糖心视频

One legacy of the Pandemic is Dr. Ashley Hunt-Poole's mocktail creations. The 糖心视频 alumna started an alcohol-free wine brand during her 2020 pregnancy. Now she's making a name for herself in the market. Her company has partnered with Sam鈥檚 Club to launch MAM脕: Alabama's First Black and Female-Owned Alcohol-Free Wine Brand.

鈥淔unny enough, my degree in family and consumer sciences has a tie to it,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淎t that time, I couldn鈥檛 drink, so while I was at home, I was like, 鈥極K, how can I mimic a margarita?鈥� When I taste a margarita, I taste that lime and that strawberry. I tried to take fresh fruits and create drinks to make them taste as close as possible to a regular margarita. I was literally in my kitchen coming up with these concoctions and it spawned from there.鈥�

Hunt-Poole says her mocktails not only filled a void, but provided a healthier option to drinking. Once her recipes were perfected, she went to work on social media.

鈥淚 started doing and videos just showing people how to make mocktails from the comfort of their homes," she says. 鈥淭hose videos kind of sparked me to creating my own beverage company."

Hunt-Poole launched Mocktails for Mommy in January 2023 after being inspired to explore non-alcoholic wine at the .  

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge wine festival here in Huntsville and I saw that there weren鈥檛 any non-alcoholic wine options,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 went to another non-alcoholic wine brand and told them I was interested and they were like, 鈥楴o, I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l be able to do it, it鈥檚 going to be too much.鈥� That lit a fire under me. Literally less than six months after that, we launched MAM脕 wine with our first product, Momscato Peach and we have blossomed and grown ever since. There weren鈥檛 any Black female-owned alcohol-free wine brands. I鈥檓 really the first. I had to seize the opportunity.鈥�

She credits her company鈥檚 expanse to wine to her sheer determination, and Google.

鈥淚鈥檓 the Google Queen. I鈥檓 gonna鈥� Google and call and try to figure out a way to make it work,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淚 kid you not, we probably called 300 wineries. We talked to wineries in Italy and Spain. I called everywhere to try to find someone willing to give me a chance, and also work with my budget. I told them, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檝e only got $500. Can you do something with this?鈥� Luckily my winery, was like, 鈥淲e can make it work.鈥�

That winery, Finger Lakes Grapes, in the Finger Lakes region in Naples, New York, now produces all of her wine.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a difficult journey. You have to find a winery that is willing to produce alcohol-free wine, because there鈥檚 a difference between alcohol-free and alcohol removed,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淢ost wineries make alcohol-removed wine, which means they take a traditional wine and they burn it to a really high temperature or it鈥檚 process where they spin it out and they get most of the alcohol out, but not all of it. My process is that we specifically use wine grapes and we press them and then we cold-stabilize them so it will never turn into alcohol, it will never ferment. We don鈥檛 add any sugar, we don鈥檛 have any artificial coloring or flavoring and its vegan and gluten friendly so that鈥檚 where we really try to set the standard to be different.鈥�

The St. Louis native says she has always been determined and driven. She is a three-time Alabama A&M alumna, earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree in liberal arts with a music concentration in 2017 and master鈥檚 degree in family and consumer science in 2019. She came back to A&M for a master鈥檚 degree in engineering in systems and materiel science in 2020 and earned a doctorate in healthcare administration from Virginia University of Lynchburg in 2022.

Hunt-Poole also met her husband, Robert Poole, on The Hill. The Atmore, Alabama native earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree and MBA in logistics at 糖心视频.

鈥淗e works at FMS Aerospace and he鈥檚 literally their logistics procurement guru and I really lean on him heavily for that,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. Her husband helped pitch Mocktails for Mommy to Sam鈥檚 Club.

鈥淓very year Walmart and Sam鈥檚 Club have 鈥�,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淭housands of people, I鈥檓 talking 30,000 people or more, apply to have the opportunity to pitch their brand in front of buyers. I filled out an application and got picked to present my pitch to both Walmart and Sam鈥檚 Club. We drove all the way to Sam's Club headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas and did our pitch, full Mocktail for Mommy. I went all out, big hair, big colorful outfits, which they loved, just really showing my personality. I think that鈥檚 what really stuck out for my buyer. After the pitch, Sam鈥檚 Club picked me.鈥�

Hunt-Poole says her family is her driving force. She and husband have two children, and she has a full-time executive level job as the Administrative Coordinator for the CEO of the Space and Rocket Center.

As for her company staff?

鈥淥h, it鈥檚 just me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 tell people all the time I鈥檓 a one-woman army and I鈥檓 a force to be reckoned with. When I really think about what I have accomplished and it鈥檚 just me, I do my marketing, I do all of my social media, and still have a full-time job, I just love my life!鈥�

Hunt-Poole says the journey isn鈥檛 easy. She's had sleepless nights working to get her products to local stores, groceries and national chains, often with no success.

鈥淲e have literally met with Whole Foods, Publix, Fresh Market,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淲e went to Meijer headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan and they picked me for their Black Business Summit. I got to pitch and they tried the wine, but we didn鈥檛 get picked up. So, we鈥檙e out there, but when you鈥檙e being innovative and you鈥檙e leading the way, you鈥檙e going to run into barriers. We just got into Oakwood鈥檚 Farmers Market. That was a two-year process of me just being consistent and persistent.

Because of her tenacity, Hunt-Poole's mocktails and wines are now available in Huntsville at The Wine Cellar, Star Market, The Wine Rack, a Black-owned wine store, and on her .

鈥淲e ship all over the world because it is alcohol-free,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淢omscato Peach is my number one. MAM脕 Rose has been really popular. And we just launched a non-alcoholic prosecco, Prosecco Rose. Momscato Peach is the one that鈥檚 officially launching at Sam鈥檚 Club. We鈥檙e also on walmart.com and are working a deal with Walmart.

Hunt-Poole also offers , handcrafted Mocktails delivered right to your door.

鈥淧eople hire me to come in as a mocktender,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淢y friends help and it鈥檚 the same experience as bartending. We shake it up with your ice and use different flavors. I have a lavender lemon drop people love. If you鈥檙e making a mocktail you鈥檝e got to have ginger beer. Ginger beer is going to always take it to another level.鈥� 

Hunt-Poole says her ultimate goal is to teach entrepreneurship courses. Her first lesson? 鈥淲hen people told me no, I proved that I can accomplish anything and I did. It takes time, but you have to be persistent. Also, know your people, know your target audience and bring that product to them.鈥�

She says her journey to entrepreneurial stardom is a testament to her alma mater鈥檚 influence. 鈥淢y time on The Hill, it has shaped me to be who I am,鈥� says Hunt-Poole. 鈥淚 had some very difficult professors, I had some that were easy going. I worked super, super hard. I was in almost every organization on campus. I had a scholarship to sing in the choir, that鈥檚 what paid for my undergrad degree. I am a full A&M Bulldog through and through.鈥�

We asked if she ever thought about appearing on 鈥淪hark Tank,鈥� the TV series that allows entrepreneurs to present their businesses to investors.

鈥淚 would love to appear on 鈥淪hark Tank鈥� or any show for that matter,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause even if I don鈥檛 get a deal, having that exposure and being in front of millions of people is worth it, especially for a Black and female-owned company. We are the ones that get less funding, we are the ones that get overlooked. I would take that opportunity just to say 鈥楬ey, I鈥檓 here!鈥欌��