LITTLE SAINTS INTRODUCES ST. MEZCAL, THEIR FIRST NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRIT, INTO THEIR PORTFOLIO OF PLANT MAGIC BEVERAGES The first spirit to combine pure palo santo extract and lion’s mane, St. Mezcal delivers the woody sensations, burn and mood lift we associate with Mezcal, without alcohol or sugar.
New York, NY
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May 02, 2023 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Little Saints, the only mocktail brand to combine Reishi mushrooms, CBD and terpenes in their ingredients –a formula expertly crafted by of a food scientist, environmentalist and a shaman– today expands their non-alcoholic offerings with the release of St. Mezcal. Known for its rich history and rituals of connection, Mezcal is the fastest growing spirit in the US and the least represented in the non-alcoholic space, making St. Mezcal the first functional alternative on the market. Little Saints is believed to be the first spirit producer (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) using a pure palo santo extract –sourced sustainably from Peru– as an ingredient in its St. Mezcal formula, which will be sold at a suggested retail price of $49.99 in a beautifully-designed, Mezcal-inspired 750ml glass bottle.
Little Saints St. Mezcal ingredient profile is highly intentional with a complex blend of flavors and functional, sacred plants for a multi-sensory and mood-enhancing experience. The sophisticated, first-of-its-kind blend is highlighted by palo santo (a surprising blend of wood and fennel), ginger, cardamom and vanilla along with an added burn (from capsicum peppers) that hits your throat even when mixed into a blended beverage. It also delivers the rich smell profile associated with certain alcoholic spirits, like Mezcal. Inspired by, but not trying to replicate, the traditional alcoholic Mezcal spirit, St. Mezcal serves as an idyllic, delicious beverage option meant to be consumed neat or as a non-alcoholic replacement for mocktails and cocktail recipes. Little Saints St. Mezcal is joining the menus of today’s buzziest hottest bar and hotel menus including but not limited to Patent Pending (NYC), Clay (NYC), Saint Tuesday (NYC), La Noxe (NYC), Howard’s Bar and Club (Austin), Perla’s (Austin), Liz Lambert’s Hotel Saint Vincent (New Orleans) and Austin Proper Hotel (Austin).
Little Saints sources its palo santo extract, a fragrant wood known for its energy-cleansing and spiritual properties, directly from a forest in Northern Peru. Creating the pure palo santo extract was an extensive process the Little Saints team perfected alongside its Peruvian partners, over a year-long period to optimize the smell and taste of the extract, in addition to procuring a USDA timber permit to import directly from the Peruvian suppliers. The palo santo used to make the extract in St. Mezcal is harvested sustainably from dead and fallen trees, and a percentage of the proceeds of St. Mezcal goes back to the community in Peru that harvests it.
Lion’s mane, an adaptogenic mushroom, has been added in 100mg/serving, a dosage adequate to boost brain power and creativity by stimulating the growth of neurons in the brain–the very thing alcohol negatively impacts. Out of all adaptogenic mushrooms, lion’s mane was included as a segue to better social dialogue and more meaningful interactions. The dosage is stated intentionally as it’s commonplace for brands to include the ingredient without dosage information to mask insufficient amounts for noticeable impact.
According to NPR in 2023, the non-alcoholic beverage category is a $400m category in the United States, growing at 20% year or year. In comparison, the US alcoholic drinks market is a $284b market growing at a flat 7% per year. Consumers are seeking savvy, high quality choices.
“Most non-alcoholic spirits don’t hold up by themselves. Some of them are okay in cocktails, but I would never drink them on their own. St. Mezcal is one of two N/A spirits that I would ever drink neat or on the rocks, and I would prefer St. Mezcal out of those two. It is zero proof but it has a kick like a thunder. I want to highlight that it has a flavor balance and that it gets you in a nice mood. It does something to you… It’s not just like I’m not drinking and I’m good for the night. It will put you in a good mood.” — Nikola Nikoletic, Head Bartender at Patent Pending NYC
Little Saints was founded by environmental lawyer turned plant-based foods entrepreneur, Megan Klein, and shaped by a female food scientist with a Masters in adaptogens (plants that help the body adapt to stress). As a woman-led company, Little Saints sets out to elevate emotional wellbeing and to encourage connectivity with nature. Launched at music festivals from day one, the brand embodies play in all its forms. It is the mocktail and spirit to drink for a consequence-free mood lift.
