U
Urge
Functional candy. Starting with lollipops — a new format every year. We're building the candy brand for people who actually give a damn about what they put in their bodies.
Chicago, IL
F&F Round · $300K
Consumer Food · Functional
US + Mexico
SAFE
Two founders. Same gap. Different room.
A John Summit show.
Everyone was holding a lollipop.
Everyone was holding a lollipop.
Not eating them. Holding them. Working them. It was a prop, a flirt, something to do with your hands at midnight when you're deep in a set and the last thing you want is a drink. I kept watching it happen — not once, not a few people. Everyone. And the product they were all holding was a hundred-year-old piece of sugar on a stick that did absolutely nothing.
I didn't see a gap in the market. I saw something obvious that no one had bothered to fix.
Same week. Different part of Chicago.
Ivan was at Whole Foods with his two kids, reading the back of every candy package on the shelf. Looking for something functional. Something cleaner. Something that didn't taste like it was trying to be healthy. The shelves were full of compromises — either it tastes like candy and does nothing, or it has something in it and tastes like a supplement in a wrapper.
Two founders. Two completely different rooms. The exact same hole in the market.
I didn't see a gap in the market. I saw something obvious that no one had bothered to fix.
Same week. Different part of Chicago.
Ivan was at Whole Foods with his two kids, reading the back of every candy package on the shelf. Looking for something functional. Something cleaner. Something that didn't taste like it was trying to be healthy. The shelves were full of compromises — either it tastes like candy and does nothing, or it has something in it and tastes like a supplement in a wrapper.
Two founders. Two completely different rooms. The exact same hole in the market.
The Brand Thesis
We started with lollipops because that's what I saw at the show. But this isn't a lollipop company. The plan is one new candy format per year — build the brand so strong that every launch is an event. Liquid Death did it with water. Poppi did it with soda. Both started with one product nobody thought could be reinvented. The candy aisle is way more broken than either of those categories were. We have more room to run.
The Market — Why This Is the Right Moment
$7.8B
Global lollipop market 2026 — growing to $11.6B by 2035
9.4%
Sugar-free lollipop CAGR 2025–30 — fastest-growing segment, outpacing conventional 2x
$68B
Global functional confectionery 2024 — projected $136B by 2033 at 8% CAGR
60%
US consumers actively seeking low-sugar snacks — per FDA data
The US lollipop market did $568M in the last 52 weeks. At ~$0.60 per unit, that's roughly 940 million lollipops sold annually — about 2.6 million consumed every single day in the US alone. At 10–15 minutes per pop, somewhere between 500,000 and 1.2 million Americans are actively sucking a lollipop at any given moment. None of them are getting anything from it. That's the entire pitch.
Who This Is For
The Night Out
EDM festivals, concerts, gay bars. The oral fixation is already happening. Urge makes it functional. Something to share, something to talk about, something that works for you while the music does.
The Sober-Curious
People choosing to not drink who still want something in their hands. A social prop that actually does something — hydrates, energizes, recovers. No mocktail required.
The Everyday
DTC subscription, health food, Hispanic grocery, fitness expos. Zero sugar, real function. The person who wants better and won't settle for candy that's just candy.
The Product — Two SKUs. Two Moments.
Sugar-free hard candy lollipops. Isomalt + erythritol base. Zero sugar, zero calories. Classified as conventional food under 21 CFR Part 101 — not a supplement. No compliance burden. No Supplement Facts panel. Just candy that works. Every ingredient GRAS or FDA-approved.
SKU 1 — Hydration
Berry · Cherry · Tropical
270mg sodium citrate · 135mg potassium citrate · 70mg elemental magnesium · 334mg Vitamin C — per pop.
Two pops = 33% DV Mg, 742% DV Vitamin C. "Electrolytes support proper hydration."
SKU 2 — Energy
Mango · Tamarindo · Tropical
750mcg B12 (methylcobalamin) · 5mg B5 · 1.5mg B6 · 13mg elemental zinc · 222mg Vitamin C — per pop.
Two pops = 62,500% DV B12. "B-vitamins contribute to normal energy metabolism."
Flavor strategy: No more Cherry Red Blow Pop energy. Think Berry Red Hot. Tropical profiles built for Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ibiza — and the communities Urge is made for. As the brand expands, the flavors travel with it. The name "Urge" is doing work here: it implies desire, impulse, something you reach for. Our flavor names will be written to match.
Go-to-Market — Where Urge Lives
Distribution Strategy
We go where the behavior already is. Festivals, gay bars, LGBTQ+ events, nightlife venues, fitness events — places where people are already holding something in their hands and could be holding something better. DTC online for the daily subscriber. And cannabis dispensaries — a channel we're quietly excited about, because dispensary customers are already spending on functional, feel-good products and skipping alcohol. Urge fits that shelf naturally.
