Zero-Proofed Celebrates One Year Of Making Meaningful Connections

MAR VISTA, CA — One year after the very first Zero Proofed booze-free cocktail party in Venice, the sister-created company is planning to celebrate a year of making genuine connections happen in the Los Angeles community.

Over the year, Zero Proofed has popped up throughout LA with non-alcoholic cocktails at 19 events serving more than 1,500 guests. The company's birthday party will be a chance to celebrate the journey with founders Chirasmita and Priyanka Kompella.

During a time when researchers say the American population is going through a loneliness epidemic, the Kompella sisters said their main goal is to give people a space to have mindful conversations outside of a digital space.

"That's what it's really all about, making those meaningful connections," Chirasmita said.

Since its inception, Zero Proofed has hosted events at coffee shops, pools, hotels and even a historical speakeasy.

One memorable pop-up event for the sisters was at Yuri's Night, where Zero Proofed was able to serve astronauts and space celebrities beneath the Endeavor Space Shuttle. Both engineers themselves, the Kompella sisters said it was an honor to be a part of one of the biggest parties in the space industry.

"It was amazing to share non-alcoholic nightlife with such an influential group of people," Chirasmita said.

As the events grew in size and creativity, so did the company's supporters and team. Priyanka said that some people who started out just attending Zero Proofed events ended up joining their team or became really close friends.

It all comes down to the message of the company, the sisters said, and they wanted to incorporate the value of that community into their birthday event. With food, birthday cake and a full menu of alcohol-free drinks the party is really prioritizing connection.

"One of our core values is inclusion, we want everyone to feel like they can come in and partake," Priyanka said.

Going forward, Priyanka and Chirasmita said they want to be able to spread Zero Proofed to places they haven't been able to physically pop up at. So far, the company has held events in LA, Colorado, San Francisco and San Diego, but the sisters want to give people across the country a chance to experience the drinks.

On Wednesday, Zero-Proofed launched its cocktail boxes, which include all the ingredients needed to make signature recipes for a certain number of people. The boxes ship nationwide and the sisters said they hope it inspires people all over to become zero-proof mixologists themselves.

With 19 events under their belt, Chirasmita said their potential for creating bigger and better events has been honed. Their 20th event and anniversary party will feature hand-made dumplings, hand-made doughnuts, birthday cake, Zero-Proofed cocktails and three different musical acts in one night.

The party isn't only open to people who have committed to being sober, the sisters said alcohol drinkers and the sober curious are more than welcome to enjoy the festivities.

"We're not asking anybody to remove alcohol from their lives, we just want to provide a solution to get around it," Priyanka said.

Tickets to the party are $20 and can be purchased at Zero Proofed's website. The party will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. at Alana's Coffee Roasters at 12511 Venice Blvd.