Mastersfund announced that the Fund has made an investment in heywell, the Chicago-based, fastest growing sparkling adaptogenic water brand. Mastersfund’s investment in heywell allows the female-founded brand to solidify its position as the one to watch.

The announcement comes on the heels of a report released by Globe Newswire indicating that adaptogens, a class of plants that help bodies adapt to stress, is a market driven by surging demand for functional beverages and for effective therapeutics to counteract stress. According to Spins data, the $5.2 billion natural energy and other functional beverage market segment is growing at 24.6% as Gen Z and Millennial consumers seek cleaner, plant-based solutions for modern life. With revenues tripling year over year, heywell’s growth is outpacing this market segment by 8X.

Ashley Selman, CEO of heywell shares the brand’s ethos, “Historically consumers had to choose between function OR good taste in wellness beverages. We’ve developed sparkling adaptogenic waters that addresses a previously unmet consumer demand for delicious, occasion-based drinks with effective plant-based ingredient stacks, low in sugar and calories.”

Among other accolades, the company has been highlighted in Well+Good, Forbes, Bloomberg News Radio and heywell was recently included in Oprah’s Favorite Things issue. heywell was also a finalist for best new beverage of the year by New Hope Network’s Natural Products Expo West 2022.

The investment deal was led by Walter Greenberg, venture partner with Mastersfund. Mr. Greenberg noted, “Covid 19 certainly provided a boost in consumer awareness and use of adaptogenic drinks. People worldwide are experiencing severe increases in stress, changes in lifestyle, jobs, and more. Adaptogens help address overall wellbeing and heywell delivers those benefits in canned sparkling water, which is already a daily drink for many American consumers. We expect heywell to be a very strong competitor in the adaptogen market, which we anticipate will shortly be $14 billion in size.”

The beverage brand’s already popular products include heywell energy + focus sparkling strawberry lemon, heywell energy + immunity sparkling grapefruit, heywell calm + restore sparkling blackberry ginger and heywell calm + hydrate sparkling lime. All four flavors can be found online at Amazon, GoPuff, livingheywell.com, as well as in Central Market, Erewhon, and Foxtrot.

About heywell
Ashley Selman and Britt Dougherty founded heywell to make wellness simpler and more accessible for everyone, every day. Early wellness solutions prioritized function over flavor; the team’s desire to improve on those early efforts led to the development of heywell, a drink that is good for them, delicious and inclusive. heywell’s functional beverages are made with adaptogens, antioxidants and organic caffeine to bolster energy, immunity, focus and stress management. Low in calories and sugar, heywell’s sparkling waters are refreshing, tart, and sweet. As part of heywell’s mission, the company donates 1% of sales to nonprofits advocating inclusion.

About Mastersfund
Mastersfund is a venture capital investment firm based in Seattle, WA which invests in women-led, revenue-positive companies at the seed stage.

For More Information:
https://livingheywell.com