Mornings have coffee.
Afternoons have ōku®.
Conscious Energy® for the afternoon lull+.
pronounced “OH-koo”
Rooted in Japanese, meaning
“Restoring the essence within.”
The philosophy behind everything we make — a return to what energy was always meant to be: calm, capable, and alive, without taking from the body that carries you through the day.
We call it Conscious Energy®.
The Promise
Energy that gives, not takes.
Built on collaborative ingredients.
The Opportunity
The afternoon is the largest
unclaimed daypart in energy.
A multi-billion-dollar daypart, growing fast, with no brand built to own it — until now.
178M Americans caffeinate daily; ~22% in the afternoon (~39M) × ~3×/week × $3.50/serving. Our 2029 plan ($14M) ≈ 0.07%.
Coffee owns morning. Afternoon is wide open.
When Americans drink coffee, by time of day (% of past-day coffee drinkers, NCA Spring 2026)
After the morning rush, the category clears out — the afternoon sits unclaimed.
Two different cravings
Wake up. Lock in. Get out the door.
Part recharge, part reward: the daily comeback.
Sources: NCA Spring 2026 National Coffee Data Trends (time-of-day shares); Mitchell et al. 2025, Food & Chemical Toxicology (69% of Americans consume a caffeinated beverage daily); FMI 2025–26 daypart snacking data (afternoon = largest snacking occasion). · Afternoon market: ~178M daily coffee adults × 22% afternoon share (NCA Spring 2026); × ~3×/week × ~$3.50/serving (conservative). Category size: Grand View Research, U.S. Energy Drinks, 2024.
The Biology
The afternoon lull is biology — 4 signals firing at once.
At 2 PM, the body is doing exactly what it is wired to do.
Cortisol Drops
Alertness hormone peaks 30–45 min after waking, then declines all day. By 2 PM, well below morning levels.
Adenosine Accumulates
“Sleep pressure” builds with every waking hour. By 2 PM, 6–8 hours of buildup is palpable.
The Circadian Dip
Hard-wired alertness drops between 1–4 PM. Body temperature falls. Cognition measurably drops.
The Serotonin Dip
Lunch spikes insulin → serotonin briefly rises → falls. The dip is why a sugar craving can show up out of nowhere.
The body isn't asking for stimulation. It's asking to be replenished.
The Tax
Four defaults. All four carry a tax on the body.
Your adrenals. Your stomach. Your sleep. Your weight.
Coffee.
Another hit of caffeine your adrenals don’t need. Jitters you don’t want. Sleep you’ll sacrifice tonight.
Energy drinks.
Aggressive. Artificial. Designed to spike, not sustain. Your body feels it for hours in the wrong way.
Caffeinated Diet Sodas.
Use artificial sweeteners, which may alter insulin signaling, increase sweet cravings, impact microbiome composition.
Candy & chocolate.
A sugar rush that lasts twenty minutes and crashes. Sugar spikes glucose, triggers insulin.
Each takes. None give.
The Solution — Energy That Gives, Not Takes
From tax to gift.
Ingredients designed to work with the body instead of against it, in a craveable gummy format.
Calibrated lift. No jitters. No spike. No crash. The system stays steady.
Extends and smooths energy release. Supports satiety and gut health.
Replenishing what the day has taken from your defenses.
A purposeful organic blend of allulose & cane sugar to be mindful of glycemic impact.
Replenishes rather than Depletes.
Smooth rather than Spiked.
Sustained rather than followed by a Crash.
*per 5-gummy serving.
The Lineup
Four craveable flavors.
Same Conscious Energy® in every pouch. Four ways to crave it.
The Ingredients
Collaborative energy ingredients.
Ingredients designed to replenish the body rather than tax it.
Green Tea
Clean, plant-based caffeine that includes L-theanine — for focus without the spike or the jitters.
Yerba Mate
A second source of plant caffeine layered for a smooth, sustained energy curve rather than a crash.
Tapioca Fiber
Smooths the energy peaks, supports the gut, and extends release so the lift lasts.
Goji Berry
A traditional adaptogen known for cellular protection — recovery built into the lift.