“St. Mezcal takes the non-alcoholic spirit game up a notch, adding a mood-enhancing ingredient to traditional mocktail menus. I wanted to pair something sensory and spiritual like palo santo with something highly efficacious like lion’s mane. I use both in my everyday life, and I see the benefits - the palo santo helps me clear negative energy and feel creative, and the lion’s mane activates my brain and gives me a buzz that helps me feel creative, focused and playful.” — Megan Klein, Founder and CEO of Little Saints.
Little Saints' bold flavored non-alcoholic drinks are designed to provide an uplifting sensory experience through thoughtfully combined plant magic ingredients. With the philosophy that play is wellness, their mission is to inspire indulgence in art, movement and connection with their community via the canned ready-to-drink plant magic mocktails and new St. Mezcal spirit. Through sourcing, partnerships and distribution purchasing decisions, Little Saints promotes environmental sustainability and conscious capitalism. With integrity and an open mind, Little Saints serves the community by donating more than 1% of its revenue to organizations fostering equity in relation to plant medicine and mental health.
Little Saints St. Mezcal is the brand’s first entry point into the spirit world, but certainly not the last as the brand looks to expand functional, delicious offerings in the non-alcohol mocktail and spirit space.
About Little Saints
Little Saints is a brand of plant magic beverages inspired by our deep reverence for plants and equally deep commitment to play. Working with functional ingredients sourced from sacred plants—plants with special spiritual and curative properties—Little Saints creates non alcoholic, sugar-free plant magic mocktails and spirits. With flavors inspired by classic cocktails —like Paloma, Spicy Margarita, Ginger Mule, Negroni Spritz, and Mimosa—the ready-to-drink mocktails are sugar free and formulated with Little Saints proprietary blend of Reishi mushroom, CBD and botanical terpenes, and the new St. Mezcal spirit continues their mission of providing consumable functional benefits without the alcohol but with the joy. This plant magic "stack" was created in collaboration with Little Saints' adaptogen-expert food scientist and sacred-plant-medicine shaman to inspire positive emotions and a lifted spirit.
The brand debuted in 2021, launching first at outdoor festivals throughout Michigan where Megan served mocktails from the back of a mint-green trailer to attendees intrigued by the unique option of an uplifting, natural, clean, and alcohol-free alternative. Since then, the brand has gone national and is already an industry favorite, staking its claim within the non-alcoholic beverage space which continues to grow exponentially faster than the alcoholic space–a signal of a growing cultural shift. Little Saints is at the forefront of a growing movement of an intentional wellness focused lifestyle that eschews drinking alcohol in favor of healthier options.
Little Saints is available at select specialty retailers nationwide, including Erewhon in Los Angeles, Berkeley Bowl in San Francisco, as well as non-alcoholic bottle shops such as Spirited Away, Minus Moonshine, and Sechey in New York. The suggested retail price is $5.99 per 8oz can and $49.99 for St. Mezcal per 750ml bottle. For additional information on Little Saints, check out the website littlesaints.com and follow the brand on Instagram at @littlesaintsco.
About Founder Megan Klein
Megan Klein, Little Saints' Founder + CEO, is a longtime advocate for plant-inspired living. As an environmental lawyer early in her career for Earthjustice, Megan fought against frackers and factory farm polluters. Later, she became a modern farmer, running the country's largest vertical farm and playing a role in the burgeoning local food movement in the Midwest. As an extension of her work in local foods, in 2017 Megan founded Field + Farmer a plant-based food and beverage brand sold in grocery stores throughout the U.S. While running that company, Megan enrolled in the Kellogg School of Management, where she was when the pandemic hit—and when her thoughts turned to emotional healing. Megan founded Little Saints in May 2021 in Detroit and has since moved herself and the company to Miami.
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