the states, the two continued making spritz cocktails while entertaining at home, but longed for an easier, ready-to-drink version that they could simply crack open and pour.

Ultimately, they discovered that there were no canned spritz options on the market that offered an elevated experience with premium ingredients—so they decided to create one. The two cofounded Saint Spritz and launched their wine-based premium cocktails as a direct-to-consumer beverage brand on June 14, 2023. The ready-to-pour drinks, available in Orange, Lemon Basil and Elderflower Lime, are made of 30% juice, 13 or fewer grams of sugar and come in at 5% ABV in each 12 oz. can.

Saint Spritz beverages / Courtesy of Saint Spritz

“ This company was born out of a desire and need for something for ourselves and our family members,” Fletcher tells SI Swimsuit. “I don’t think I ever expected to be in the alcohol beverage space ... We were like, there’s a white space here, there’s nothing that’s canned that’s easy and ready to drink that has these better for you ingredients and that tastes exactly what we wanted them to taste like, which was reminiscent of these iconic Italian spritzes that we had loved so much and enjoyed over the summer. So [Saint Spritz] was born out of the idea of wanting something for ourselves, and then going to town and working on it and it kind of catching on. It’s been a really crazy year and a learning experience and a lot of hard work, but we’re really proud of where we’ve come so far.”

Saint Spritz sold out within the first two weeks of launching online, and later became available in retail stores in January 2024. Fletcher, known for leading Season 12 of The Bachelorette, and Patton, a stay-at-home mom, started the business as consumers with a love for the bubbly cocktail, but no prior experience in the beverage industry. Fletcher has a background in real estate development, while Patton has previously worked in business development and sales, and the two concur that having no background in the field has actually worked to their advantage.

“ I think us not having that experience was really helpful because we didn’t know what to expect,” Patton says. “Like, we just got on LinkedIn and were reaching out to the buyer at Total Wine or [asking] ‘Hey, do you know this contact here?’ So I think that kind of not knowing the process helped us get our foot in the door.”

Fletcher adds that breaking into a male-dominated industry was tougher than she expected, but having one another to lean on as co-founders and family made things significantly easier. “ We’ve kind of surprised ourselves in how much we’ve been able to do even against the odds, and so I think that’s something to be really proud of,” she says.

In addition to their can-do attitude, Fletcher and Patton credit the mentorship and community they found among other female founders as one of the aspects that really helped them succeed from the beginning.

“Early on, we were really lucky to have been connected [with] some other female founders that had started alcohol businesses too, and so I think we got mentorship really early from other strong female founders,” Patton says. “ ... It was so amazing, this community of women [where] we’re in the same space and they’re like, ‘How can we help you? You got to avoid this, do this.’”

JoJo Fletcher and Mallory Patton / Courtesy of Saint Spritz

Of course, starting a business with no prior industry experience definitely presents its challenges. Fletcher and Patton say there was a huge learning curve when it came to the nitty-gritty operational details of the company, like connecting with a trademark lawyer, collaborating with retailers (including working with their dream retailer in a larger capacity later this year) and formulating their product, for example.

“ It’s been a lot of like nose down, learn this inside and out, be as prepared as you can, and just taking [it] step by step and realizing how long and how much work is involved to just make the product,” Fletcher notes. “But that’s not where the work really begins. The real work begins once you try to get your product into stores and into people’s hands, and so there’s just a lot of challenges with learning along the way.”

Rather than being discouraged by the learning curve, Fletcher and Patton are inspired by it. They truly believe that if you’re passionate and have a strong idea, you can achieve anything—and it’s that message that surely resonates with so many of us, whether we’re looking to similarly jump into entrepreneurship or achieve a personal goal in the year ahead.

“ Just go for it, but be smart about it,” Fletcher advises. “Have a plan in place, know that you have the confidence [and that] you can learn. That’s been something that’s been encouraging for us. We didn’t know a lot of this stuff, but we learned it along the way and we’ve succeeded.”

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