Erin Aloia Co-Founded Fizztein for People Who Read Labels

The conversation started at their kitchen counter. Erin Aloia and her husband, Alex, were both trying to get more protein into their day, and most of what they found asked them to accept fillers, artificial sweeteners, or ingredients they couldn't pronounce. They could not find the drink they wanted, so they decided to make it.

Erin Aloia is the co-founder and CEO of Fizztein, a protein seltzer she describes as clean-label, made with carbonated water, clear whey protein isolate, and real fruit juice, with 8g of protein per can.

She runs it with Alex, her co-founder, pairing his culinary background with her years in brand-building. A member of the Entreprenista League, Erin has taken a kitchen experiment to 3 flavors on shelves near their home base in Westchester, New York.

“If you see a gap, if you’re the person who keeps asking, ‘Why doesn’t this exist?’ that’s usually a sign you’re the one who’s supposed to build it,” Erin says. Her path from kitchen counter to a grocery shelf came down to refusing to wait.

A kitchen question that wouldn't go away

The frustration turned into curiosity. “Why doesn’t this exist?” became “What would it actually take to build it?” Asking the second question seriously, Erin realized they already had most of what they needed.

She describes the start as “two people who kept circling the same problem until we finally decided to stop waiting for someone else to solve it.” Alex brought the culinary side, Erin the brand.

“We’re both label-readers,” she says. “If we can’t pronounce an ingredient, we don’t want it.”

Six years of makeup artistry and an MBA

Erin spent 6 years as a makeup artist while working in marketing and PR and earning her MBA. That combination set the tone for how she operates now.

“Looking back, every experience along the way feels like it was preparing me for this,” she says. Makeup artistry taught her to build a brand people connect with, marketing and PR taught her to tell a story, and the MBA gave her the foundation to execute on an idea.

Her “outer glow to inner glow” philosophy came straight from that work and is now part of Fizztein’s brand DNA. “I’ve always believed how you feel on the inside shows up on the outside,” she says.

The first can in her hand

The accomplishment she names first is physical. That first production run across 3 flavors turned Fizztein into something she could hold. “That first can felt like proof that the ‘why doesn’t this exist?’ question actually had an answer,” she says.

Beyond the formula

The part she did not see coming had nothing to do with taste. “I wish I’d known how much would need to be built beyond the formula and the can,” she says. “I assumed once we nailed the recipe and had a great-looking product, the hardest part was behind us.”

Behind every can sits a co-packing relationship, ingredient sourcing at scale, packaging suppliers, warehousing and 3PL logistics, event and field inventory, and compliance work. Erin says she underestimated how much capital and attention all of it would take.

“Getting the formula right felt like the finish line when it was really just phase one,” she says.

The label-reader in the grocery aisle

Erin has a clear picture of who reaches for Fizztein. She describes someone “who’s already living a health-conscious life and wants their drinks to keep up with them.”

That means the shopper who reads every label, the person who packs a gym bag for a 6 AM class and then walks into a full day of meetings, the parent refueling between drop-off and errands, and the foodie who cares about taste as much as ingredients.

Those people have started inviting Fizztein in. Fitness studios, schools, and community organizations have asked Erin and Alex to host events with them, which she counts as the past year’s biggest win. “That kind of enthusiasm means everything,” she says. “They’re excited enough to want to bring it into their own communities.”

Start before you feel ready

Retail is the next stretch. Erin and Alex are deepening conversations with regional and national grocers beyond Westchester, building DSD distribution across the NYC metro area, and raising a seed round to scale production. They are also filling a calendar of in-person activations so more people can taste it.

“The goal is simple,” Erin says. “Make Fizztein the protein drink people reach for without thinking about it, the same way they’d grab any other seltzer.”

Her advice starts with permission. “Start before you feel ready, because that feeling never fully goes away; you just get more comfortable moving through it,” Erin says. “I spent a lot of time thinking I needed everything figured out before I could call myself a founder. You learn most of what you need by doing it.”

Her other piece of advice is about people. “Invest in relationships as much as you invest in your product,” she says. Retail buyers, community partners, and other founders open doors. “Show up, ask questions, stay in touch, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

The industry moves slower than anyone would like, she says, so patience and persistence matter as much as passion.

You can follow Erin on LinkedIn, keep up with Fizztein on its company page, and find all 3 flavors at drinkfizztein.com.

Erin’s story is a reminder that the work behind a finished product is most of the work. The Entreprenista League surrounds you with women founders who have built that infrastructure themselves and will tell you what it actually takes. Learn more about the Entreprenista League right here.