Coconut Water
Natural potassium and trace minerals to keep you hydrated through the moments that ask more of you.
Allulose
Found in figs, raisins, and maple syrup. Sweet — virtually no glycemic impact and almost no calories.
Conscious Brand
Conscious Energy® by design.
Conscious in what goes in.
- Manufactured in the USA from carefully sourced worldwide ingredients
- Collaborative ingredients chosen to give back, not take
- Non-GMO ingredients
- Dietary inclusive: plant-based & vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free
Conscious in what holds it.
- Made from 40% post-consumer recycled material
- Single-serving format — portable, on-the-go ritual
- Designed with minimal material waste
Conscious in who's behind it.
- Women-owned and founder-led
- Impact partnership with B1G1 Business for Good — established at inception, contributions activate as the business reaches profitability
- Built for everyone — by people who care about the body, the planet, and the community
Conscious Energy® — for the body, the planet, and the people behind it.
The Plus (+)
Anchored in the afternoon. Suitable all day.
Afternoon Lull+
The primary moment ōku was built for.
Morning Coffee Alternative
For those who don’t, can’t, or want an alternative to coffee. A clean morning lift – no jitters, no crash.
Pre-Movement
Padel, pickleball, tennis, gym, yoga, hike, run, ride, or swim. Clean energy for focus.
Deep Work Sprint
High-stakes meeting, tight deadline, creative block. Steady focus that keeps you in the room.
Travel Day
Flights, layovers, time zones. Jet lag is just another afternoon lull — keep your rhythm intact.
Study Session
Cram, late reading, exam day. Calm, sustained focus when the work has to get done.
Trial → repeat → ritual.
The afternoon makes ōku daily. The other four keep it weekly or more.
Competitive Landscape
ōku is the only product purpose-built to give, not take.
Everyone else optimizes for the jolt. ōku optimizes for the daily ritual — clean, functional energy designed to work with the body instead of against it.
 ōku |  Honey Stinger |  Celsius |  Grande Latte |  Snickers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caffeine | 60mg | 50mg | 200mg | 150mg | 5-8mg |
| Sugar | 7g | 17g | 0g* | 18g | 27g |
| Fiber | 4g | 0g | 0g | 0g | 1g |
| Calories | 70 | 160 | 10 | 190 | 250 |
*Celsius uses sucralose, an artificial sweetener. Grande Latte assumes made with 2% milk; sugar is primarily milk sugar (lactose) not added sugar. Coffee/candy values are category averages. Sources: GrandView Research; Fortune Business Insights.
The Macro Wave
Five waves are converging — ōku rides all of them.
ōku sits at the intersection of five large, fast-growing US consumer categories.
These are forces we’re catching, not bets we’re making.
Sources: GrandView Research; Fortune Business Insights; IMARC Group; NovaOne Advisor.
Track Record
From two years of R&D to Sprouts national trial.
Every milestone earned. Every channel chosen for repeat. Third-party validation along the way.
Built the Product
Two years of formulation, taste, and texture R&D to get the gummy right.
Amazon Launch
Amazon-ready product live with 2-serving resealable bags.
Brandjectory x DreamMakers
Pitch Slam winner — investment + recognition in the CPG community.
Sprouts Regional Trial
38-store SoCal regional trial; sold out in 60 of 90 days, earning offer for national trial before end of regional trial.
Entrepreneur Ventures x Shopline
Incubator — investment + access to Entrepreneur Media.
Padel Strategy Launched
1st padel tournament sponsorship (1st FIP tournament in US) — kicking off the sport-as-ritual partnership playbook. Semi-final player asked for ōku mid-match, validating opportunity.
Single-Serve Pouch Redesign
Redesigned to single-serve pouches; legacy 2-serving bags sold to TJX companies.
Signed Brittany Dubins
The #1 American female padel pro joins as ōku ambassador.
Naturally Network – Top 5 Finalist
Selected as 1 of 5 finalists in San Diego Naturally Rising Pitch Competition — visibility with investors, distributors, retailers, and operators across the natural-products ecosystem.
