Halal Fizz Raises Spirits with Tasty Mocktails

The Halal Fizz has thought of everything when it comes to keeping spirits high at pop-ups, weddings, corporate events, and more. The best part is that it’s all alcohol-free.

Ruba Zahid, CEO of The Halal Fizz and a former child psychiatrist, started the company because she witnessed addiction firsthand in patients and the long-term effects of alcoholism. Her mission is to provide people with an alternative to partying that is clean and less harmful (just mind the sugar).

“I want to change the idea in this country that what you need to do to have fun is to go out and drink,” Zahid says. “That’s the reason why our drinks look the way that they do; the reason why we put so much thought into it is because we want to show people that there is another option.”

As a Pakistani Muslim, she also sought to serve people in her community who were looking for more ways to make their events enjoyable without compromising their religious beliefs.

Zahid decided to address this issue by providing a mobile mocktail service.

“With the whole phobia around Muslims and Islamism going on, I understand that people can take it as a bad thing, but I see it as a good thing, and I can create something for you that has never touched impurity, and I’ve also had fun in my life without alcohol, so I understand what you need to have fun without it,” Zahid says.

Zahid got the idea for the mocktail pop-up while running events through her hospitality company, The Dream Team Events USA. She saw that nobody was taking charge in the mocktail space, so she seized the opportunity. 

“The reason why Halal Fizz is so clear in what it does and is so unique is because it was strategically meant to be that way, this business and everything about it was an accumulation of everything that I saw did not exist, and I looked around, and I was like, ‘OK, this is not being done, and I want it done, and I can do it better,’ so I did it,” Zahid says.

The Halal Fizz aims to fill in gaps, starting with the most important thing: taste. After trying many bland mocktails, Zahid knew she had to formulate original recipes and rework drinks to create a bubbly experience.

“Nobody put any thought into them; there wasn’t really a good recipe; there wasn’t any variation; there wasn’t any research put into it, and the choice of cups and everything was just very bland; they never put that kind of attention when alcohol is not involved,” Zahid says.

Zahid zeroed in on mocktail carbonation and enlisted the help of bartender friends, who provided professional mixologist insight and helped them understand what flavors to incorporate and combine.

One of the best-selling drinks is called Peachy Passionate Mojito, which uses elderflower Red Bull; only used in this mocktail. They offer many traditional drinks with their own Halal Fizz twist, like the lychee martini, which includes non-alcoholic rosé to cut the sweetness. They pride themselves on these mocktail alternatives and have over 40 different drinks on the menu.

“We wanted to tap into flavors that are not done normally, like, passion fruit is not normally incorporated, dragon fruit is something that we use, we have lychee, rose, mango, grapefruit, all the nicer fruits, pineapple, we have our version of a Jack Frost, we have our version of an Amaretto Sour, a Shirley Temple, so the menu also was made thinking of what I don’t see out there,” Zahid says.

Another thing missing from mocktail bars was the setup. While many of them opt for beverage carts, The Halal Fizz wanted to go above and beyond to give the same feeling of ordering from a traditional bar, but with a clean-cut look. They even invested in high-quality acrylic glasses that are drop-proof.

As The Halal Fizz grows, they want to potentially bottle their mocktails. They are also exploring a subscription mystery box filled with their concoctions. Regardless of the direction they go in, they want to remain accessible to all customers in one way or another, whether it’s a pop-up or at the nearest grocery store.

“The kind of love that we’ve received, like, some people, they’ve said, ‘We left alcohol a long time ago, but we felt loved and seen the way that you guys do it, because now we feel like we belong,’ and women have hugged me and cried also, that’s how touched they were, so that is another way we are making a difference,” Zahid says.

Check out their social media to see where they will be next.