Fresh off her Golden Globe nomination for the award’s inaugural best podcast category, Alex Cooper is expanding her podcast-fueled consumer empire. Unwell Hydration, the beverage brand that the “Call Her Daddy” host co-founded last year with her husband, Matt Kaplan, is launching a line of energy drinks
Unwell Energy, which is coming to market with four flavors, will be carried exclusively at Target nationwide starting December 28. Formulated with green coffee extract, vitamin B, biotin, three grams of sugar, and no artificial sweeteners, Cooper described the product line as “great tasting, better-for-you versions of their favorite drinks,” in a statement with the release.
“Wellness culture constantly tells us to be perfect, but Unwell Beverages was created to meet women exactly where they are,” she said.
That’s become an increasingly common mandate for both founder-led consumer brands and conglomerates. Over the past few years, energy drinks aimed at young women with cutesier can designs, low or zero-sugar labels, and better-for-you health claims have flooded shelves, attracting customers, investors, and acquisition offers.
Bloom Nutrition unveiled its sparkling energy drink last summer, and the viral supplement brand scored $8 million in sales within the first six months. Alani Nu, a female-focused energy drink brand founded by fitness influencer Katy Hearn Schneider, posted 78 percent annual growth in retail sales before Celsius announced a $1.65 billion deal to buy the company back in February. Serial entrepreneur Michelle Cordeiro Grant raised $24.5 million in Series A funding round for Gorgie, her wellness-focused, zero-sugar energy drink, in April. By August, she told Inc. that her Boca Raton, Florida-based company was set to hit eight figures in revenue by the end of 2025.
Targeting this key demographic of shoppers has also become a priority for Monster. In November, the $72 billion company announced FLRT, its first line of energy drinks catered to women. The zero-sugar drink, which hits shelves next March, aims to entice female consumers between the ages of 18 to 24 with influencer marketing campaigns and promises to boost collagen and immunity while supporting healthy hair and skin.
Monster co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg told shareholders at the company’s investor day in December, “One of the major segments that we don’t service on a more comprehensive basis is the female segment, and we’d like to be able to participate in a larger way.”
Cooper, at least, seems to be approaching this audience with a sense of humor. In a video posted on Unwell’s Instagram, the podcaster, pretending to be an Oprah or Jerry Springer-esque 90’s daytime talk show host, tells her studio audience that Unwell Energy “will solve all your problems,” before amending that promise and clarifying that the drinks, “won’t fix your relationship problems, but it will make you feel like you can.”
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Ali Donaldson
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