“This brand was built off the crowd around me growing up: ...young people ... who over compensated with abusive substances like Adderall, alcohol and Xanax in order to get through their day to day lives,” Gores explained.
He continued, “Because if you look at what people really need, it’s not an outlet but perhaps more of a tool to help them get through the day in a more healthy manner.”
The company features two lines of the RTD sparkling beverage: the brain-supporting Focused and mood-enhancing Euphoric with a variety of functional ingredients and contain 25 calories and 5 grams of sugar per serving.
Focused includes nootropics alpha GPC, N-acetyl-L-Tyrosine, L-theanine, and magnesium, in addition to B-vitamins and organic green tea in Strawberry Kiwi, Pomegranate Black Cherry and Blood Orange Tangerine flavors.
“We have 100 mg of caffeine … with alpha GPC as a hero ingredient, which is [shown] clinically to help with cognitive function, learning, memory and concentration focus. And to add a boost to that, we added L-theanine,” he elaborated.
Euphoric features a combination of GABA, Lion’s Mane mushroom, L-theanine, magnesium, B-vitamins and organic green tea to help support mood and stress in Mango Passionfruit, Berries Mine and Sweet Lemon flavors.
Gores highlights GABA as the star ingredient for Euphoric, which “is responsible for many different things in your body, but specifically the use for us is lowering your anxiety levels and giving you this calming, euphoric sensation. Paired along with Lion’s Mane and l-theanine … to boost serotonin and dopamine in the brain,” Gores explained.
Gores attributes the growth of the brand to its clinically-researched ingredients and its branding, setting itself apart within the functional beverage market, which is expected to reach an estimated $200bn by 2030.
Since the brand debuted at Expo West last year, its distribution expanded from DTC and into retailers, including Erewhon in southern California and into retailers in Texas and New Mexico, he added.
