We recently connected with Rose “cissy” Foster and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rose “Cissy”, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

How did I come up with the idea for Zero and super low sugar non alcohol drinks?
When I got sober on 01/01/21, I was really just going for Dry January. But as time passed, I really decided alcohol was not letting me achieve my best life and decided to just say goodbye to alcohol.
I stumbled on non alcohol spirit replacements one day just scrolling Amazon. Ordered a few bottles and began my search for drink recipes.
The main thing I realized was that almost every recipe I could find was filled with sugar. I am a diabetic and do not eat sugar. And my options were so limited. The logical move for me was to begin making my own zero sugar options.
I make sugar free syrups and shrubs which are vinegar based syrups. I formed my company, HELLO ZERO, llc, which is custom flavored zero sugar options.
I also have relationships with makers that offer sugar free mixers.
I recently relocated to Knoxville and am working on building a community here of people that are sober, sometimes sober, and the ones that are just looking for different alternatives.
I offer mobile non alcohol bar services. And hope to find some local businesses that would let me offer a pop up type event.
I work closely with SOBER IN KNOXVILLE, but they are on hiatus til 2025. So if anyone would be interested, please reach out!
I am on IG as @saltysandyandsober and @mocksinknox

Rose “Cissy”, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

What sets me apart is that I am using high quality ingredients and brands that are zero sugar or extremely low in sugar.
There are very few non alcohol options here in Knoxville except for the usual Mocktails.
Most Mocktails are simply fruit juices and sugar syrups. I was looking for an adult beverage that felt like I was having a real cocktail, just minus the alcohol.
I am working with several very low sugar, na wines as well as some great mixers that are unique to our area.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media is not easy, but it’s doable.
The best advice I can give anyone trying to build their social media network is to find your niche.
What is your passion?
What can you talk about for hours?
You need to really focus on what you are great at doing.
Be consistent! You must work at consistency every single day.
Make sure your posts are giving value to your audience. Think what you would want to know about your topic… and then educate your community.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My HELLO ZERO, llc, is my main business but I do content creation for other things.
I am not one of the young people on social media so I try to appeal to people over age 50.
I am an affiliate for a wig company and do content for them. I also work with several non alcohol brands to create content.
And I work a regular job outside my home Monday thru Friday at a local restaurant where I prepare homemade breads and desserts. Ironic that I cannot eat sugar and make all the desserts for my job 😂
It’s not easy and it’s time consuming to build your side hustle into an income producing job. I am still trying to increase my revenue every day. And I have been at this for close to 4 years.
Again, if you love what you are doing, you will never work a day in your life!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @saltysandyandsober
• Other: TikTok @theunstoppableblond