Milwaukee-based health food startup offers anxiety relief with vitamin-fortified drinks

Satori Food Project Inc. has developed vitamin-fortified drinks that can be made in a Keurig brewer to provide anxiety relief. The K-Cups come in two flavors: twi hot cocoa and mocha latte.

Milwaukee-based Satori was founded in 2019 by UW-Madison Pharmacy School alumnus Kwadwo Owusu-Ofori. The company focuses on producing foods and beverages fortified with vitamins and minerals designed to protect and improve mental health.

Satori’s K-Cups were recently named the top-selling new hot cocoa K-Cup on Amazon Prime. Investors include the National Science Foundation and Global Capital Group out of Milwaukee. Satori is raising $125,000 through investors in their first round of fundraising and has already raised $90,000.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the company, according to Owusu-Ofori.

“We had to change our sales plan dramatically so that we can reach consumers that are now working virtually from home,” he said. 

The pandemic is also predicted to have a continued effect on people’s mental health and well-being. Owusu-Ofori is confident that the twi hot cocoa K-Cups will continue to be a “half step” between psychotherapy and prescription medication for psychiatrists and their patients. He said the K-Cups allow people with various lifestyles to find anxiety relief through this alternative, rather than prescription medications that can sometimes lead to cognitive side-effects and addiction.

Although this product is still in the early stages of introduction into the marketplace, it is predicted to do well in the specific market of loyal K-Cup users and patients of various psychologists and psychiatrists, according to the company. And the cost is similar to other beverage products, such as Starbucks hot chocolate pods.

Since the company’s start, Satori has been recruiting psychiatrists to design and participate in clinical trials for FDA approval. Satori uses magnesium, gamma aminobutyric acid and L-Theanine that are routinely recommended by psychiatrists for anxiety relief and have been proven to work in published human trials. 

The company uses consumer feedback to create an ideal product, and Owusu-Ofori is excited to introduce this product to Wisconsin. 

“Anxiety is an example of a mental illness that is consistently growing,” he said. “Many individuals suffer with different severities, some have situational anxiety, while others suffer from anxiety chronically and long term. Twi is a solution for all cases.”

Satori presented at the virtual 2020 Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium conference in the Elevator Pitch Olympics competition on Nov. 11.

-By Roseanne Crave

Crave is a student at the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.