Reviewed by: Lacey Muenstermann
This Huntsville mom is making waves in the mocktail market — 4 things you need to know
Reading time: 4 minutes
Ashley Hunt-Poole is always on the go, actively involved in serving the single moms and low-income families of the Huntsville community. In addition to her humble beginnings making tasty mocktails on Facebook and YouTube, she has started a nonprofit called Mommy & Me and a magazine titled Mompreneur Magazine.
Not only is Ashley involved in her own businesses, she also volunteers with Alpha Kappa Alpha, she is a member of Iota Phi Lambda, she works at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and she runs her own business consulting company called Dr. Poole Knows Best.
All things considered, Ashley still makes time to channel her brilliance into the irresistible drinks of Mocktails for Mommy — how does one woman do it all?
1. She enjoys staying busy
Although she’s not exactly sure why, Ashley says she has always loved being busy. She works better under pressure, a trait that was present as early as her college career at Alabama A&M, during which she took extra credits, participated in the Student Government Association and was involved with a music fraternity.
Even so, Ashley finds she has needed to prioritize her time as her business endeavors have taken off.
“Now that [my son] is older, I have my little two-year-old and my husband, I want to be able to spend more time with them. So I do have to learn how to prioritize, because they need mommy, too.”
Ashley Hunt-Poole, CEO, Mocktails for Mommy
2. Her main motivation is her kids
Before Mocktails for Mommy took off, several people told her that such a business would fail. When speaking about her experience making non-alcoholic wines, she described the wine industry as “very insular” — not only are there very few women in the industry, there are even fewer people of color.
Regardless of the countless obstacles thrown her way, Ashley has continued to succeed. She attributes a great amount of her success to the role her kids have played in her life.
“I want [my kids] to see no matter what circumstances you’ve come from, you can still be great.”
Ashley Hunt-Poole, CEO, Mocktails for Mommy
3. Mocktails for Mommy… + anyone
Mocktails for Mommy was created out of Ashley’s passion for helping pregnant women, single mothers and low-income families, but she has received gracious feedback from so many more people. This is another source of motivation for Ashley.
People with certain medical issues, religious practices and — to her surprise — several men have purchased from her selection of drinks.
4. The future is bright
As you might have guessed by now, Ashley is a very hard worker and a non-stop source of innovation. So, she’s always looking ahead at what’s next for Mocktails for Mommy.
She emphasized that “the retail business is not for the faint of heart,” and she’s doing her best to get Mocktails for Mommy on the shelves of major brands like Walmart, Target and Kroger. The greatest challenge is that many brands are unsure what to categorize mocktails as, seeing as they’re still relatively new to the market (are they a juice or a wine?).
Be sure to come and taste what Mocktails for Mommy has to offer at Mimosa Fest, which is coming up at PBR Lockhart Smokehouse. Also, if you’re headed to Crush Wine Festival in September, check out their brand new cotton candy wine!
Follow their website and social media channels, linked below, to stay updated on which local events you can find a Mocktails for Mommy pop-up mocktail bar.
- Contact: Call at 256-513-9436 or email at mocktailsformommy@gmail.com
- Facebook | Instagram | Website
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