Cygne Cooper is the Co-founder and Chief Brand Officer at hiyo, a brand producing stress-relieving social tonics crafted with natural adaptogens, nootropics, and functional botanicals. As a creative director and brand strategist, she has experience building thoughtful and impactful brands and creative assets for the media, entertainment, lifestyle, and fashion industries. Cygne has worked with notable brands, including The Miss Universe Organization, New York Fashion Week, and Pure Foods.

Evan Quinn is the Co-founder and CEO of hiyo. After a family member was hospitalized for alcoholism, he noticed a lack of non-alcoholic beverages with fun, flavor, and social appeal. He founded hiyo to fill the gap in the market and provide an alternative to alcohol. Before founding hiyo, Evan was a MBA analyst at Mucker Capital and an Associate for the Structured Real Estate Group at Guggenheim Partners.

In this episode…

The functional beverage space is an emerging opportunity for entrepreneurs. Yet, there is a lot of consumer skepticism surrounding the pricing, flavor, and benefits of these products. So, how can you position your beverage brand to educate consumers and communicate your value proposition?

Cygne Cooper and Evan Quinn have developed a functional tonic infused with naturopathic ingredients like botanicals and packed with distinctive flavors to provide consumers with a non-alcoholic and appealing beverage. Cygne and Evan intentionally coordinate package designs with the beverage’s unique sensations and health purposes to educate customers and pique their interest in these products. When establishing your brand in the market, they recommend starting with DTC distribution methods to foster a direct relationship with consumers and complement your brand’s mission with its designs.

In today’s episode of the Brand Alchemist Podcast, Taja Dockendorf interviews Cygne Cooper and Evan Quinn of hiyo about creating a functional beverage brand with intention. Together, they share their process for building their product’s flavor profile and ingredients, how they position hiyo to educate consumers on its value proposition, and advice for launching products in the functional beverage market.