My conversation with Molly Fienning was one of those rare episodes that blurred the lines between business, philosophy, and personal growth. Molly is best known for co-founding Babyators, scaling Red Clay Hot Sauce into a nationally recognized CPG brand, and now, for launching Sipland—a platform reshaping the conversation around non-alcoholic beverages, brand building, and intentional living.
From the jump, it was clear that Molly is building from a different headspace than most entrepreneurs. This wasn’t just about market strategy or product positioning—it was about clarity, presence, and creating businesses that reflect who you actually are.
Molly’s path to launching Sipland is rooted in lived experience. After years of building high-growth consumer brands, she found herself reevaluating her relationship with alcohol—not out of necessity, but from a desire for more presence, clarity, and energy. That personal decision became the seed for SipLand: a consultancy-meets-platform dedicated to elevating non-alcoholic and low-ABV brands through content, community, and strategic support.
What struck me most is how Molly flips the script on typical CPG brand development. Rather than creating a product for the market and then building a story around it, she leads with intuition and alignment. Her business decisions follow a gut check—not a Google Sheet.
“If you don’t know, you wait until you know.”
That line hit hard. In a world of rapid testing, instant feedback loops, and growth-at-all-costs mindsets, Molly is building slowly, intentionally, and from the inside out.
One of the most refreshing parts of our conversation was Molly’s admiration for the new generation of entrepreneurs—particularly young women—who are entering the business world with clarity, boundaries, and a healthy relationship to work.
“Gen Z women are showing up with more self-worth and stronger boundaries than I ever had in my 20s.”
It’s a shift we’ve both noticed: the old model of hustle-hard, burnout-prone leadership is giving way to something more sustainable. And it’s not a tradeoff. These founders are building meaningful businesses and living actual lives. Molly’s perspective challenged me to rethink the narratives we sometimes romanticize around sacrifice and success.
At SipLand, Molly isn’t just selling the idea of non-alcoholic celebration—she’s helping other brands live it. SipLand operates as what she calls a “drink success consultancy,” supporting early-stage CPG brands with event activations, experiential marketing, and brand storytelling that actually connects.
“Great brands don’t chase customers—they meet them in real life.”
This resonated with me deeply. It’s something we talk about often at Cobble Hill: the importance of brand intimacy. You can’t fake community. Whether you’re throwing a small in-person event or building a digital touchpoint that feels personal, brands win when they stop broadcasting and start engaging.
Molly also opened up about scaling Red Clay—and knowing when to pull back. After raising capital and going wide in retail, she and her team made the bold decision to scale down and focus only on high-margin channels: direct-to-consumer and food service.
“We stopped chasing scale and focused on where our brand actually resonated.”
It was a reminder that bigger isn’t always better. Especially in CPG, where retail expansion often dilutes both margin and brand control, a focused strategy can drive better outcomes with less chaos.
One of the biggest throughlines in our talk was the idea of the “second mountain”—a phrase borrowed from David Brooks to describe the shift from external achievement to internal fulfillment. For Molly, that second mountain is about creating brands that reflect her values, not just the market's demands.
“I’m an alchemist. I love creating something out of nothing.”
That’s the throughline between Babyators, Red Clay, and now SipLand. Each brand is a reflection of where she was in life—and what she wanted to see more of in the world.
Talking with Molly was a reminder that great brands aren’t just well-designed or well-funded. They’re well-aligned—with their founders, their audiences, and the times. Whether you’re building in wellness, non-alc, or any CPG vertical, her story is proof that clarity, care, and creative focus will always win.