Recess, the fast-rising functional beverage company founded by Benjamin Witte, has secured $30 million in Series B funding to scale the brand that turned calm into a consumer lifestyle category. The round brings together a powerhouse lineup of investors, including CAVU Consumer Partners, Rocana, Midnight Ventures, Torch Capital, Doehler Ventures, KAS Venture Partners, Vanquish, with participation from Craig Kallman, Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records. This funding positions Recess to dominate a new market category: relaxation beverages built for mental clarity and emotional balance.

Just as energy drinks defined early 2000s hustle culture, Recess is stepping into the cultural shift happening now - where people are rejecting burnout and choosing a slower, more intentional pace. Instead of pushing for more productivity, Recess gives permission to step back and return to the present. The raise marks a transformative moment not only for the company, but for the beverage industry as a whole.

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Building Calm Into Culture: A New Category Emerges

Consumers don’t just drink beverages - they attach identity to them. Recess understood this early and refused to be another functional drink built on ingredient hype or wellness buzzwords. The brand launched with a singular vision: to give people a moment of mental space, packaged in a can that feels as aspirational as the lifestyle it represents.

Benjamin Witte designed Recess around emotional utility rather than caffeine, flavor profiles, or calorie counts. The brand narrative - pause, reset, return - became a cultural entry point into a new category that didn’t exist yet. The messaging resonates deeply with Gen Z and Millennials, who are navigating constant notifications, overstimulation, and performance pressure. Recess positioned itself as the opposite of hustle culture. Instead of selling energy, Recess sells balance.

This positioning fueled explosive early adoption on social platforms, retail shelves, and wellness communities. It’s not just another consumer packaged good. It’s a reaction to a world addicted to acceleration.

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From Beverage to Platform: Scaling Beyond a Single Product

Recess originally entered the market with CBD-infused sparkling waters. The launch was successful, but rather than letting a single ingredient define the company, Witte recognized something deeper: people weren’t buying Recess because of CBD - they were buying the feeling of calm. When CBD faced unpredictable regulatory and retail limitations, Recess pivoted toward a broader platform using adaptogens, magnesium, mocktails, and powdered mixes. This shift opened an entirely new runway.

Today, Recess is not tied to a single format. Instead, it operates like a category platform with product lines spanning multiple daily rituals. Sparkling cans provide an on-the-go moment of clarity. Zero-proof mocktails replace alcohol-induced social habits without sacrificing the ritual. Adaptogen mixes tap into nighttime or wellness routines. Recess builds products to match emotional cadence, not beverage trends.

“We realized we weren’t building a CBD beverage,” Witte shared in an interview. “We were building the calm lifestyle.”

That insight changed the trajectory of the business.

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Deep Insight for Founders: Platform First, Product Second

Many startups try to scale by perfecting one SKU and pushing it into as many stores as possible. Recess did the opposite. They diversified product formats early - before retail distribution reached critical mass. This is not common in beverage startups, and it is the strategic reason Recess is defensible.

Here’s the lesson:
Most founders think distribution drives product expansion.
Recess expanded formats to drive distribution.

When buyers evaluate shelf placement, they look at depth. Investors look at platform potential. Consumers look at identity alignment. By establishing Recess as a brand ecosystem rather than a drink, the company made itself impossible to copy at the shelf level. Competitors can replicate magnesium and adaptogens. They cannot replicate emotional territory.

Depth creates defensibility.
Platform creates inevitability.

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Backing, Momentum, and Category Ownership

The investors behind this Series B weren’t drawn by a beverage - they were drawn by market ownership. CAVU Consumer Partners has historically backed category creators, companies that introduce ideas large enough to build industries around. Torch Capital and Midnight Ventures are known for focusing on consumers who merge lifestyle and wellness. Craig Kallman brings cultural influence from the entertainment world, a strategic advantage for a brand built on mood and identity.

With this combination of capital and expertise, Recess is positioned to move from recognizable to unavoidable.

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A Market That’s Already Shifting: Calm Is Becoming a Consumer Priority

The timing of Recess’ Series B aligns with a clear movement happening throughout the beverage and wellness landscape. For years, the category has been dominated by drinks promising stimulation - more focus, more energy, more output. But consumers are pushing back. The market is no longer chasing intensity. It’s chasing balance.

Industry research reinforces the shift. The relaxation beverage segment, once considered niche, is expanding at an extraordinary pace, growing from $368 million in 2021 to a projected $1.27 billion by 2030, reflecting an estimated 15% CAGR. Meanwhile, the broader functional beverage market continues its upward trajectory as more consumers seek drinks that support mental well-being, mood regulation, and stress relief. At the same time, the non-alcoholic and sobriety-curious movement is accelerating - especially among Gen Z, the first generation to consistently consume less alcohol than those before them.

Consumers aren’t chasing a temporary high or a caffeinated jolt. They’re searching for products that help them feel steady, regulated, and emotionally clear. Recess isn’t capitalizing on a passing trend. It’s sitting at the forefront of a cultural and behavioral transition - one where calm becomes the new currency.

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What Comes Next for Recess

With $30 million in new capital, Recess plans to expand nationwide into major retailers and increase digital and subscription growth. The company is preparing to scale distribution the same way it scaled its identity - intentionally.

Key focuses include:

– Expanding into new national retail chains
– Growing e-commerce and subscription-based recurring revenue
– Developing additional calm-forward product formats
– Increasing cultural partnerships in lifestyle, wellness, and entertainment

Recess isn’t chasing market share. It is owning emotional space. What Red Bull did for energy, Recess is doing for equilibrium.

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Final Thoughts

Recess securing $30 million is not just a testament to product-market fit. It’s confirmation that consumers are actively seeking alternatives to anxiety, overstimulation, and burnout. The company didn’t wait for a category to exist. It created one. With product expansion, cultural momentum, and capital to fuel growth, Recess is positioned to become the defining brand of the calm lifestyle movement.

In a world addicted to acceleration, Recess gives consumers permission to pause.