Top podcaster Alex Cooper’s beverage business is shutting down, demonstrating the challenges online creators often have in diversifying their work away from content.
Cooper’s Unwell Beverage Co., which she launched in partnership with Nestlé SA in 2025, is planning to introduce more flavors tied to the Halloween season and will subsequently cease production across all of the brand’s line of beverages, according to people familiar with the matter. Target Corp., the brand’s main distribution partner, is selling through its supply, the people said, asking not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak about the plans publicly.
Debuting as Unwell Hydration, the initial line came in three flavors and contained electrolytes, vitamins and caffeine. The brand soon added protein- and energy-focused beverages. The drinks can often be seen in video episodes of Cooper’s highly rated Call Her Daddy podcast sitting on the side tables next to the host and her guest.
A representative for Cooper declined to comment. Nestlé and Target also declined to comment.
Beyond the ingredients, which position the beverage somewhere between sports drink and functional wellness elixir, Cooper wanted the drink to stand out among competitors by marketing it to women, she said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit in 2024.
