Category timing: soda to energy to hydration

In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Kun Yang, co-founder of Pricklee—a natural hydration drink powered by prickly pear cactus fruit with no artificial dyes, no artificial sugars, and no plastic. Caitlin and Kun crack open the brand-new Pricklee 2.0 cans live on the podcast and dive into the four-and-a-half-year journey from launching in Boston in 2021 to hitting what Kun describes as a true product-market fit moment.

Kun shares how he and his co-founder Mo—both doctors of pharmacy—were living with a roommate studying heart health in 2019 when the Framingham Heart Study caught their attention. The data showed that people consuming one artificially sweetened drink per day had a 3x increased risk of stroke and dementia compared to those drinking full-sugar beverages. That finding, combined with mounting evidence on artificial dyes, lit a fire under them to build something better—especially as they were starting their own families and looking around at the same legacy, neon-colored hydration drinks that had filled grocery aisles since their childhoods.

Rather than raising institutional capital and hitting the gas immediately, Kun and Mo applied a scientific approach to brand building: test, iterate, improve, and keep going without ego. They launched with a cactus water positioning that got them into key accounts like Sprouts, Whole Foods, and H-E-B, then spent the next four years refining formulation, repositioning, and listening hard to customer feedback. The single greatest challenge, Kun reflects, was education—explaining the prickly pear ingredient itself slowed them down. Repositioning to lead with "natural hydration" unlocked a whole new level of resonance with their target consumer: young families who love better-for-you soda and energy drinks but haven't yet had a natural hydration option they'd actually reach for.

Throughout the conversation, Kun and Caitlin discuss the parallels between Pricklee's journey and Poppy's pivot from apple cider vinegar to soda, why coconut water built the demand for natural hydration without fully capitalizing on it, and why the category sequence of better-for-you soda → energy → hydration makes Pricklee's timing feel inevitable. Kun also shares the velocity growth Pricklee is seeing since launching 2.0 (200–400% depending on the channel), a fully subscribed (and oversubscribed) seed round, new distribution through Vistar, and two brand-new flavors debuting at Expo West 2026: Mixed Wild Berry and Juicy Watermelon.

Listen in as they cover:

• Why two pharmacists decided to disrupt the legacy hydration category
• What the Framingham Heart Study revealed about artificial sweeteners and brain health
• How Pricklee applied the scientific method to brand building and product-market fit
• The education challenge of leading with a prickly pear ingredient vs. a natural hydration benefit
• Why families are Pricklee's core target—and why toddlers are the ultimate product validators
• How coconut water created demand that Pricklee is positioned to capture
• The case for aluminum over plastic and why sustainability has become a growth driver
• Pricklee's distribution expansion into Vistar and the food service channel
• What's new with Pricklee 2.0: new formulation, new packaging, new flavors
• Two flavor announcements: Mixed Wild Berry and Juicy Watermelon debuting at Expo West 2026
• A fully subscribed seed round—and what's next for the brand

Whether you're a founder trying to find product-market fit, a buyer looking for the next natural hydration brand, or a consumer who's been searching for a better option than neon-colored plastic bottles, this episode is for you.

Note: Pricklee will be at Expo West Booth #8920 (ACC, Level 3)

Episode Links:

Website: www.pricklee.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkpricklee/

Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.

Show Links:

• Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
• Join the Startup CPG Slack community (35K+ members and growing!)
• Follow @startupcpg
• Visit host Caitlin's Linkedin 
• Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
• Episode music by Super Fantastics