Today we’d like to introduce you to Alia & Beau Sampson
Hi Alia & Beau, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
By Alia Sampson
If you had told me years ago that my husband, Beau, and I would be running a fantasy-themed soda business, traveling across the country with our kids in tow, serving drinks to some of the biggest names in gaming—I probably would have laughed in disbelief.
But life has a funny way of turning casual ideas into grand adventures.
Beau and I have always been passionate about tabletop gaming, storytelling, and community. We’ve spent years at gaming conventions, rolling dice, making friends, and immersing ourselves in the worlds we love. But one thing we noticed at every event? The drink options were…uninspired. Gamers deserved better.
The idea started as a wild “what if”—what if there was a soda that felt like part of the game? What if every sip told a story, every flavor was an adventure, and every drink came with a chance to literally roll for a discount?
We started small. A single soda truck, hand-mixed fantasy-inspired flavors, and a lot of trial and error. Beau and I spent weeks crafting the perfect menu, months handling the logistics, and our four kids (now joined by a new baby) quickly became part of the adventure. It wasn’t easy—long nights, back-to-back conventions, figuring out how to juggle business, family, and passions. But the first time we saw someone’s eyes light up after trying one of our sodas, we knew we had something special.
The gaming community embraced us in a way I never could have imagined. We weren’t just selling soda; we were creating experiences. Gamers, celebrities, and even legendary artists from Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering became part of our story. We commissioned artwork, developed new flavors, and turned our soda truck into a traveling tavern for adventurers of all kinds.
Now, we’re taking our biggest step yet—bringing Critical Hit Soda to cans. We’re launching a Kickstarter to make this dream a reality, with exclusive artwork from legendary artists like Mark Poole, Steve Argyle, and Kaitlund Zupanic. The goal? To get these sodas into the hands of every gamer, whether they’re at a convention, rolling dice at home, or just craving an adventure in a can.
Looking back, I never expected this journey. But that’s the beauty of rolling the dice—you never know where the adventure will take you. And with every new step, I can’t help but feel like we just rolled a natural 20.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Building a Soda Truck from Scratch: The Roadblocks on Our Journey
Smooth road? Not even close. But when you’re building something that’s never been done before, challenges come with the territory.
The first (and biggest) hurdle? Nobody had ever put a full soda shop on a food truck before. There was no blueprint, no guidebook—just Beau and me, sketching out ideas and hoping we could make the impossible work. We had to design a system that could withstand long-distance travel while keeping everything running just as smoothly as a brick-and-mortar soda shop. Every bump in the road—literally and figuratively—tested our setup, and it took a lot of trial and error to get it right.
Then came sourcing the products. Turns out, beverage manufacturers don’t like selling to businesses that don’t have a traditional storefront. For some reason, saying, “Hey, we want to put a soda shop on wheels and take it across the country!” didn’t inspire confidence. We had to dig deep, make the right contacts, and fight for suppliers who would take a chance on us. If we wanted to serve our sodas on tap instead of in cans, we had to find a way—no matter how many closed doors we ran into.
And bureaucracy? That’s a beast all on its own. Every city, county, and state has its own set of rules for food trucks, and navigating that labyrinth of permits, inspections, and health codes was (and still is) a constant challenge. We set out with a mission to maintain the highest possible standards, making sure our setup could pass inspections anywhere. But getting to that point meant a lot of paperwork, patience, and sometimes learning the rules the hard way.
Finally, we had to learn the food truck industry itself—something neither of us had any experience with. Where do you serve? How do you get into events? How do you build a reputation when nobody knows who you are? We started small, took every opportunity we could, and slowly built our name until we earned our way into some of the largest gaming conventions in the country.
So no, it hasn’t been a smooth road. It’s been a winding, uphill, boss-fight-after-boss-fight kind of road. But every challenge made us smarter, stronger, and more determined to prove that Critical Hit Soda wasn’t just a crazy idea—it was something truly special.
And now? We’re taking the next step. With our upcoming Kickstarter, we’re bringing our dream to an even bigger audience, and despite all the challenges, we wouldn’t trade this adventure for anything.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Critical Hit Soda, we don’t just serve drinks—we serve adventure.
We’re a family-run, fantasy-themed craft soda business, traveling to gaming conventions across the country to bring gamers, storytellers, and adventurers one-of-a-kind sodas inspired by the worlds they love. Each of our flavors is handcrafted with bold ingredients and exciting, thematic names, turning every sip into an experience.
