Leilo

In 2018, during a family trip to Fiji, Sol Broady experienced kava in its traditional setting—shared in a circle with locals, creating a warm sense of community and calm. Struck by the contrast between this experience and the stress culture he'd witnessed at competitive schools and universities across the US, he made an impulsive but fateful declaration: he would bring kava to the American market as a ready-to-drink product. Though he had no food and beverage experience, his family believed in him.

It took two full years of scrappy experimentation before Leilo had a launchable product. Rather than spending heavily upfront, Sol began by making huge batches of kava horchata from scratch in friends' kitchens at night after class and rugby practice. He'd bottle these 8oz samples and bring them to Columbia parties in a backpack, facing plenty of skepticism and rejection. But the few people who tried it gave him the market validation he needed. By late 2019/early 2020, he felt confident enough to work with flavor houses and co-packers on professional formulation. March 2020 was set as launch day—then COVID hit. His team was scattered across the country, retail agreements in LA and NYC fell through, and his scheduled launch events evaporated. Rather than abandon ship, he pivoted hard to direct-to-consumer sales.

The pandemic forced Leilo into an unexpected strength: hyper-focused sampling and community building. Sol and his team realized that digital ads couldn't convey the full value of a novel product like kava. Consumers needed to taste it, feel its effects, and hear the story directly from the founders. They invested heavily in in-store demos, pop-ups, and event sponsorships across key markets. This on-the-ground education became their most effective growth channel, far outpacing paid social and influencer work. By 2021, Leilo was in 200+ retailers across 20 states.

Sol's biggest lesson from early struggles was the danger of overcommitting without experience. After an initial batch of 15,000 cans of Lemon-Ginger flavor was over-sweetened 10x with stevia and became unusable, he learned to hire experienced supply chain and manufacturing professionals early, even though it felt expensive. On the flip side, doing his own prototype work before hiring formulators saved tens of thousands in consultant fees and gave him a clear vision to present them. He also embraced the "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast" philosophy—small, controlled launches with existing relationships beat all-in bets.

A particularly painful (and eventually rewarding) obstacle came in early 2021 when each batch of Raspberry Hibiscus flavor turned to jelly in the carbonation tank for two months straight. After weeks of tweaking, his team invented novel manufacturing processes that eventually became patentable. Raspberry Hibiscus then became the top seller.

By August 2021, Leilo was doing $80k per month and on track to 10x 2020's revenue. Sol had built a team of 8 full-time professionals (many with major CPG experience) plus 30+ sales reps and brand ambassadors nationwide. The company had announced partnerships with NYCFC as their "Official Relaxation Partner" and sponsorships of music festivals and live events. His vision: to become the "Red Bull of Relaxation," expanding beyond beverages into a full lifestyle brand synonymous with calm and wellness.