Recess Marketing Strategy: CBD Seltzer to Magnesium

Originally published Nov 2024. Updated Oct 2026.

Recess is a New York relaxation drink brand that launched CBD sparkling water in late 2018 and now earns most of its sales from magnesium drinks. Founder Benjamin Witte shifted the marketing from an ingredient to a daily occasion. By October 2025 the CBD-free Recess Mood line made up more than 95% of sales, according to the company's Series B announcement, and CAVU Consumer Partners led a $30 million round.

How did Recess start as a CBD sparkling water?

Recess started in late 2018 as a sparkling water with 10 mg of broad-spectrum hemp-extract CBD plus botanicals, positioned as a drink for the middle of the workday rather than a supplement. FoodNavigator USA reported the 10 mg figure in September 2022, and the company's own release dates the launch to late 2018.

Witte conceived the brand in 2016, Inc reported in November 2025, and chose the name to stand for a short reset during the day. The product was a vehicle for that idea. A can of Recess was meant to be the thing someone opened at 3 p.m. instead of a coffee.

The early press response was fast. Taste Radio reported in March 2019 that, about three and a half months after launch, Recess had been profiled by The New York Times, Forbes and CNBC, had been nicknamed the "LaCroix of CBD," and had products backordered for weeks.

Why did Recess add a CBD-free Mood line?

Recess added the CBD-free Mood line, which FoodNavigator USA dates to 2020, because the unsettled federal status of CBD kept major retailers from stocking the original drinks. Witte told FoodNavigator USA in September 2022 that regulatory uncertainty at the federal level had held back many large chains, and that he expected Target, Whole Foods and Walmart to be some time away from carrying CBD beverages.

Mood swapped the CBD for magnesium L-threonate, combined with botanicals such as L-theanine, lemon balm and American ginseng, per the same report. Because a drink without CBD could go where CBD could not, the line opened chain accounts the original product could not reach. Mood already represented 40% of the business in September 2022, and Witte expected it to pass 50% by the end of that year.

What does Recess put on the can, and what does it avoid?

Recess keeps its on-pack language to soft, mood-based phrasing instead of treatment claims, and it does not print the amounts of magnesium or botanicals on the Mood line, according to FoodNavigator USA in September 2022. The brand's tagline at the time was built around canning a feeling, not naming an ingredient.

Witte described the strategy as "building a brand, not marketing an ingredient". That choice is what let the product change twice without resetting the brand. Any effect a Recess drink is said to have is the company's own description, and this article does not assess those claims.

How did Recess scale from online sales to national retail?

Recess scaled by lowering its price and widening retail one account group at a time, then by adding a second drinks occasion. In September 2022 Witte said the company had cut the retail price of Mood from $3.99 to $3.49 after moving to larger co-packers, and was adding about 1,000 Albertsons-banner stores, CVS and airport listings through OTG.

By October 2025 the company said it was sold in more than 15,000 stores, including Target, HEB, Kroger, Sprouts, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. It also described itself as the largest alcohol alternative brand on Amazon, which is a company claim and not independently verified here.

On Oct 29, 2025, Recess announced a $30 million Series B led by CAVU Consumer Partners, and named Kyle Thomas, a former global chief commercial officer at Nutrabolt (C4 Energy, Bloom), as President and co-CEO alongside Witte. Per the release, the money was earmarked for growing the team, retail expansion and more marketing. CAVU partner Jared Jacobs framed relaxation as a counterweight to the U.S. energy drink market, which he put at more than $25 billion.

The second occasion is alcohol replacement. Foodbevy's June 8, 2026 roundup reported that Recess entered the club channel with an exclusive 15-pack of Zero Proof Mocktails at select Costco stores, with five cans each of Cosmo, Margarita and Paloma styles.

What can a small beverage brand take from Recess?

A small beverage brand can take three decisions from Recess. First, sell a usage occasion that outlasts any one ingredient, which Witte called "taking a Recess" in 2022 (paraphrased from FoodNavigator USA). Second, keep one product line free of the ingredient with the most regulatory risk, because Mood is what opened chain accounts. Third, use scale in manufacturing to cut the shelf price before chasing wider distribution.

For a different route in the same category, see Spindrift's real-fruit channel strategy, where one label claim stayed fixed while channels widened. The wider set of comparison cases sits in the 25 best beverage marketing campaigns, and the category map is in food and beverage PR by segment.

Recess changed its ingredient, its retailers and its leadership, and kept the same promise: a short break during the day. That consistency is the asset an investor such as CAVU is paying for.