The difference between us and every other brand trying to reach these communities: we don't have to try. Omar has spent years inside Chicago's music and LGBTQ scene — not as a marketer, as a person. These are his people. The relationships that seed a brand like this aren't bought. They're lived. Year one distribution doesn't start with cold outreach. It starts with a text.
The difference between us and every other brand trying to reach these communities: we don't have to try. Omar has spent years inside Chicago's music and LGBTQ scene — not as a marketer, as a person. These are his people. The relationships that seed a brand like this aren't bought. They're lived. Year one distribution doesn't start with cold outreach. It starts with a text.
Target Festival + Event Segments (Midwest-First Strategy)
| Event | Type | Attendance | Region | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Pride Parade | LGBTQ+ Anchor | 1,000,000 | Chicago | Mass LGBTQ+ — the Urge heartland |
| Summerfest (WI) | Anchor | 555,925 | Midwest | Mass-market music festival |
| North Coast Music Festival | Anchor | 90,000 | Chicago | EDM / Chicago flagship |
| Northalsted Market Days | LGBTQ+ Regional | 100,000 | Chicago | LGBTQ+ street festival |
| Arc Music Festival | Regional | 60,000 | Chicago | Deep house / electronic |
| Lost Lands (OH) | Regional | 40,000 | Midwest | Bass, EDM |
| Movement Detroit | Regional | 30,000 | Midwest | Techno |
| Beyond Wonderland (IL) | Regional | 25,000 | Chicago | EDM |
| Indy 500 Snake Pit | Regional | 25,000 | Indianapolis | EDM |
| PrideFest Milwaukee | LGBTQ+ Regional | 46,168 | Midwest | LGBTQ+ festival |
Cannabis Retail — The Emerging Channel
Dispensary customers are already seeking functional, feel-good products without alcohol. The Urge positioning is a natural fit — sober-curious, wellness-forward, social-occasion-driven.
RISE Cannabis · Sunnyside / Cresco
Curaleaf · Zen Leaf / Verano
Trulieve · Multi-state operators
Curaleaf · Zen Leaf / Verano
Trulieve · Multi-state operators
Projected Festival Revenue (Midwest Only)
Total addressable Midwest festival attendance: 885,925
@ 1% conversion
$177K
@ 2% conversion
$354K
Venue targets include: Salt Shed (7,000 cap), Radius Chicago (4,000), Concord Music Hall (1,490), Sidetrack Chicago (LGBTQ+ nightlife), PRYSM Chicago. Fitness crossover: HYROX Chicago, Illinois Marathon Weekend — recovery use case for the hydration SKU.
The Business Case
72.5%
Gross margin per pack — exceptional for CPG
$14.50
Gross profit per 10-pack @ $20 DTC price
$400K
Revenue from Run 1 (20K packs)
$446K
Projected cash position end of Year 1
Run 1 Unit Economics
Per Pop / Per Pack
Production cost / pop: $0.55
Landed cost / pop: $0.56
COGS / 10-pack: $5.62
DTC price / 10-pack: $20.00
Gross profit / pack: $14.50
Gross margin: 72.5%
Landed cost / pop: $0.56
COGS / 10-pack: $5.62
DTC price / 10-pack: $20.00
Gross profit / pack: $14.50
Gross margin: 72.5%
Run 1 Total (250K Pops)
Total pops produced: 250,000
Sampling allocation: 50,000 pops
Sellable packs: 20,000
Total landed COGS: $140,500
Revenue: $400,000
Gross profit: $259,500
Sampling allocation: 50,000 pops
Sellable packs: 20,000
Total landed COGS: $140,500
Revenue: $400,000
Gross profit: $259,500
3-Run Scaling — Cost Goes Down, Margins Go Up
A $300,000 investment positions Urge to generate approximately $1.44M in enterprise value within the first year. Run 1 cash flow ends the year at $446K — self-funded from sales, with enough in the bank to initiate Run 2 without raising again.
Capital Allocation — $255K of $300K Deployed
| Line Item | Budget | % of Total | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D (2 SKUs) | $10,000 | 3.9% | Formulation, sampling, stability testing, flavor iterations |
| Manufacturing (250K pops, landed) | $140,500 | 55.1% | Core mfg, ingredients, actives, labor, primary packaging, freight |
| Marketing + Sampling | $60,000 | 23.5% | 50K sampling pops, festival activation, PR seeding, influencers, small paid media |
| Fulfillment / DTC Setup | $15,000 | 5.9% | Shopify, 3PL setup, inserts, shipping materials |
| Legal / IP / G&A | $10,000 | 3.9% | Incorporation, insurance, trademarks, bookkeeping |
| Working Capital Reserve | $19,500 | 7.7% | Freight variances, packaging overages, buffer |
$45,000 of the $300K raise is held as operational reserve — not deployed to launch costs. Monthly burn: $10–13K. Breakeven: 1,500 packs/month. Cash-flow positive above 2,000 packs/month. Runway: 12–14 months.