Sprouts National Trial at Checkout
60-day national checkout trial — among the first brands selected for the new program (KeHE as distributor).
Projected Food Service Launch
September smart-vending test at a university and a transit HQ sold out in hours; two 4-pallet purchase orders expected — eight pallets in total.
100 C-Store Test
Selected for a major CPG company’s incubator for a 100-store convenience test.
18 months: Amazon → Sprouts national trial.
Padel beachhead live. Major CPG c-store test ahead.
Distribution Strategy
Four channels. One playbook.
Each channel chosen because it shortens the path to daily ritual — and anchored by an operator who's won here before.
Anchored by Food Service broker working Vistar, Foodbuy, Canteen/Compass and Aramark, alongside large smart-vending operators and micro-market networks serving colleges, hospitals, offices and the military.
Same people, same desks, every workday: the captive 2 PM lull becomes habit without thinking. 40 bags sold out in 2.5 hours at a university and 48 bags by mid-afternoon at a transit HQ, at $4.39–$4.79 retail, tracked by the operator’s own machine data. Opening orders expected as two purchase orders of four pallets each — eight pallets, two per flavor.
Anchored by Food broker with long Sprouts history and great expertise (prior brand sold to Sprouts).
Front-end checkout 2-mth trial at the store's highest-velocity touch point. Supplemented by on-site demo program, Instacart, and coupon promotions to accelerate success. Demos sold out repeatedly — up to 64 bags in a single demo. Shelf execution varied across stores. Full trial results not yet available from Sprouts.
Trial revenue after retailer deductions, before broker fee.
Anchored by Fractional Amazon specialist.
Subscribe & Save makes the ritual literal: subscription units nearly quadrupled since March, to 15% of August units. The current product reorders faster than last year’s — 15.8% within six months against about 12% — and a repeat customer is worth $85.75 against $27.92 one-time. 16.3% of visits convert; every ad dollar returns $3.17 in lifetime revenue. Avg review 4.5★.
Current product, March–August 2026. Repeat-customer figures cover customers whose first purchase was on/after 3/1/26.
Anchored by #1 American female padel player (+ 5 other ambassadors) · founder Aspen + San Diego networks (including YPO).
High-frequency environments: 13 padel clubs, 10 independent grocers that ordered through KeHE, plus spa, wellness and specialty retail. Fitness chains are the next target, and a 100-store convenience test follows in 2027 — selected into a major CPG incubator.
Unit Economics
Gross margin positive on the very first unit — and richer at scale
Gross margin by channel — now → at 250,000 units
Gross margin = (price − COGS) ÷ price, before broker commissions and marketing. Amazon shown after marketplace fees; Grocery after KeHE’s 2% data allowance.
Financial
4-Year Projections.
| Year | Gross Revenue | Gross Margin |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $350K | 44% |
| 2027 | $2M | 46% |
| 2028 | $6M | 47% |
| 2029 | $14M | 48% |
Fourth-quarter 2026 exits at roughly $100K per month — about $1.2M annualized before a second operator is added.
This isn’t a bet — it’s a rollout.
*Note: assumes the $500,000 round closes by 11/15/2026 and foodservice orders scale on the operator reorder cadence. 2026 combines year-to-date actuals with the fourth-quarter operating plan. Gross margin rises with volume as COGS falls, weighted by channel mix. Additional financial information available upon request.
Founder & CEO
Led by passion. Backed by proven experience.
Carolyn on the production floor at ōku’s U.S. contract manufacturer — FDA registered, GMP compliant.
A serial entrepreneur with a history of pioneering in new spaces. Carolyn was a Computer Science major when few women were in the field, thrived on Wall Street in the 1980s, served as International President of mp3.com — the first internet music platform, which went public at a $300M valuation — and founded three financial services companies.
A former college tennis athlete and 1st Place winner of the UCLA Anderson Business Plan Competition. Member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) since 2001, co-founded the Aspen chapter, with access to a worldwide network of 36,000+ CEOs.
“ōku is my ikigai — where passion, purpose, experience, and impact intersect.”Carolyn J. Hamlet – Always in Motion
Team
Lean execution. Specialist depth.
