Darren Linnell, a project manager in commercial real estate development, and his roommate Neil Blewitt were not satisfied with the energy drinks available back in 2010. Both young men were fitness fanatics and competed in a variety of fitness events in and around their home of London, England. They didn't like that all energy drinks had so much sugar and carbohydrates or that the caffeine levels and energy boosts were so extreme and short-lived. Finding nothing to meet their needs, Darren and Neil started experimenting in their kitchen, testing different recipes of mostly natural, plant-based ingredients. They soon found a recipe they really liked. Their fitness friends liked it, too! Within a year, the two realized they had a marketable product. Darren understood that their drink was probably not a breakthrough as a mainstream energy drink, but he recognized that the healthier ingredients seemed to be very appealing to women. He also realized that active women were an extremely underserved market because almost all energy drinks at the time were targeting young men. Darren took his recipe to the food scientists at London's Leatherhead Institute, and soon a specific formulation was developed with a cranberry flavor. With the help of a third roommate, the Aspire name, logo, and graphic design were finalized, and the Aspire energy drink was ready for the market. Initial sales were to London-area nutrition and grocery retailers where the two founders had previously shopped for energy drinks. The novel product was accepted and sold well enough that beverage distributors noticed and inquired about taking Aspire into other markets. And so, sales soon expanded across the UK and into the Netherlands. Of course, the biggest and most attractive market was the United States. Rather than engage = distributor, Darren decided to establish a U.S. company and build the brand in the U.S. directly. Chicago was chosen as the location, and the new Global Headquarters for Aspire Brands, Inc. opened in 2012. Global trademarks were established and the process of caining Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval was put in motion. Soon after Aspire established a home in Chicago, Jewel-Osco, a leading retailer in the Chicago market, took on the product, selling single cans of the Aspire now with two flavors: Cranberry and Mango-Apple. Darren, his wife, and a group of close friends were the sales and marketing team. They