Stephen and Ayesha Curry are coming for the sports drink market—and their kids were the first focus group

Stephen and Ayesha Curry are globally famous and could probably get, well, pretty much anyone to pick up the phone. But when they needed just the right audience to taste test whether a nutritious sports drink they were considering backing was going to be a hit, they turned to the most discerning audience they knew: Their own kids. 

“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........

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