12-Month Cash Flow
| Phase | Period | Activity | Packs Sold | Revenue | Cash (Cumulative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raise | Month 0 | F&F capital deposited | — | — | $300,000 |
| Build | M1–M2 | R&D + deposits + production + freight | 0 | $0 | $149,500 |
| Launch | M3 | Pre-launch, site live, first sales | 600 | $12,000 | $155,500 |
| Early Traction | M4–M5 | DTC launch + first festival events | 3,850 | $77,000 | $204,500 |
| Ramp | M6–M7 | Events + DTC ramp | 5,000 | $100,000 | $264,500 |
| Peak | M8 | Festival activation peak | 2,650 | $53,000 | $307,500 |
| Sustain | M9–M10 | Steady ops + PR push | 4,450 | $89,000 | $382,500 |
| Optimize | M11–M12 | Reorder planning + year-end | 3,450 | $69,000 | $446,500 |
The Ask — Friends & Family Round
$300K
SAFE · Pre-Money Valuation TBD · You are an early believer. That comes with better terms.
Round Structure
First 50% — Early Believers
Better SAFE terms for the people who say yes before the proof exists. This is the tranche you want to be in.
Better SAFE terms for the people who say yes before the proof exists. This is the tranche you want to be in.
Second 50%
Standard SAFE terms. Still early, still pre-product, still a founder bet.
Standard SAFE terms. Still early, still pre-product, still a founder bet.
Pro-rata rights in next round
F&F investors get the right to maintain ownership when we raise again. Your early belief benefits you at scale.
F&F investors get the right to maintain ownership when we raise again. Your early belief benefits you at scale.
Quarterly transparency
Updates on DTC data, event activations, production milestones. You're a partner, not a passive check.
Updates on DTC data, event activations, production milestones. You're a partner, not a passive check.
What $300K Does
R&D + IP locked — formulas owned by Urge from day one
250K pops manufactured — 20K sellable packs, 50K sampled to market
DTC launch + first 2–3 festival activations — Chicago summer 2026
$446K in bank by end of Year 1 — self-funded from sales, no second raise required to reach Run 2
After This Round — Two Paths
Path A — Stay organic: $300K + $77K retained sustains 12 months. Self-fund Run 2 from Run 1 cash. The business reaches positive cash flow without ever raising venture. ·
Path B — Raise venture: After 90–120 days of DTC data, proven CAC and repeat rate, and at least one scalable distribution relationship — raise a $1–3M pre-seed. Acceleration across all channels, including Dulces Anáhuac's distribution network across the US Hispanic market and Mexico.
Why This Won't Be Copied — 5 Reasons
1
The category is completely unclaimed
Zollipops does Vitamin C. Electropops does electrolytes. Nobody does both — sugar-free, tropical-forward, festival-native, clinical-dose, built in Mexico. The white space is documented.
2
Mexico manufacturing is a structural moat
Our manufacturing partner in Mexico (name withheld for privacy in this document — available on request) brings decades of confectionery history, export certifications, 35+ country distribution, and the institutional knowledge of how to integrate active ingredients into hard candy at scale. Not replicable.
3
The US Hispanic market is the unlock
65M+ US Hispanic consumers and almost no functional food brands speaking to them. We're not trying to market to this community — we're from it. Omar is Puerto Rican and Guatemalan. The manufacturing is in Mexico. The flavors are built around these palates. You can't fake that from the outside.
4
Regulatory clarity gives us a head start
Conventional food classification (21 CFR 101) — no supplement registration, no NDI notifications. Competitors building functional candy as dietary supplements carry compliance burden that slows them down. We built around it from day one.
5
The brand is the moat
Anyone can copy a formula. Nobody can copy a brand born at a John Summit show, built by founders who actually live in these communities, packaged by a designer who came from Hims & Hers (name available on request), and seeded through relationships that took years to earn. The formula gets you on the shelf. The brand is why people come back.
Competitive Landscape
| Brand | Sugar-Free | Electrolytes | B-Vitamins | Clinical Doses | MX Mfg | Festival Native |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urge ✦ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Zollipops | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electropops | ✓ | ✓ | — | Partial | — | — |
| Dr. John's Vitamin Pops | ✓ | — | — | Partial | — | — |
| YumEarth | — | — | — | — | ✓ | — |
Manufacturing — Three Paths Evaluated
Direct Mexico Partner — Preferred Path
We have identified and are in active discussions with a manufacturing partner based in Mexico — a decades-old institution with government export certifications, a 35+ country distribution network, and deep knowledge of hard candy lollipop production including functional ingredient integration. Name withheld in this document for privacy, as it is shared broadly. Full details available on request.
