rewrite this title and make it good for SEOStephen and Ayesha Curry are coming for the sports drink market—and their kids were the first focus group | Fortune

“Hey, just try this,” Stephen recalled saying to them. “And their faces lit up as soon as they tried it for the first time. They said: ‘Can we make sure we have those in the house?’” That consumer signal was enough to advance the idea to the next round. 

The Currys, who serve as co-founders and brand ambassadors for Plezi Hydration, sat down with Fortune ahead of today’s relaunch of the sports drink line from Plezi Nutrition, a public benefit company co-founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama. The product, which aims to reach teens and adults, with a primary focus on Gen Z and young millennials, first debuted in March 2025.

The relaunch adds a new flavor, Berry Boom, refreshes packaging with a design inspired by the swish of a basketball net, and signals a more deliberate push into the competitive $26 billion global sports drink market. Plezi Hydration also offers the flavors orange mango, fruit punch, and lemon lime.

The business case behind the partnership

The Currys say they approached the deal with a business mindset. “Even though we had this exciting, jaw-dropping opportunity to work with Mrs. Obama, we still approached it with a strong business focus,” Ayesha said. “We really had to enjoy the product, and our kids had to enjoy it as well.” Their children were the initial driving force behind their decision, but Stephen’s sports background and his understanding of what athletes specifically need, combined with her food expertise, ultimately sealed the deal, she said.

That discipline matters in a category increasingly crowded with better-for-you challengers. Plezi Hydration’s pitch to retailers and consumers rests on a nutritional profile, no added sugar, just fruit juice, compared to legacy sports drinks. A 16.9 oz serving contains 9g of sugar and 560mg of potassium. By comparison, leading conventional sports drinks typically contain upward of 30g of sugar and fewer than 100mg of potassium per 16.9 oz serving. The potassium-to-sodium ratio is a meaningful differentiator for athletes like Stephen, since potassium drives muscle function and cellular hydration in ways sodium alone cannot.

“You could tell the passion around what was put in the bottle, and what it was meant to do—be a great option for families,” Stephen said. 

Shared vision

Ayesha, founder and CEO of lifestyle company Sweet July, an actress, a cookbook author, television host, and restaurateur, owns product development and flavor strategy for Plezi Hydration. “I really love being able to use that creative arm and ideate on what’s next, or how we can make something better,” she said. She described the new Berry Boom flavor with a chef’s precision: “It tastes like melted popsicles in the best way—very nostalgic of childhood.”

Flavor authenticity is non-negotiable for her. “Making sure that what it says is actually what it tastes like is very important to me,” she said.”There’s nothing artificial in these Plezi drinks, but you also don’t want it to taste artificial. You can be using the purest of ingredients and still, for whatever reason, have something that gives an artificial taste.” 

That quality-control instinct extends to how she evaluates the working relationship itself. She noted that Plezi’s team incorporated her feedback. “It’s not often you get involved and people will actually listen to you and take that feedback to heart,” she said.

Stephen, a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors, is also the founder and CEO of Thirty Ink, a business conglomerate that generated $173.5 million in revenue in 2024, according to CNBC. He points to distribution and growth pacing as priorities with Plezi Hydration. “You want to make sure you have your finger on the pulse,” he said. “Not growing too fast, but making sure we have that stickiness we need, that sell-through we need.” It’s a disciplined approach that prioritizes sustainable retail velocity, he said.

Plezi Hydration is sold in select Walmart, Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Ralphs and Fred Meyer locations, and available nationwide on Amazon or Walmart.com.

Leadership lessons

Beyond Plezi Hydration, the Currys co-founded Eat. Learn. Play., a nonprofit launched in 2019 to support children in Oakland, California, which is a philanthropic thread that runs parallel to their commercial ventures and informs their brand selection.

Asked how to find success in both business and philanthropy, Stephen said: “You want to be as authentic to your core beliefs and mission values as you can.” It may look different for everyone based on their interests, he said. Eat. Learn. Play. was “built off of a heart of service, but then realizing how we can leverage the resources and the platform that we both have for a meaningful impact in a community,” he added.

Stephen said it’s helpful to understand what value you can bring to opportunities, also “sticking to it, because there isn’t a straight line to success.” He added, “There’s all types of ups and downs, and a lot of no’s before you get a yes.”

Ayesha’s take: “I think the success comes in how much you’re willing to listen rather than to speak.” Many people are quick to give their opinions and lend their ideas without taking enough time to hear what people actually want, she said.

“I think for us, it’s really important to ask the questions: What do you enjoy? What do you like? What do you want to hear? What do you need to see change within your environment?” she explained. “I think we do a pretty good job of just being quiet and listening to what people have to say.”