Skip to main content

Beyond Four Loko: Why One of the Founders Now Makes Health Drinks

When he was 25, Chris Hunter was working in the alcohol industry, trying to sell a flavored vodka that you’d use as a “bomb” by dropping it into Red Bull (like you would with Jägermeister). While doing that, he started thinking about the confluence of caffeine and alcohol.

four loko
Four Loko/Facebook

“It just made sense to look at the two together,” he says. It was the early 2000s and there weren’t many premixed drinks of the sort at the time. Sparks was out, but not much else.

Recommended Videos

Then, one night, he and his then-girlfriend were discussing bringing vodka and Red Bulls but didn’t want to buy an entire bottle of vodka. It was out of this that Four Loko — and surely countless bad decisions by college students across the nation — was born.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Hunter and his partners rolled out Four Loko in 2005 and saw immediate success because, Hunter said, the proposition was straightforward.

“Four Loko was simple: caffeine, alcohol, and flavor in a big can.”

Four Loko then experienced a “massive, meteoric rise,” according to Hunter, followed by controversy, which nearly wiped the company out.

“We were playing by the rules, but the rules just changed,” Hunter says.

Instead of folding, the company pivoted, hiring a management company which could oversee the operations. It was at that point that Hunter — who had a son and was in his thirties — realized that his priorities had changed. Gone were the days and nights where he needed caffeine and alcohol at the same time. (For those of you not in your thirties, yes, it does happen.)

Around the same time, he was introduced to a guy who was making hard root beer. The drink didn’t have a name or a label, but would soon. Seeing that craft beer was all the rage, Hunter and his company partnered with Small Town Brewery, the folks behind the hard root beer, to create and market Not Your Father’s Root Beer.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just as with Four Loko, the concept for NYFRB was clear: “There was nostalgia with root beer and then there was alcohol.”

NYFRB took off. A little while later, Hunter and his partners took a step back to reevaluate and, again, he realized his life had changed. A second child had come along. He was getting more into health and fitness than he ever had before. He began investing in other businesses because his mindset had evolved from what it was a year, two, and especially five years before.

That is when Hunter came across a brand called Raw Nature 5. At first, Hunter got involved as an investor, but when the company pivoted in 2016 to become the plant-based beverage company Koia, Hunter became a co-founder, taking his entrepreneurial experience in a 180-degree direction away from Four Loko as possible while still maintaining the simple propositions that led to success with the previous beverages.

Each bottle of Koia contains 190 calories, 18 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and only 4 grams of sugar. They are also non-GMO, vegan, and dairy-, soy-, and gluten-free. We’re not sure if anything could be more the exact opposite of Four Loko other than a smoothie made of straight kale and water.

Koia started with three flavors: cacao (the best-seller), vanilla bean, and coconut almond. They’ve since added two more flavors, coffee and cinnamon horchata, and three “fruit infusions.” Each bottle will run you around $5 and can be found nationwide in a variety of stores, including Whole Foods Markets, Wegmans, Giant Eagle, Delhaize, The Fresh Market, and more.

If we’ve learned anything from Hunter, it’s that even if you do drink a ton of Four Loko, there is still plenty of time to turn it around and for that, we are thankful.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
The new brew routine: Why gut health is the future of coffee
Is your coffee good for your gut?
coffee bean

According to a recent survey by Danone America, 84% of Americans have become more interested in "functional" foods and products that support gut health. These changing wellness trends are affecting nearly every type of food and beverage product, and they've now made their way into your morning coffee mug as well. Popular coffee brand Bulletproof Coffee believes gut health is the future of coffee, adapting its product line to include science-based ingredients that transform a delicious cup of coffee into a gut-supporting beverage. I chatted with Stephanie Hoffman, Director of R&D and Quality at Bulletproof Coffee, to learn more about gut health and coffee.
Gut health in the wellness world

According to Hoffman, "Gut health has become a major focus not just in the wellness world, but in general, as people are recognizing its deep connection to energy, immunity, mood, and mental clarity." With this in mind, Bulletproof has adopted a mindset that your morning coffee should do more than wake you up.

Read more
Surprising ways to use ground coffee beyond your morning brew
Everything you can use ground coffee for, beyond your morning cup of joe
Coffee grounds in a plant

Perfectly described by Chris Smith, co-owner and founder of Ground Ops Roastery + Bakehouse, "The day doesn't truly begin until that first sip of coffee." Yet, according to Smith, the story of coffee extends far beyond its role as just a drink. Coffee has so many uses both inside and outside of the kitchen -- that most of us coffee drinkers fail even to acknowledge. From cooking with coffee grounds, such as in tenderizing meat, to using them as fertilizer for plants, consider these surprising uses for ground coffee.

Ground coffee uses in cooking and baking

Read more
The new Ninja Creami Swirl is a game-changer for high-protein summer treats
CreamiFit is a game-changer for high-protein, low-sugar snacks
Ninja creami swirl

Counting and tracking your macros is hard; and that's one thing every fitness and health junkie can agree on. During the summer, sticking to your nutrition plan can be even more challenging. After all, stopping for ice cream is a summertime event that evokes a bit of nostalgia for all of us.

Luckily, Ninja has dropped its newest version of the Ninja Creami, just in time for the summer: The Ninja Creami Swirl. The Ninja Creami Swirl is a total game-changer for health-conscious foodies, featuring special settings designed to create healthier-style ice cream and frozen treats. The Ninja Creami Swirl's specific CreamiFit setting is the perfect tool to whip up your high-protein, low-calorie snack or protein treat. Here's how it's changing the game this summer.
Trying the Ninja Creami Swirl

Read more