This partner is expected to provide turnkey capability (formulation + manufacturing + transport to US) at a projected 35–45% cost reduction vs. other options.
This partner is expected to provide turnkey capability (formulation + manufacturing + transport to US) at a projected 35–45% cost reduction vs. other options.
| Option | Main Pro | Main Con | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| A — Brass Intl. Broker / Turnkey |
Fastest to market. Novel formats (fizzy center + glow stick). Handles import + warehousing. | No visibility into ingredient cost breakdown. MOQ 250K total. Less founder involvement. | $192.5K |
| B — Victus Arts R&D only |
Lower MOQs. Works with largest US lollipop manufacturer. Founders in the lab. | R&D only — separate production needed. Timeline may push to Q4. | $172K |
| C — Knechtel Labs R&D only, Chicago |
Local Chicago. Highly respected in confectionery. Lower MOQs. | R&D only. Must source separate co-manufacturer. Higher R&D cost. | $35K R&D |
Decision pending direct Mexico partner quote. Final vendor selection after comparing full quotes and IP terms. All paths lead to a 250K pop pilot run.
Product Roadmap
Aug '25
Origin — John Summit show. The idea is born.
Omar observes lollipop behavior in the crowd. Identifies the gap. Brings the concept to Ivan.
Aug–Dec '25
Research — 50+ manufacturers evaluated, Mexico partner found
R&D firms engaged. Founders meeting directly with manufacturers. Mexico partner identified — decades of lollipop production, willing to lead formulation.
Jan '26–Now
Product development — ingredients, formulation, taste
Active development with Mexico partner. SKUs scoped. Ingredient stack locked. Taste iterations underway. First run arriving April 23rd.
NOW
F&F round open. Chicago Food Expo debut April 23rd.
Round closes → IP locked → manufacturing deposit → scale.
Q2 '26
DTC launch + first Chicago festival activations
Pre-launch waitlist activates. First 600 packs sold in M3. First festival activation in M5. North Coast, Pride, Arc.
Q3 '26
Peak festival season — maximum sampling + conversion
M8 target: 2,650 packs. Cash position crosses $300K. DTC subscription live. Bank at $307.5K.
Year 2
Run 2 (500K pops) + new candy format
Self-funded. $1M revenue target from Run 2 alone. First new candy format added to the brand. Possible $1–3M pre-seed venture raise.
Team
Two founders who found the same gap from opposite directions. One at a show at midnight. One in the Whole Foods candy aisle with his kids.
OA
Omar Alvarez — Co-Founder & CEO LinkedIn ↗
Ex-Nike · Levi's · LVMH · Hilton · Hims & Hers · Kendo · Founder, Kinnect
Puerto Rican and Guatemalan. Gay, first-generation. I've spent ten years at Nike, Levi's, LVMH, Hims & Hers — learning how brands actually get built. I was at the John Summit show. I found the manufacturing partner in Mexico. I'm also building Kinnect separately. I know how to start things from nothing and make them real — and I understand the communities Urge is for because I'm in them.
PD
Packaging Designer name available on request
Ex-Hims & Hers · Brand & Packaging Design
The person designing Urge's packaging and visual identity built their career at one of the most design-forward CPG brands of the last decade. For a brand where the product is held in someone's hand at a festival or a bar, packaging isn't decoration — it's the pitch. Having this caliber of design expertise at the table this early is not normal.
IM
Ivan Momchilov — Co-Founder & Head of Product LinkedIn ↗
Co-Founder · Chicago, IL · ivan@tasteurge.com
Ivan leads Digital Transformation and Operations at Sheer Logistics, a recognized 4PL provider where he has helped scale multi-million-dollar revenue streams and guided the company through M&A. He's spent over a decade turning complex, fragmented operations into systems that actually perform — across 3PL, cold-chain, and enterprise logistics. He's a data-driven builder who moves fast. Urge is his second venture in parallel.
The Ask
We have a manufacturer in Mexico who believed in this enough to lead the formula and cover the first run. We have a designer from Hims & Hers building the packaging. We debut at the Chicago Food Expo on April 23rd.
This is a $300K friends & family round. No pitch deck theater. Just people who know us, getting in early.
The window to be early is right now.
This is a $300K friends & family round. No pitch deck theater. Just people who know us, getting in early.
The window to be early is right now.
Omar's calendar is open.
30 minutes. Any questions. No pressure.