Meet the Woman Behind Besa

When Victoria “Tori” Brodsky, MBA looked at the ready to drink aisle, she did not just see a category problem. She saw a formulation problem.

With a background in Nutritional Science from UC Berkeley, she understood how most drinks in the space were being formulated. High sugar content used to mask alcohol. Oversized servings designed more for impact than for balance. Flavours engineered to feel sweet rather than drinkable.

On paper, they look appealing. In reality, they do not match how people deserve to drink.

Tori saw a gap between what was on the shelf and what people actually wanted in their hand at a party, festival, beach day or night out. Something lighter in feel, cleaner in formulation, ready to go, and built with more intention.

So she built Besa.

Besa started with a simple idea. Make a better-for-you ready to drink option that did not rely on sugar to carry the flavour, and did not feel heavy after one can. Drinks that were easy to reach for, easy to finish, and easy to enjoy socially without compromise. That thinking shaped everything that followed.

Today, Besa’s core range is built around 250ml cans at 8% ABV, with no added sugar and zero carbs. The focus is not on sweetness or masking anything. It is on balance, drinkability, and keeping the formula as clean as possible while still delivering full flavour. It is a different approach in a category that often goes the other way.

As the brand has grown, so has the mission. What started as a single idea has evolved into a global ready to drink business, expanding across categories and entering new markets, including the UK with an 8% vodka and soda designed for the same principle. Stronger format, cleaner profile, simple execution.

Building Besa has meant being involved in every part of the journey. From shaping product direction and refining formulations, to building the brand, growing distribution, and creating experiences that bring the product into real social settings.

But at the centre of it all is still the same question: how do people actually want to drink today?

For Tori, the answer has always been about making better choices easier. Not by stripping away enjoyment, but by removing what does not need to be there.

Besa is proudly female founded, but the focus has never been on labels. It has been on execution. Still, the perspective of building a brand from scratch, with a nutritional lens and a consumer-first mindset, has shaped how everything has been created.

Today, Besa is powered by a small and ambitious 90% female team, building across markets and ranges, while staying rooted in the same idea that started it all. Drinks that are lighter in feel, cleaner in composition, and made for real social moments.

From California to the UK and beyond, the category keeps evolving. And so does Besa.