# Founder Feature: Kun Yang of Pricklee

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2026-02-20
- Length: 32m
- Episode: 261
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-02-20-founder-feature-kun-yang-of-pricklee
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/a2bcbf2a

## Summary

Kun Yang, co-founder of Pricklee, explains how he and his pharmacist co-founder Mo applied a scientific approach to build Pricklee, a natural hydration drink in aluminum cans, achieving product-market fit after four years of iteration. Yang details the pivotal repositioning from 'cactus water' to 'natural hydration' to overcome the education challenge of the prickly pear ingredient, citing the Framingham Heart Study on artificial sweeteners as their catalyst. The company is now scaling with 200–400% velocity growth, a fully subscribed seed round, and new distribution through Vistar, debuting new flavors at Expo West 2026.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Pricklee 2.0 and the Natural Hydration Mission
2. The Scientific Origin: Pharmacists and the Framingham Heart Study
3. The Education Challenge: From Cactus Water to Natural Hydration
4. Category Timing: Soda, Energy, and the Hydration Moment
5. Scaling Velocity, Vistar Distribution, and Seed Round
6. Expo West 2026 Debut and Future Roadmap

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Pricklee (product)
- Sprouts (company)
- Whole Foods (company)
- H-E-B (company)
- Vistar (company)
- Poppy (product)
- Olipop (product)
- Bloom (product)
- Framingham Heart Study (other)
- Expo West (other)

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- [How I Built Resilience: Kara Goldin of Hint](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-04-01-how-i-built-resilience-kara-goldin-of-hint) (How I Built This)
- [Spindrift: Bill Creelman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-13-spindrift-bill-creelman) (How I Built This)
- [Health-Ade Kombucha: Daina Trout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-09-28-health-ade-kombucha-daina-trout) (How I Built This)
- [Poppi: Allison and Stephen Ellsworth.  From Farmers Market Vinegar Drink to $2B Soda Sensation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-09-22-poppi-allison-and-stephen-ellsworth-from-farmers-market-vinegar-drink-to-2b-soda) (How I Built This)
- [Guayakí Yerba Mate: David Karr and Chris Mann](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-11-28-guayaki-yerba-mate-david-karr-and-chris-mann) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

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