Taste Radio

Richard Laver’s first beverage brand is named after his daughter Kate. He named the second one, Lucky F*ck, after himself. A former professional tennis player, Laver became an entrepreneur out of necessity. Kate was born with cerebral palsy and couldn’t eat solid foods nor was able to tolerate tube-feeding formulas. Frustrated with the lack of better-for-you options for his daughter, he created a protein shake made with plant-based ingredients and free from common allergens. The beverage helped Kate thrive, and Laver, sensing it could benefit others, commercialized the product, launching Kate Farms in 2012. The brand has since become the most recommended plant-based formula in U.S. hospitals. Two months after Kate Farms closed on a $75 million dollar Series C funding round in September 2022, Laver stepped away from the company and set his sights on another beverage category he viewed as ripe for disruption: energy drinks. The goal was to create what he describes as an “anti-brand” akin to Liquid Death. The re