From Crutches to Cans: The Trip Drinks Founder Playbook

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👋 Hey Deal Lift readers

Today we’re diving into a founder story that’s all kinds of inspiring: a sports injury, a need for calm, a kitchen-table startup — and now a functional-beverage brand worth hundreds of millions. This is the story of Trip, co-founded by Daniel Khoury and Olivia Ferdi. If you’re building a product, tackling wellness, or just looking for how to turn pain into profit, you’ll want to read this. Grab a drink (maybe one of theirs!) and let’s get rolling.

🧠 The Spark: A Knee Injury, a Recovery Story, a Brand Born

In 2018, just weeks before their wedding, founder Daniel Khoury suffered a major knee injury playing football. He needed surgery and faced what felt like the possibility of not walking down the aisle, let alone dancing at his own wedding. His partner, Olivia Ferdi — a lawyer under heavy stress — was looking for relief too.
Friends introduced CBD into the recovery mix. Daniel’s healing accelerated, and Olivia started using CBD to calm her mind. They realized: Wow — this could be more than personal healing. This could be a product.

So they teamed up: Daniel (with a recovery story) + Olivia (law background + wellness ambition) = Trip. Their mission: make calm accessible, give people stylish, fun alternatives to booze, sugar, and stress.

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🛠 The Execution: Launch, Growth, Expansion

Let’s trace how Trip went from idea to global brand.

2018–2019 – Ideation & Launch

• 2018: Research begins in the UK. Daniel & Olivia begin experimenting with CBD formulas and beverage design.

• 2019: Trip officially launches. Debut in high-end retail (Selfridges, Planet Organic) with CBD-infused oils and drinks. They invest in taste, branding, color, and retail positioning.

2020 – Pivot During Pandemic

• As COVID-19 disrupts everything, Trip pivots heavily into online sales.

• They partner with Deliveroo — becoming the first CBD store on the platform in the UK.

• They join Sainsbury’s “Future Brands” incubator program for extra boost.

2022–2023 – Massive Growth & Category Leadership

• 2022: Raise ~$12 million to fund US expansion, report 500% year-on-year growth in the first half of the year; listing in 11,000 stores.

• 2023: Named UK’s fastest-growing soft-drinks brand. 88% market share of UK CBD-drinks. Trends ignite on social media.

November 2025 – Big Funding & Valuation

• Trip announces $40 million funding round, celebrity backers including Joe Jonas, Alessandra Ambrosio. Valuation: ≈ $300 million (£230 m).

• The brand reports first profit (~£27.8 million revenue to Feb 2025) and projects doubling revenue by 2026.

🔍 Why Trip Works: Four Core Levers

Here’s a breakdown of why Trip is scaling fast — and how you can copy those levers.

1. Personal story → authentic meaning

This isn’t “random beverage brand.” It comes from real injury + real relief. Daniel’s knee, Olivia’s stress. That origin gives emotional credibility.

2. Flavour + Design first

They didn’t just launch a CBD drink with brown bottle. Pastel-cans, sleek packaging, taste tested for months (55 iterations!). Founders quote that ingredient sourcing + taste was their hardest challenge. The Times
In a crowded market, taste + style matter.

3. Functional category + timing

Functional beverages (CBD, adaptogens, wellness) are booming. The global functional-drink market estimated ~$150bn+ in 2024, expected to ~250bn by 2030.
Trip hit this wave early — UK, then US. High-growth tailwinds.

4. Omnichannel + social + celebrity

They launched in premium retail, built DTC during pandemic, leveraged social media (TikTok viral flavour drops) and got celebrity investors.
Retail listing in 50,000 stores globally now.

🧩 Founders’ Playbook: How Operators Should Steal This

🔎 Additional Insights & Data

• Trip expects >$100 million revenue in 2025 and projections show >double in 2026.

• Their latest product line, “Mindful Blend”, uses ingredients like Lion’s Mane, magnesium, chamomile, L-theanine, shifting slightly away from CBD. CBD now ~30% of revenue.

• While functional beverage category booms, there are regulatory and marketing risks: UK’s Advertising Standards Authority banned some of Trip’s adverts for unauthorised health claims. Taste is non-negotiable: Trip spent months on flavour balance, bubble size, can design. Founder says: “If it doesn’t taste great, you’re not coming back.”

🎯 Final Thoughts: Why This Matters

If you’re building a brand or product and wondering about the difference between “nice idea” and “$300 million business”, here’s your blueprint:

• Your idea doesn’t have to be totally new. It can be an existing problem you felt.

• Execution, experience, design matter more than “more features”.

• Timing + category tailwinds help—but you still need differentiated product.

• Growth isn’t linear. Launch → product-market fit → scaling → brand → exit/valuation.

• Regulation, taste, marketing all matter. Functional drinks have hype, but execution differentiates winners.

Trip shows that entrepreneurs can turn their own pain into product, build brand, scale globally, and hit serious value — while keeping authenticity and design at the centre.

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✅ Deal Lift Takeaway

Title: The Trip Growth Framework: From Pain → Product → Brand → Scale
Key Moves to Apply Now:

• Start with your pain and validate quickly.

• Prioritise flavour & branding over complexity.

• Launch lean; expand after proof.

• Use social + retail + DTC to build growth loops.

• Raise only when product + traction align.

If you enjoyed this breakdown, I can send you the “Trip Drinks Playbook PDF” — a 6-slide deck with actionable steps you can use for your own brand. Just reply “Send PDF” and I’ll get it over.

Thanks for reading Deal Lift.
See you next week.

🎯 — Deal Lift

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