Ryan Kingsbury
(1209 Digital)
Owns the Amazon channel — listings, ad spend, Subscribe & Save, repeat-rate optimization.
Roots Marketing Agency
Full-service social media management & content — building an authentic, loyal following through data-driven organic growth. rootsmarketingagency.com
Robby Boyd
Finds the leaks in a business and closes them with AI solutions, not headcount. Hundreds of launches across tech, healthcare, CPG, SaaS & more.
Wizard Accounting & Consulting
Bookkeeping & Controller support for CPG brands.
Luke Abbott
(vDriven)
Founder/CEO, vDriven, growth partner for natural CPG and retail ecosystem. Built & sold Monterrey Provisions to KeHE and demo company to Sprouts.
Dennis Lock
(DLM-USA)
Deep relationships with multiple national food service operators and military channels.
Food Scientist & Label Compliance
35+ years innovating sweet confectionary products. Expert in labeling, food safety, compliance, and quality assurance.
Manufacturing Partner
FDA Registered · GMP Compliant · NSF Certified · ISO 9001:2015. Excellent partnership.
*Capital-efficient by design — fractional senior leadership + specialist partners across every function.
AI Advantage
Powered by AI. Built for leverage.
In traditional CPG, overhead grows in step with revenue. We will hire — but AI lets the team grow far more slowly than the business. ōku already works with AI every day, and this raise builds the agents that keep it that way.
AI is already how we work.
A daily creation partner across investor communications, design, web, and marketing assets.
Most creative produced in-house — agencies and photo shoots used selectively, not by default.
High output. Low overhead. Our operating style from day one.
Board & Advisors
Operators. Builders.
A brand-strategy bench.
Ken Hamlet
Former President and CEO of Holiday Inns Inc. 30+ years of corporate leadership, governance, brand building.
Patti Larchet
Former CEO of Jenny Craig. Operational and scaling expertise from leading major wellness and portion-controlled consumer programs.
Jeff Church
Co-founder and former CEO of Suja Life. Built the leading U.S. cold-pressed juice brand past $100M in six years — Whole Foods Supplier of the Year in year two. In 2015 Suja sold a 50% stake to Coca-Cola and other investors at a $300M enterprise valuation.
Doug R. Harrison
Consumer brand builder. Strategic positioning, messaging, and scaling roadmap. Named Coca-Cola’s Vendor of the Year.
Jeff Stiefler
Former President of American Express. Strategic counsel on business strategy.
Silvia Mah, PhD
Leading advocate for female-led ventures. Strategic funding and structuring guidance.
Oscar Amador Torres
CEO of Ogilvy Nicaragua. Marketing and branding expertise.
*All advisors and board members are also investors in ōku.
Why Believe
Built to win. Hard to copy.
A challenger’s edge is built, not given — here’s why ōku wins, and why it stays won.
Habit, not impulse
The afternoon lull is biological and recurring — so is the purchase. Repeat customers already drive 36.5% of Amazon revenue on the current product — in six months — and Subscribe & Save turns a sale into a subscription.
Community lock-in
Claiming padel courtside — where no energy brand exists yet — with the #1 American female pro, 5 ambassadors, and a Pro Padel League sponsorship.
We own the category
Conscious Energy® and ōku® are registered marks — we own the language, not just a product. And two years of proprietary formulation cracked what most functional products miss: taste — hitting the trifecta of taste, function & convenience.
Relationship-gated distribution
Our channels run on people: brokers with Sprouts history and deep Food Service and military relationships (Vistar, Foodbuy, Canteen/Compass, Aramark). Those desks aren’t buyable overnight.
A board & advisors you can’t replicate
Suja (Coca-Cola–backed, $300M), Jenny Craig, Holiday Inns, American Express — plus a 36,000-CEO YPO network. Access most pre-seed brands can’t buy.
Authentic mission
Women-owned, B1G1 impact at inception, 40% PCR packaging. “Conscious” can’t be retrofitted — rivals copy a formula, not a founding story.
A platform, not a product.
ōku is the wedge; Conscious Energy® is the platform for energy, with room to grow across formats — and the vision extends to a house of purpose-built “Conscious” brands across adjacent conditions, each its own platform.
