Trio Of Best Friends Raise $100K In Seed Funding For Non-Alcoholic Beverage Brand

Three Black female founders are staking claim in the rapidly growing mocktail industry.

Three longtime best friends are experiencing the fruits of their labor after raising $100,000 in seed funding for their newly launched non-alcoholic beverage brand, Sensori.

Since launching Sensori, a lightly carbonated alcohol-free tonic, in February 2025, Shanna Watkins, Darean Rhodes, and Ashlyn Knox have been making major strides. The wellness brand has participated in Impact Ventures’ accelerator program, was named a semi-finalist in Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition Prize, and secured product placements in boutique wellness studios and spas nationwide.

Most recently, Sensori landed seed funding backed by notable supporters, including Block/Square, 19keys, and Johnson & Johnson, among others.

“As three female founders of color, there’s no better feeling than having people bet not just on your vision, but on you,” Watkins told AfroTech. “What made this seed round especially meaningful was how organically it came together. From day one, we’ve been building in the open, sharing the highs, the lows, and everything in between. So when we casually posted on Instagram that we were raising, we woke up to nearly 10 inbound messages from people who had been quietly cheering us on.”

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Launched in 2024, Sensori was born after Watkins’ husband encouraged her to create a non-alcoholic beverage that actually met her standards. Frustrated with the lack of satisfying options on the market, Watkins teamed up with her best friends to build a mood-enhancing drink made with natural ingredients like kanna (a known mood booster), reishi (for balance), lion’s mane (for mental clarity), and green tea (for energy).

After partnering with a formulator to develop their debut flavor, raspberry cucumber, the trio has been on a fast track ever since.

Since its official debut, Sensori has gained strong traction, particularly among women and in major cities such as Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. The brand also went viral on TikTok, leading to a complete sellout of all 5,000 units in just 115 days.

Sensori is making its mark in a booming market projected to reach $13.61 billion by 2032. As health and wellness trends continue to grow, U.S. sales of non-alcoholic beverages rose by 20% from 2021 to 2022, with options that mimic traditional alcoholic drinks seeing a 29% jump between 2022 and 2023.

The brand’s success in a rapidly growing market is catching the attention of investors across industries. Its latest seed round drew backing from medical sales professionals, real estate developers, a former retail executive, and “Sistervention” Founder Crystal Chanel. Up next, the best friend trio of founders is expanding operations and putting Sensori into the hands of even more wellness-minded consumers.

“We’re already making our way into wellness studios across Dallas and are in early conversations with Whole Foods as we expand our footprint,” Watkins said. “Right now, we feel incredibly energized and laser-focused on helping people drink differently — to feel good today, tonight, and tomorrow.”