What We’re Known For
We specialize in handcrafted sodas with RPG-inspired twists, served fresh on tap from our custom-built soda truck. We’re best known for our “Roll for Discount” feature, where customers roll a d20 with their order—Nat 20? You get 20% off your drink! It’s a simple, fun interaction that keeps people coming back, and it perfectly captures the spirit of tabletop gaming.
But we’re more than just a soda truck. We’re known for:
Exclusive fantasy artwork—including designs from legendary D&D and Magic: The Gathering artists.
Gaming culture in every pour—every drink has a story, and our customers are part of it.
Community-first mindset—we’ve built friendships with gamers, creators, and con-goers who’ve made Critical Hit Soda part of their convention traditions.
What Sets Us Apart?
Unlike traditional soda brands, we’re not interested in being another mass-produced drink on a grocery store shelf. Whether at your local game store, your kitchen table with your friends, or strolling the dealers hall at your favorite convention, we’re here to make every sip an experience.
Flavors that tell a story – Each of our sodas is inspired by fantasy creatures and RPG monster, magic item or spells, like:
The Owlbear (A fierce root beer with caramel & vanilla)
The Silver Dragon (A crisp citrus-mango & peach elixir)
The Mimic (A devious dark soda with coconut, pineapple & strawberry)
A completely original soda concept – No one had ever put a full soda shop on a food truck before. We did.
A gaming-first approach – Whether we’re at Gen Con, Summercon, Gamehole Con, or visiting your local game store, our drinks are made by gamers, for gamers.
What We’re Most Proud of as a Brand
Honestly? The community we’ve built. We’ve met so many incredible people through this journey—gamers who stop by every convention to say hi, artists who collaborate with us, industry legends who believe in what we’re doing. The fact that our sodas have become part of people’s gaming traditions is something we never expected, and it means everything to us.
Now, we’re leveling up again. Our next big adventure is canning our sodas, making them available beyond conventions. We’re launching a Kickstarter to bring our boldest flavors to backers nationwide, with exclusive collector’s cans featuring artwork from Mark Poole, Steve Argyle, and Kaitlund Zupanic.
What We Want Readers to Know
If you love tabletop gaming, fantasy worlds, and delicious, handcrafted drinks, we’d love for you to be part of our story. Whether you roll up to our soda truck at your next convention, back our Kickstarter coming this May, or just follow our journey, Critical Hit Soda is for adventurers like you.
So grab your dice, raise your glass, and let’s roll for epic level refreshment!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk is part of every great adventure. In Dungeons & Dragons, you don’t get the treasure without facing the dragon first. In business—and in life—it’s no different.
Beau and I have always been dreamers and doers. Taking risks has been a constant in our journey, and if we hadn’t taken them, Critical Hit Soda wouldn’t exist today.
One of our biggest risks was the soda truck itself. Was this idea even worth it? We were pouring time, money, and energy into something that had never been done before. No one had built a mobile soda shop like this—there was no guarantee that conventions would even be interested, let alone that it would be sustainable. We had to design everything from the ground up, all while making sure we weren’t sacrificing time with our kids. So, we brought them with us. If we were going to take this leap, we were going to do it as a family.
That wasn’t the first time we’d taken a massive risk. Before the soda truck, the biggest leap we ever took was picking up our family and moving states, leaving behind everything and everyone we knew. It was terrifying. But every major risk we’ve taken has led to something better than we imagined. Each challenge, each moment of uncertainty, has been met with an even greater reward.
Now, we’re about to take our biggest risk yet—our Kickstarter campaign to can our sodas and bring them to an even wider audience. It’s another leap into the unknown, but if our journey has taught us anything, it’s this: if you don’t take the risk, the dream never becomes reality.
Being an entrepreneur means betting on yourself. It takes tremendous courage to take that first step, but the only way to turn a vision into something real is to take the leap—even when it’s terrifying. We’ve rolled the dice before, and we’ll keep rolling them. Because every great adventure starts with a little risk.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://criticalhitsoda.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalhitsoda/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalHitSoda/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alia-sampson-981092354/
- Twitter: https://x.com/criticalhitsoda
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@criticalhitsoda
- Other: https://linktr.ee/criticalhitsoda