Competitors can match one of these. Matching all of it is a new company.
Proven Playbook
Better-for-You Challengers. Premium Exits.
Each one took a category and created a massive outcome.
Poppi
Redefined soda from unhealthy cheat treat into a daily gut-health ritual. Created a massive consumer category.
Liquid I.V.
Redefined hydration delivery. Built an incredible wholesale and retail distribution network before exit.
OLLY
Brought delight and aesthetics to the boring vitamin aisle. Gummy format made wellness fun and daily.
Hu Chocolate
Redefined candy bar into a clean, paleo-friendly luxury indulgence. Sourced high-quality ingredients.
Grüns
Turned green powders into a daily gummy ritual. Reached massive scale in under three years.
The Ask
Join the Conscious Energy® Movement.
Energy that gives, not takes — for the afternoon lull+ and every moment that asks for more.
Pre-Seed Round
Use of funds.
How the $500K is sized
Inventory and receivables float — recycles, not consumed
Three months
Working capital is tied up, not spent: the co-manufacturer is paid before pallets ship and foodservice pays on 14-day terms, so the same dollars turn several times inside the window. That is also why Inventory shows as only $43K — the first four pallets ship from existing stock. We are exploring an inventory facility to fund production ahead of collection, but the raise is sized so the plan stands without one.
What $500K delivers by April 2027.
Over the same Nov–Apr window
Every target is verifiable by an outside party — the operator’s point-of-sale data, Amazon’s own reports, a purchase order, or the Klaviyo dashboard.
The Exit Opportunity.
In April 2026, Unilever acquired Grüns – a functional gummy brand founded in 2023 – for $1.2B. Strategic buyers including Keurig Dr Pepper, Nestlé Health Science, Hershey, Mars, Unilever, and Mondelēz are actively building better-for-you functional snack portfolios. ōku is being built to be acquisition-ready as a premium target.
Thank you!
Appendix
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beforeWhat Customers Are Saying
Real people. Real moments. Real results.
From verified customers who bought it, used it, and told us about their experience.
“My husband used to grab a Celsius every afternoon — he's completely switched to ōku instead. Clean, steady energy without the jitters. Delicious and so easy to toss in your bag.”
“I use these right before a tennis match when I need my focus. Replaced my tea entirely. Delicious, low sugar, no additives. So happy I found ōku.”
“As an endurance athlete, ōku has been a game-changer. Less sugar, a much healthier option — and absolutely delicious. I fuel my body through long events and feel better overall.”
“ōku saved me. Gave me back the energy to work my day job and still get a workout in at the end of the day. I've tried all the flavors and love them all.”
“These energy gummies are so good! Amazing clean ingredients, eats like candy and has just the right amount AND right kind of caffeine kick. Perfect for my afternoon pick me up when it's 'too late' for coffee, or when I'm on the go. Love the flavors!”
“It wasn't an anxious caffeine buzz — it wasn't fleeting either. Just a calm sense of focus I hadn't accessed in a long time. These gummies taste amazing and serve their purpose without being overpowering or gimmicky.”
What Customers Are Saying · Cont.
More verified voices.
“I love the ōku chews. They are easy to keep in my pickleball bag. I just reach for a few chews if I'm feeling low on energy and I get a little boost. Not a jittery boost and not a boost that will keep me up at night. I love the flavor and have to stop myself from eating too many since they taste so good. Grateful that they are lower in sugar and use more natural types of supplements that give you energy!”
“I play volleyball for hours on end and these are the perfect snack to bring to the beach. They give me the extra boost of energy and focus I need to keep playing well — and they don't hurt my stomach like other gummies. The flavor and texture are simply delicious.”
“I love the taste. I eat a pack after I lift weights and before I start my cardio. It gives me the energy boost I need to finish my routine. I also like the fact it doesn't give me a headache or jitters like caffeine does.”
