How salsi Got Into Total Wine Six Weeks After Its First Production Run

Diana Nino, Co-Founder & CEO of salsi

Diana Nino is the co-founder and CEO of salsi, a Miami-born sparkling agave cocktail made for more of the moment, and less of the blur.

Raised in a Latin family where being together was the occasion, Diana created salsi with her husband and co-founder, Jackson, around a simple belief: the best moments deserve your presence, not just your attendance, and a good time shouldn’t have to cost you tomorrow.

Made with 100% blue agave spirit, coconut water, sea salt, green tea, L-theanine, and added electrolytes, salsi delivers cocktail energy at an intentionally lighter 4% ABV, with 80 calories and 1 gram of sugar. Because your time is premium, and your drink should be too.

In this episode:

• Why Diana and her husband Jackson scrapped their original brand name (and the heartbreak of falling in love with a name you can't trademark), plus how they landed on Salsi.

• Navigating TTB label approval as a functional alcohol brand — why B12 was a hard no, the pivot to green tea with L-theanine and coconut water, and the fine line between conveying function and misleading consumers.

• The unglamorous reality of a self-funded first run: five formulation rounds, minimal sampling before committing to 12,000 cans, a surprise "we're producing it now" call, and how a small Florida distributor got them into four Total Wine locations.