Go into any bar, restaurant, concert venue, or neighborhood party, and you’re likely to find the place stocked with craft brews and hard seltzer drinks – two of the hottest markets in the adult beverage industry.

Inspired by the trend, Fairfield alumni and friends George Cultraro II ’20, MS ’21 and Kyle King ’20, set out to build a ready-todrink product together. They wanted their brand to be something totally unique that was missing from the current market. From their brainstorming came the upscale zerosugar, zero-carb tequila seltzer, Casatera.

After graduating from Fairfield, King began working at Boston-based Drizly, the largest online marketplace for alcohol. His experience there prepared him to better understand consumer behavior, market trends, and the complexities of distribution in the U.S.

Cultraro continued his studies at Fairfield; after earning a master’s degree in management from the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, he joined his friend in Boston a year later.

“We often say that the seed for Casatera was planted during our time in college together. The hard seltzer craze had started while we were at Fairfield,” said King of their joint venture. “We wanted to create something aspirational, something premium, but needed to find a hole in the market. We also wanted to create a brand and product that our parents would consume — they didn’t want to drink what their children were drinking in college.”

The name Casatera, a combination of “casa” meaning house or home, and “tierra,” meaning land or ground in Spanish, set the tone for their sophisticated, comforting beverage centered around quality tequila sourced from an award-winning distillery run by women in Jalisco, Mexico.

The alcoholic beverages industry i s not for the faint-hearted. For anyone looking to start their own business, Cultraro said his biggest piece of advice is to prioritize planning. “In a rapidly evolving category like ours,” he noted, “constant change is a given. Having a well-thought-out plan to navigate challenges you may face is crucial to staying focused and not losing sight of your original objective: why you started the business in the first place.”

According to Mintel data, sales for spiritbased, ready-to-drink cocktails increased 226 percent from 2016 to 2021, and there is no slowing down for Casatera. Since 2020, nearly 200,000 cans have been shipped along the East Coast.

“We want to develop critical mass in the markets we’re in now, and then expand,” said King. “We’re confident in our current strategy of focusing on the tri-state area and New England, and seeing where that takes us.”

With tequila sourced from Mexico and natural flavors from California, Casatera started with options of lime, strawberry, and grapefruit seltzers. Now they’ve also launched a tropical collection —consisting of mango, pineapple, coconut, and passionfruit – a customer favorite.

“The hope for Casatera is to create a brand that is more than what is sold in our cans,” said Cultraro. “Our goal at the start was always to create an experience for our consumers, offering them something that was not available to them prior to Casatera, and that is a premium better-for-you tequila seltzer.”

Casatera has already been recognized in the liquor world, having taken home silver, gold, and double-gold medals, and an innovation award at the 2023 SIP Awards, an international spirits judging competition.

A huge part of their business model is giving back, which is why the duo has decided to work with 1% for the Planet, a non-profit that works with companies who commit to donating at least one percent of their annual sales to environmental organizations. King and Cultraro are also looking to give back to their alma mater, through offering Fairfield students the chance to intern or shadow them at their Boston-headquartered business.

“Without Fairfield we wouldn’t be here,” King admitted. “Fairfield inspired us to work hard and to want to be successful. We believe that Fairfield promotes entrepreneurship and success, whether through the alumni or programs like StartUp. I’d say we meet with a couple of alumni each month, whether it’s in passing, to network, to raise money, etc. The alumni network has been invaluable to us.”

For more information about Casatera and where to find it in stores, visit drinkcasatera.com.