A New Golf Cocktail? Annika Sorenstam Joins Booming Ready-To-Drink Market With Fizzy Beez

Annika Sorenstam has certainly kept busy in golf since the end of her LPGA career.

These days, the Hall of Famer balances family time with a host of grow-the-game roles, from running the impactful ANNIKA Foundation to her position as president of the International Golf Federation. Yes, she can still play – winning her debut at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open last year in wire-to-wire fashion — and recently partnered with a golf lifestyle apparel brand, Lohla Sport, after signing on as a Revo ambassador to help design new golf-specific sunglasses.

Now, the 51-year-old Sorenstam has launched a line of homemade cocktails with a name that plays on her “busy bee” lifestyle: Fizzy Beez. It’s also a nod to the drinks – with classic favorites like Cosmo, Margarita, Mojito and Moscow Mule — being sweetened with organic honey.

The ready-to-drink cocktail market is a booming one and has only gotten bigger during the pandemic, valued at almost $783 million globally in 2021 and projected to have a market size of $853 million in 2022, according to market research and consulting company Grand View Research. Like many during the coronavirus lockdowns, Sorenstam said she and her husband, Mike, sampled their share of ready-to-drink cocktails at home, but were looking for options with more flavor and – given her still-competitive ways – fewer calories.

Sorenstam teamed a friend and business partner, Dr. Kathy Johanson, who has 35 years of corporate experience, to create Fizzy Beez after several months of mixing and tasting with friends. Initial distribution will start this March in Ohio after the first 6,000 cases were canned in Cincinnati, with additional releases expected later this year in Florida, California and Nevada.

While there are no distribution agreements yet in place to give Fizzy Beez a golf course presence on beverage carts or in halfway houses, facility food & beverage discussions are in the works. It seems only a natural fit given Sorenstam’s still-active role in the sport, and the company has also committed to donating an undisclosed portion of net proceeds toward bee preservation.

“More than ever, people are looking for convenient, sustainable, and fun drink options,” Sorenstam said. “Kathy and I feel like Fizzy Beez checks all the boxes. We’re excited to launch a women-owned company that not only uses ingredients you can feel good about, but also recognizes the importance of bees to our ecosystem and is committed to supporting that cause.”