functional-beverage
(7)
G.O.A.T. Fuel, Inc.
G.O.A.T. Fuel is a Plano, Texas-based sports energy drink company co-founded by Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and his daughter Jaqui Rice Gold and son-in-law Trevion Gold. Billed as the first Black-owned energy drink in national retail, the health-forward brand blends natural caffeine, electrolytes, BCAAs, antioxidants and cordyceps mushroom extract, with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners. Launched in January 2020, it has grown from a direct-to-consumer Shopify shop to more than 10,000 retail doors including Target, Walmart, Publix, H-E-B and 7-Eleven, and serves as the official energy drink of the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Sky.
wildwonder
wildwonder is a San Francisco-based functional beverage company making sparkling prebiotic and probiotic drinks inspired by the Chinese herbal healing tonics founder Rosa Li grew up drinking. Each organic, vegan, low-sugar can pairs 5g of prebiotic plant fiber and live probiotics with herbs, botanicals, and fruit flavors like Guava Rose and Mango Gold. Positioned as a better-for-you soda alternative, the brand has sold millions of cans across thousands of retailers, landed a Shark Tank deal with DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, and directs 5% of profits toward empowering women and marginalized communities.
Jeffrey Dietrich
Jeffrey Dietrich is a bioengineer-turned-coffee-founder who built Rarebird around paraxanthine, the molecule your body actually makes when it metabolizes caffeine. After a PhD at UC Berkeley in Jay Keasling's lab and nearly a decade co-founding and running R&D at the industrial biotech company Lygos, Dietrich turned his own dwindling caffeine tolerance into a company. Rarebird sells decaffeinated specialty coffee infused with lab-grade paraxanthine, promising the lift of coffee without the jitters, crash, or ruined sleep. Backed by Y Combinator, AgFunder, and two NSF grants, the company holds U.S. patents on the process and won the Specialty Coffee Association's Best New Product award.
Rosa Li
Rosa Li is the founder and CEO of wildwonder, the sparkling beverage brand she built around the herbal tonics her grandmother brewed in Beijing. A Stanford MBA and former private equity investor, she traded Wall Street spreadsheets for a homemade carbonation rig made from a beer keg, launched in 2020, and landed a deal with DoorDash CEO Tony Xu on Shark Tank in 2023. wildwonder now reaches 3,000-plus retailers across 40 states and has sold millions of cans.
Magic Mind
Magic Mind makes a 2-ounce 'mental performance shot' built from a blend of around a dozen nootropics, adaptogens, vitamins and antioxidants - think lion's mane, ashwagandha, L-theanine and ceremonial matcha - designed to deliver calm focus without the jitter-and-crash cycle of a big cup of coffee. Founded in 2020 by James Beshara and William Hicks, the brand started in a San Jose commercial kitchen, grew through direct-to-consumer subscriptions, and has since pushed into national retail including Whole Foods, Erewhon, Sprouts and Albertsons. It raised a $12.4M Series A in September 2025.
OLIPOP
OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda company that turned the soft drink industry on its head by proving that soda can be both delicious and good for your gut. Founded in 2018 by Ben Goodwin and David Lester, the Oakland-based company combines nostalgic flavors with functional ingredients - each can delivers 6-9 grams of prebiotic fiber from plant-based sources like cassava root, chicory root, and nopal cactus. After reaching $400 million in revenue and profitability in 2024, OLIPOP closed a $50 million Series C at a $1.85 billion valuation in 2025, making it the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beverage brand in the United States.
David Lester
David Lester is the co-founder and former President of OLIPOP PBC, the prebiotic soda brand that grew from a $100,000 bet into a $1.85 billion company in under seven years. A former Diageo brand marketer who worked with Smirnoff, Gordon's Gin, and Johnnie Walker across three continents, Lester paired his CPG expertise with co-founder Ben Goodwin's scientific formulation genius to create a soda that supports gut health without sacrificing the nostalgia of a cold fizzy drink. OLIPOP now generates over $425 million in annual revenue, holds 65,000+ retail doors, and controls 87% of the functional soda category - a category it essentially invented.