WELD🥤

Wesleyan Affiliated

Protein + Energy Drink

United States

The first drink to put real protein and real energy in one can, with no sugar and no juggling two bottles.

Why WELD

Welcome to WELD, the Protein and Energy Drink made for people who stay moving. Early lift before work, long office days, quick airport sprints, weekend plans, or squeezing in a workout between meetings, WELD fits right into your life.

① Summary

WELD is a clear, fizzy drink that does the job of two. It packs 18 grams of protein and a full hit of caffeine into a single can, with zero sugar and just 12 simple ingredients. The idea came from a daily annoyance the founders knew well: buying an energy drink and a protein shake every day, paying twice, and carrying both around. WELD welds them together. It launched in late 2025, sells quickly at gyms and on college campuses, and earns stellar reviews from the people who try it.

② Why Now

Energy drinks and protein are two of the biggest, fastest-growing habits in the cooler, but until now nobody combined them well. You got the buzz or you got the protein, never both in one can. That gap is exactly where new drink brands turn into giants, and WELD is the first to fill it cleanly.

Market Momentum

This same shelf keeps minting winners. Alani Nu recently sold for $1.8 billion, Celsius landed a partnership with Pepsi and is now worth billions, and brands like Ghost and C4 became household names the same way. WELD is going after that shelf as the only drink that brings caffeine, protein, zero sugar, and a clean ingredient list together.

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④ The Basics

What It Is	A clear, fizzy protein and energy drink · 18g protein · zero sugar · 12 simple ingredients · 4 flavors
Already Backed By	25+ early investors
Traction	Launched late 2025 and growing fast, with stellar reviews and a base of repeat subscribers
Where To Get It	On Amazon, plus NYC gyms, delis, and ballfields
Team	Founded by two college baseball players, with seasoned beverage operators and advisors behind them

⑤ Founding Team

Ernie Little · Founder & CEO

Ernie was Wesleyan's all-time stolen-base leader. He tore up the base paths at second base before turning that same restlessness loose on a daily annoyance: paying for an energy drink and a protein shake every single day at the convenience store near the field. Ernie sets WELD's vision, manages operations, raises the capital, and builds its partnerships.

Wesleyan University

Alongside the founding team is a bench of seasoned operators and advisors, including one who scaled a food brand from under $1M to $90M, plus investment-banking and biotech veterans.

⑥ Initial Diligence (from our conversation with Ernie)

Potential Upsides

▲	Distribution is early, but channel specific. Startups that use multiple methods to promote their products often dilute sales in the long term.
▲	The founder spent appropriate time to develop and test a high quality beverage, utilizing a diverse range of feedback.
▲	A healthy subscriber base is on a multi-month commitment, demonstrating that first-time customers come back.

Potential Downsides

▼	Larger beverage companies test drink variations frequently, and there is significant risk that a player like PepsiCo will enter space.
▼	Direct-to-consumer beverage is hard to scale profitably: cans are heavy and costly to ship, and the brands WELD wants to emulate all grew through retail.
▼	The formulation has to hold up at scale: a clear, shelf-stable carbonated whey drink is tricky to keep from clouding or turning chalky as production grows and shelf time increases. Consistency across flavors and runs is worth watching.

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WELD🥤

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