For Gigli Founder, ‘Happiness and Smiles’ Are What It’s All About

There’s been a lot of talk about Gen Z’s turn away from alcohol and a larger market shift toward healthier alternatives. The disruption has paved the way for Gigli, a THC-infused cocktail brand, taking off in the midwest and slowly making its way to the top of the beverage charts nationwide. I had a chance to sit down with the brand’s founder, Kam Talebi, to get the inside scoop on the origins of the bubble gum-colored cocktail connoisseur’s pet project, how he sees the brand’s position in the marketplace, and his philosophy behind launching a company serving up bubbles of fun. Hint: it involves fits of giggles. 

“We’re in the business of delivering happiness and smiles,” says Gigli founder Talebi during our interview. The restaurant industry veteran – owner and operator of more than 20 midwest chain restaurants – spoke with the kind of friendly salt-of-the-earth candor that for a second there I thought I’d known him my whole life. But it’s this kind of folksy charm and earnest care that has brought Talebi so far in this business. And now with the recent launch of Gigli, he’s able to take his brand about good friends and big laughs mainstream. 

These THC-infused feel-good cocktails are made with the perfect mix of real ingredients and low sugar that come in flavors you love like blueberry lemonade and blood orange margarita. “We wanted the drinks to be good for you: all natural, real juices, low carbs. We really listened to the market and heard what people were saying.” 

And it’s not just fizzy feel-good drinks the company brings to the market. The brand with a vibrant color palette offers teas and seltzers, gummies and chocolates. New flavors continue to be added as the company grows – look out for cherry limeade and strawberry spritz. “The customer feedback is great so we are going to keep going.”

But how did the Minnesota-born company grow to become one of the top selling THC-infused cocktail brands? For Talebi, it started with knee pain. “I never smoked cannabis in my life,” he tells me with the kind of integrity rarely found in wildly successful start up companies. “But my business partner told me to try CBD cream for my knees. I was resistant at first. Bro, I don’t do weed. It took me four months before I came around to giving the stuff a try.” 

Talebi’s business partner wasn’t only getting him into hemp-based products, he was trying to convince him to join in on launching a company that positioned cannabis as a replacement to alcohol. “I thought, ‘Wow! This stuff works!’ My knees are so much better.” And the market spoke for itself: the THC-infused beverage category is poised to grow ten times its current size in the next five to ten years. 

With Talebi on board, the business partners went to the source of crafting the best beverage flavors: bartenders. “I’d been operating a restaurant chain called Crave in Minnesota for over 20 years. I figured we should go to the people with incredible taste palettes right here in my own backyard.” 

Talebi and his team poured over years of the best selling cocktail drinks across his restaurant chain portfolio as a starting place. Then began a litany of taste tests with the bartenders in his restaurants who’d been serving up those best sellers. “These are very complex drinks. But we wanted to fit the palette of those who consumed our drinks. It was also important to me to get the taste right to win in this category. So many drinks have that weed aftertaste or it’s buried in sugar. We wanted ours to taste great and be good for you.” 

And the last piece of the business launch puzzle? Brand identity. Kam didn’t hesitate with his response: “this is for the girls and the gays.” My heart fluttered a bit when he said it with such unabashed confidence. “Competitors are going after a different market but that’s not us. A fun brand that people will love for the girls and the gays? That’s exactly what I want!” Talebi’s vision unfurled a fizzy and flirtatious brand with pinks, reds and blues swirling together on the cans, a throwback to Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’ in the early 2010s: bold, bawdy, and super gay. 

“We’re a big supporter of the [LGBTQ+] community,” says Kam. “And I love the support they’ve given back to us. We had a big splashy debut at Chicago Pride - they really love us. And we went all out for Minnesota Pride. One of my restaurants in Minneapolis put big Gigli signs and big pride flags in their big windows and everyone cheered when the parade passed by in the windows. I love the support.” 

The community support – girls, gays, theys and everyone in between – has fueled the company to new heights. “We just passed selling north of 5 million cans,” says Talebi about the growth of the company. “We’re in grocery and liquor stores, Total Wine, and even Circle K – all across 15 states. But 20% of our sales are through our website – we can mail it directly to you anywhere in the country.” The brand even won the ‘Best Non-Alcoholic Beverage of the Year’ award at the 2025 International Non-Alcoholic Competition. 

“We launched in November of 2023 and we’ve seen incredible growth. I feel great about the company and I’m excited to see it continue to grow. This is the right drink and customers are happy.” 

We end our interview on the customer satisfaction note – a quality that came through in Kam’s demeanor as his smile only grew the further into the interview we got. Because for Kam, it’s that same infectious laughter he sees in a happy customer at one of his restaurants or sipping a Gigli that forms the bedrock of the company ethos. 

“When you pick up a Corona, you think about a beach. When you pick up a Gigli, I want people to think about having fun times. I’m honored to be a part of the experience of transitioning away from alcoholic beverages to something healthier that makes you laugh. That’s the experience we’re after.”