“ōku Energy Gummies with Caffeine from Green Tea & Yerba Mate are slightly sweetened… I don't taste the earthy and bitter notes from Yerba mate or green tea, just the genuine flavors such as grape, strawberry, pineapple orange. My favorite are orange and grape. Infused with ingredients such as coconut water and goji berry powder, they provide a quick hydration boost. Vegan and Gluten-Free, they have a chewy texture, but don't stick to my teeth. They do a good job at increasing my energy level and keeping me focused without the jitters from caffeine. The Variety Pack contains 8 Individual pouches in each bag. Each pouch is small enough to fit in my pocket so I can take it on the go. The price is comparable to similar energy products.”
“Caffeine, green tea and coconut water! What more could you hope for in a delicious and very effective energy chew? The taste is great: refreshing with no icky aftertaste. The texture is smooth and not cloying or artificially sticky. These chews are a great source of hydration as well as a quick boost of energy to get you going. I end up seeking them out mid-morning to get me 'til lunch and mid-afternoon to get me to the end of the workday. Try them—I bet you like them too!”
“This review is for the ōku brand of energy gummies (8 packs, multi-flavor). So as it turns out I just finished the last of these about an hour before writing this review which means they are getting the whole 5 stars out of 5: they were yummy. Each little 5-gummy pack has 60mg caffeine from green tea and yerba mate so you get a smooth mild energy boost in a nice snack with a reasonably low amount of calories. The variety pack flavors were orange, pineapple, grape and strawberry. The product is produced domestically. I can't think of any reason not to give this my highest recommendation.”
Earned Media & Community
Earning trust in the open.
Press & Podcasts
Padel Events & Tournaments
Community
Community Deep Dive
Padel: our beachhead community.
Two brands growing together — ōku and U.S. padel are both early.
Brittany Dubins · #1 American female padel pro · signed ambassador, ōku.
The opportunity – become the default energy ritual
- Invented in Acapulco, 1969 — only now arriving in the U.S.
- ~460,000 active U.S. players; ~35M globally. The U.S. is about 1.3% of the world’s players — the runway is the story.
- 1,112 courts across 297 facilities in 38 states — up 61.6% in twelve months, with more than half of all courts built since January 2025.
- Players avg. 2–3× per week in 60-120 min sessions = captive courtside audience — optimal cadence for repeat.
- Brittany Dubins (#1 American female pro) signed + 5 ambassadors — spreading the word through social media, peer-to-peer, and providing intros to padel facilities. Las Vegas Smash team sponsor for the 2026 Pro Padel League season. The Pro Padel League itself raised $15M in 2026 and signed a national CNBC broadcast deal carrying five championship matches — rising visibility for every team in it.
Why ōku fits
- No functional energy or snack brand has claimed courtside, yet.
- Players skew Gen Z + Millennial: wellness-aware, ingredient-conscious, repeat-buying.
- ōku fits natively — a clean product that supports your body with collaborative ingredients: clean caffeine, no jitters, gummy made for a racquet bag.
Las Vegas Smash · Pro Padel League · ōku on the team shirt, 2026 season.
The strategy: Earn the default position via tournament + league sponsorships, club & event activations, and voices that travel — pros, club pros, league organizers. Some existing community overlap with and natural evolution to pickleball and tennis communities.
Padel · Go-to-market
A repeatable playbook for every club.
We sponsor first to prove demand — then the club brings us in for good.
Brittany Dubins in play — ōku on the kit, not just on paper.
Amplified by our pro roster (Brittany Dubins + the Las Vegas Smash / PPL), RacquetX & 6LoveSports — detailed in the community deep-dive above.
Padel · Recurring Revenue
Every club is a recurring annuity.
A weekly ritual is, in effect, a subscription — predictable, habitual, sticky.
Assumptions: 10% of members adopt (15% goal) · 1 bag/session · 1.5 sessions/week · 50 weeks/year · $2.50/bag wholesale.
Padel · Market & Footprint
Padel demand meets Sprouts shelves — same markets.
Padel: U.S. Padel Report 2026 (Misitrano Consulting), Q2 2026 verified facility database. Sprouts: actual store list (330 in the 8/3–10/3/26 checkout trial). ōku locations exact; Sprouts shaded by real per-state counts.
Packaging
Single-serve, on-the-go ritual.
