flavored-water
(5)
Cirkul
Cirkul is a Tampa-based personalized hydration company that makes a reusable water bottle paired with snap-in flavor cartridges and a 'Flavor Dial' that lets drinkers control how much taste, vitamins, electrolytes or caffeine flow into plain water - with zero sugar and zero calories. Founded by former Dartmouth football teammates Garrett Waggoner and Andy Gay, the brand went viral on TikTok, became one of Walmart's fastest-selling home products, and reached a $1 billion valuation.
Garrett Waggoner
Garrett Waggoner is the co-founder and CEO of Cirkul, the Tampa-based hydration company whose reusable bottle and flip-dial flavor cartridges turned a college locker-room frustration into a business valued at $1 billion. A former Dartmouth safety who played professional football in the CFL and worked as a car valet to bootstrap the idea, Waggoner built Cirkul into a roughly $378M-revenue, 800-person operation by insisting on owning its own manufacturing.
Hint Inc.
Hint Inc. makes unsweetened, fruit-infused water with zero sugar, zero sweeteners, and zero calories. Founded in San Francisco in 2005 by Kara Goldin, Hint grew from a personal health experiment into the #1 unsweetened flavored still water brand in the U.S. The company sells over 25 flavors through major retailers like Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, and Costco, as well as directly through its website — where DTC now represents more than 50% of revenue. With $91M+ raised and an annual revenue of approximately $143M, Hint has quietly built one of the most compelling better-for-you beverage brands in America.
Michael Pengue
Michael J. Pengue is the Chief Executive Officer of Hint Inc., the San Francisco-based maker of unsweetened fruit-infused water that pioneered the better-for-you flavored water category. With more than 30 years in the beverage industry, Pengue has led multibillion-dollar businesses at Nestlé Waters North America, helped orchestrate the $1.65 billion sale of Bai Brands to Dr Pepper Snapple, and built ZOA Energy into the fastest-growing energy drink in the US before its acquisition by Molson Coors. Appointed CEO of Hint in November 2024, he is leading a comprehensive 2026 brand relaunch designed to reframe hydration as desire rather than discipline.
Sean Banks
Sean Banks is the founder and CEO of Krisp Drinks LLC, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania beverage company that makes Krisp Flava, Krisp Fruitish, and Krispwtr - a line of zero-sugar flavored spring waters sourced from Pennsylvania's Locust Mountains. He built the company from a convenience-store insight into a brand now stocked at Giant Food Stores, Amazon, and bodegas across all five New York City boroughs, while running it as a family operation with his wife and daughters.