Ep 30: How Orka Built an Energy Drink for People Who Hate Energy Drinks

What happens when two friends in their twenties get fed up with syrupy energy drinks and decide to invent a caffeinated water that actually tastes like water? Orka founders Michael Moriarty and Nash Hale join Drinks Insider to talk about their journey from college roommates to beverage entrepreneurs. They reveal how they raised $355K in friends-and-family money, endured a year of catastrophic production failures, and finally cracked the code for manufacturing a clear pressurised can — just in time to ride a viral wave on Amazon. We cover: The unglamorous truth about energy drink flavour fatigue Why beverage manufacturing is a form of hazing What a "seaming consultant" actually does How TikTok and a well-timed tweet changed everything The upsides and downsides of selling on Amazon Why they chose the name Orka and how they almost didn’t If you’re dreaming of launching a drink brand, this is a must-listen. 00:05 — Intro to the Orka story and what happened when the WSJ found out 03:18 — “Why not just put caffeine in water?”: the founding insight 06:18 — They backed into health by chasing simplicity, not wellness 09:01 — Time to start a beverage company! 10:48 — The 150mg caffeine challenge and why flavour houses balked 12:35 — Panic attacks from over-caffeinated taste testing 18:04 — The transparent plastic can that nearly killed the business 21:08 — Every production run failed for a year. Here’s why. 23:24 — How close they came to shutting it all down 26:10 — Selling on Amazon: upsides, pitfalls, and inventory anxiety 30:26 — What happened a...

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