daio

I grew up in NC with parents who had the foresight and ability to move the family to a good school district – which helped ensure a lifetime of opportunities. Not all of my friends and extended family were as lucky. As a result of my good fortune, I went on to attend and play basketball in college – which means I quickly understood the importance of proper nutrition and exercise in order to perform optimally everyday. I was the pinnacle of health! …then, years later, we had a baby… Suddenly, I went from seven hours of sleep down to three. I turned to fast food as I had neither the time nor energy to cook. Unsurprisingly, I found myself with a virtually permanent head cold of some kind. In an attempt to "stay in the game", I turned to functional drinks – energy drinks for a lift, kombuchas for my unhappy gut, wellness shots to combat the head cold, and more. The problem was that the energy drinks were incredibly sweet, artificial and always resulted in a crash. The kombuchas had harsh, fermented, vinegary tastes and left me feeling heavy. And the wellness shots were earthy with an aftertaste that seemed to last for days and burned a hole in my wallet. I quickly realized that I wanted the health benefits without all of the other 'stuff.' I wanted the mental lift without the energy drink; the gut health benefits without the kombucha; the immune system boost without the wellness shots. Truly, I wanted a clean, refreshing, great-tasting, unsweetened, good-at-any-time sparkling water that had the key ingredients I needed to keep going – zinc, probiotics, natural caffeine, etc. – but without the harsh taste, extreme sweetness or artificial ingredients. Hence, daio was born – inclusive of a plan to donate a portion of sales to organizations that provide quality education access to underprivileged – primarily Black and Brown – kids, ensuring they have the same opportunities I did. (Fun fact: daio is derived from Aristotle's "eudaimonia" which means human flourishing, or being happy, healthy and prosperous. Makes sense, right?)