Alex Cooper shuts down Unwell Beverage brand after less than two years

Unwell Beverage Co. Is abruptly pulling the plug on its entire drink lineup, setting the stage for a final retail exit even as its parent company secures a landmark $500 million valuation. The sudden shutdown of the beverage venture, reported on Thursday, August 13 by Bloomberg and cited by Yahoo News, marks a swift conclusion for a consumer goods brand that hit store shelves alongside Nestlé SA just last year in 2025.

According to sources familiar with the transition, the brand plans to roll out a final wave of Halloween-themed flavors this fall before halting production permanently. Target Corp., which serves as the brand's primary distribution partner, will sell through its remaining inventory until supplies are exhausted, after which the drinks will vanish from shelves for good, as detailed by Yahoo News UK. Representatives for Cooper, Nestlé, and Target all declined to comment on the closure.

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The swift unwinding of the beverage line highlights the brutal realities creators face when branching out into saturated consumer goods markets. While internet personalities from Emma Chamberlain to Logan Paul and KSI have notoriously flooded aisles with coffee and energy drinks, the space remains exceptionally crowded. Financial Post notes that the closure underscores the distinct challenges online media stars encounter when attempting to diversify away from digital content creation into physical retail supply chains.

The trajectory of the brand traces back to Cooper's personal frustrations. The 31-year-old Call Her Daddy host first conceived of the venture while on her 2024 Unwell Tour. Speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit in 2024, Cooper explained that she felt routinely exhausted and attributed her fatigue to a lack of palatable, low-sugar options. She criticized existing beverage brands for being male-centric. As she stated at the time:

"Every time I went to pick up an energy drink or any type of hydration drink, it's all catered to men. If you go on their Instagrams, the packaging is for men, and a lot of time it has to do with high performance, like you have to be a professional athlete to drink this, and it's all made for men, by men, marketed to men."

Alex Cooper, Podcast Host, via Yahoo News

Teaming up with Nestlé, Cooper launched Unwell Hydration in 2025 with three initial electrolyte, vitamin, and caffeine formulas. The line quickly expanded to include Unwell Focus, Unwell Protein, and Unwell Energy drinks, which routinely sat on side tables alongside Cooper and her celebrity guests during video recordings of her podcast. In May, the brand even introduced a limited-edition red, white, and blueberry energy drink flavor exclusively at Target.

Yet, the beverage's demise contrasts sharply with the surging financial health of Cooper's broader corporate footprint. Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, built Unwell into a sprawling media holding encompassing podcasts, TV and film production, merchandise, live events, and a newly established ad agency. On Wednesday, the parent company secured a massive funding injection from Hollywood super agent Patrick Whitesell, valuing the entire business at $500 million.

Unlike the drink venture, that fresh capital is slated to flow directly into expanding Cooper's podcast network, television projects, and ad agency operations. The broader corporate expansion has not been without turbulence; an April Bloomberg report highlighted internal hurdles, including executive turnover, underperforming shows, and staff grievances tied to Kaplan. Those operational strain points occurred as the company juggled an aggressive multi-platform rollout.

Ultimately, the Unwell brand is far from disappearing, but its physical hydration aisle footprint is entering its final days. Shoppers will see the last of the beverage inventory clear out following the upcoming fall release of Halloween-themed products, signaling the definitive end of Cooper's brief foray into the competitive functional beverage market.

Formulating the Functional Formula

According to reports from PEOPLE, the formulation of Unwell Hydration was rooted in Cooper's personal encounters with exhaustion during her busy travel schedule. Speaking exclusively to the outlet during the initial product rollout, the podcast host described feeling persistently hungover despite abstaining from alcohol, leading her to search for low-sugar alternatives that avoided the unpleasant taste profiles typical of existing hydration options. This personal health rationale shaped the brand's initial market positioning as a functional wellness elixir positioned between traditional sports drinks and vitamin supplements.

The operational trajectory of the brand relied on specific retail and manufacturing partnerships established at its inception:

• Launch Partner: Developed in collaboration with Nestlé SA starting in 2025.
• Distribution Partner: Target Corp. Served as the primary retail channel, executing exclusive releases such as the May limited-edition red, white, and blueberry energy flavor.
• Product Evolution: Began with three electrolyte-focused hydration formulas before expanding into separate lines for focus, protein, and energy.

Financial Post notes that the abrupt winding down of these physical supply chains illustrates the steep hurdles digital stars face when moving past screen-based media into consumer goods. Bloomberg sources indicate that the next step for the enterprise involves clearing out the remaining stock following the autumn holiday sales cycle, permanently retiring the drink lineup while the parent company redirects its newly acquired capital toward digital audio and advertising operations.