The "Red Bull of Relaxation" | Inside Story of How Recess Is Scaling the Next Iconic Modern Beverage Brand

For the last eight years, I’ve publicly shared my conviction around “relaxation” building into the next functional CPG frontier, due to the growing consumer demand from today’s overstimulated (especially younger) generations for products that enhance mental wellness, support relaxation and stress relief, and enable alcohol moderation. Also, during that same timeframe…I’ve highlighted only one single brand (repeatedly) which I believed could become the “Red Bull of Relaxation,” effectively pioneering a category counterbalancing the $26 billion U.S. energy drinks market built on stimulation. “Take a Recess.” And it might be corny to make this comparison but hearing that Recess brand tagline was like a Jerry McGuire “you had me at hello” moment. Regardless, it became super apparent to me that founder (Ben Witte) truly understood Recess would only have a chance at becoming the definitive household name in modern relaxation if the selling formula started with emotion. Obviously, there’s A LOT of other internal/external business dynamics ultimately at play…and the Recess story hasn’t been without twists, turns, and challenges, but recently it’s entering a fundamentally new chapter. So, I was honored when (right after) its $30 million Series B fundraising (and associated leadership hiring) news was released…I got a text message from Ben Witte asking if I’d be interested in hosting himself and Kyle Thomas for their first official recorded Co-CEO fireside chat together. As you’d imagine, in an effort to best help them share the nuanced business story of how Recess is scaling into the next iconic modern beverage company…it required a wide-reaching strategic conversation, but one that undoubtedly will provide insightful nuggets across every corner of the CPG industry.