Romy Raad

Post-pitch story

Romy Raad pitched Metabrew as a smarter energy drink — plant-based, superfood-packed bottled coffees and teas for people who wanted the buzz without the junk. The timing looked perfect: the "better-for-you" beverage wave was just cresting, and Metabrew rode it onto real retail shelves across Brooklyn and Manhattan, winning coverage as part of the Bulletproof-style functional coffee trend. For a while, the bottles were genuinely out there in the world. But the beverage business is one of the hardest in consumer goods — distribution is expensive, margins are thin, and shelf space is war — and Metabrew eventually wound down. Raad took the lessons with her. She's now a brand consultant and business strategist based in Montreal, advising CPG startups and global food brands — in other words, she turned the hard-won expertise of building a beverage brand into a career helping others do it. Metabrew is gone from the shelves, but its founder is still very much in the food business, just on the strategy side of the table. It's a reminder that a shut-down company isn't always a failed founder — sometimes it's a tuition payment.