{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Startup CPG Podcast","title":"Founder Feature: Kun Yang of Pricklee","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2060,"description":"In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Caitlin Bricker sits down with Kun Yang, co-founder of Pricklee—a natural hydration drink powered by prickly pear cactus fruit with no artificial dyes, no artificial sugars, and no plastic. Caitlin and Kun crack open the brand-new Pricklee 2.0 cans live on the podcast and dive into the four-and-a-half-year journey from launching in Boston in 2021 to hitting what Kun describes as a true product-market fit moment.Kun shares how he and his co-founder Mo—both doctors of pharmacy—were living with a roommate studying heart health in 2019 when the Framingham Heart Study caught their attention. The data showed that people consuming one artificially sweetened drink per day had a 3x increased risk of stroke and dementia compared to those drinking full-sugar beverages. That finding, combined with mounting evidence on artificial dyes, lit a fire under them to build something better—especially as they were starting their own families and looking around at the same legacy, neon-colored hydration drinks that had filled grocery aisles since their childhoods.Rather than raising institutional capital and hitting the gas immediately, Kun and Mo applied a scientific approach to brand building: test, iterate, improve, and keep going without ego. They launched with a cactus water positioning that got them into key accounts like Sprouts, Whole Foods, and H-E-B, then spent the next four years refining formulation, repositioning, and listening hard to customer feedback. The single greatest challenge, Kun reflects, was education—explaining the prickly pear ingredient itself slowed them down. Repositioning to lead with \"natural hydration\" unlocked a whole new level of resonance with their target consumer: young families who love better-for-you soda and energy drinks but haven't yet had a natural hydration option they'd actually reach for.Throughout the conversation, Kun and Caitlin discuss the parallels between Pricklee's journey and Poppy's...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/pMuUaMpWaAi3tfCEgC2OkLBVzokuLjLsIzwDIbGFqi4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hMTFl/MTgxNTNlZTAwZjU1/ZmNmNWM1ZjkwMDg5/NTU4MS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}