What happens when two friends take herbs from their culture and create something way bigger than expected?
Seldom in life do you find that thing.
The thing that wakes you up at night, gives you purpose, but also leaves your chest tight when things don’t go right. The thing that gets you excited thinking about the journey ahead, but is so risky you catch yourself whispering, “How the f*ck am I going to do this?” The thing that has you staring at your reflection, giving yourself a TED Talk in the mirror, mostly because therapy is still out of budget.
That thing, for me, is Ginny.
Ginny is part of a new generation of non-alcoholic functional beverages — but that’s just the headline.
Here’s what we really mean:
Each can is crafted with 4000mg of powerful adaptogens — those natural, plant-based ingredients that help your body better handle stress, boost focus, and support balance. We developed the formula with a naturopathic doctor, using plant actives from our West African and South Asian roots — herbs and botanicals we actually grew up around, but rarely saw reflected in wellness products at the time.
Most adaptogens on the market? You’ll find them tucked away on supplement shelves — in tinctures, powders, or pills that feel more “clinical” than cultural. That’s what we wanted to change.
We wanted something ready-to-drink. Something that felt functional, but also fun. Something that could sit in your fridge next to a kombucha or a canned cocktail — but taste good and does good for your body, too.
Ginny is our response to a cultural shift we see happening around us. A shift toward rituals, routines, and reclaiming rest. We see more and more people treating alcohol like “old tech” — looking instead for mood-boosting, plant-based alternatives that feel new but also ancestral.
And that’s where Ginny comes in.
Let me start by introducing myself.
My name is Bianci Mensah. I’m a second-generation Ghanaian-Canadian, born in Montreal (bonjour — that’s about as far as my French goes). At two, I moved to Germany with my grandma, then landed in Ontario, where I’ve spent most of my life. I graduated from Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto with a major in Management and a minor in Econ and Finance. There, I mastered the art of wearing turtlenecks and collected more LinkedIn connections than actual friends.
Most of my life, I was dead set on “becoming something.”
I just didn’t know what that something was.
So I did what a lot of us do. I followed the script.
High grades, prestigious program, competitive internships, and eventually corporate life. But the deeper I got, the more disconnected I felt. Unmotivated and stuck.
Ginny came to me most unexpectedly.
“No, it’s just a silly idea. You can’t actually do this.”
I was leaving a happy hour at my old job — working at Anheuser-Busch/Labatt as a People Specialist in their BeerTech + Innovation teams — when it hit me: How ironic is it to work at the world’s largest alcohol conglomerate… and not even be a drinker?
I’d always felt like a bit of an outsider. Non-alcoholic drinks were on the rise, but none of them spoke to me. Still, it was just a passing thought. I tapped my Presto card, got on the GO Train, and let it fade.
A year later, now working in tech, I had that same feeling again after a night out with friends. What could I drink when I didn’t feel like drinking?
My best friend and now co-founder, Thaniyia, had been tinkering with herbs her whole life. As a second-generation Sri Lankan-Canadian, she shared many of the same cultural values, frustrations, and curiosities. So, we started making drinks for ourselves — using herbs and plants from our cultures to help us relax, focus, and boost our mood. Our friends started asking for them. Then friends of friends. We thought maybe we had something.
But still, I doubted it. I parked the idea like I had the year before, telling myself every time I passed a beverage fridge or zoned out during girls' night: “No, it’s just a silly idea. You can’t actually do this.”
But here we are.
This newsletter is our space. A behind-the-scenes diary. A call for help, insight, community, and maybe a bit of therapy via inbox.
We’ll be writing about what it’s really like to build a beverage brand from the ground up — the messy bits, the small wins, the “holy shit this is working” moments. We’ll talk fundraising, branding, and what it feels like to be two Black and Brown founders in our 20s, figuring it out in real-time.
We’re so grateful you’re here.
Thanks for being part of this ride 💛
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Whether they’re building a business, switching careers, or simply figuring out what’s next — we want this to be a space for real talk, clarity, and momentum.
💬 And we want to hear from you:
How long did it take you to leap from “just a thought” to action?
Hit reply or comment below 👇🏾
We’d love to hear your story (and maybe feature a few in future issues).
With love,
Bianci (& Thaniyia)
