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Elite athletes and top investors are backing a new focus format—one that skips nicotine, caffeine, and energy drinks entirely.
The energy category is changing — and some of the most recognizable names in sports are moving early.
Joe Burrow and Dak Prescott,have joined the latest funding round for Ultra, a nicotine-free functional pouch brand built for clean, sustained focus.
Ultra just closed an $11 million Series A, led by Left Lane Capital, with participation from top CPG founders (Harry’s, Grüns, Rockstar Energy) and elite athletes who understand performance pressure better than most.
This isn’t another energy drink deal.
It’s a bet on an entirely new delivery system for performance.
Ultra makes nicotine-free, caffeine-free functional pouches designed to support focus without addiction, crashes, or mystery ingredients.
The format is familiar — discreet, portable, ritual-based — but the intent is different.
Instead of nicotine or high-dose caffeine, Ultra’s formula centers on paraxanthine, a caffeine metabolite delivered via Enfinity®, paired with functional ingredients like L-theanine, Alpha GPC, B vitamins, and ginseng extract. The pouches are plant-based, sugar-free, and designed for moments that demand clarity: deep work, training, travel, or winding down.
Founder and CEO Eric Drymer explains the origin clearly:
“Like a lot of people, I switched to pouches after learning about nicotine’s cognitive effects. But nicotine is still addictive. I didn’t want to trade long-term health for short-term focus. Ultra exists to give people a clean, guilt-free option in a format they already love.”
Ultra isn’t anti-nicotine — it’s pro-optional. Clean focus, without dependence.
Ultra launched in May 2025.
Within its first six months, the company sold over 1 million cans, making it the #1 nicotine-free pouch brand globally — a pace rarely seen in modern CPG.
Even more interesting: Roughly 30% of Ultra customers report never using nicotine products at all.
That data point matters. Ultra isn’t just a step-down solution. It’s pulling in a new consumer who wants focus as a ritual, not as a stimulant.
From a market perspective, oral pouches are one of the fastest-growing categories in consumer goods.
The nicotine segment led the charge:
That growth turned oral pouches from a niche product into a mainstream behavior.
Now, brands like Ultra are pushing the category forward — using the same form factor to deliver functional benefits without nicotine or caffeine.
Left Lane Capital CEO Harley Miller framed it simply:
“Consumers want cleaner performance habits in formats that fit real life. Ultra is defining what functional pouches can look like at scale.”
This is the same playbook we’ve seen before:
Pouches are next.
For elite athletes, energy isn’t about hype — it’s about control.
That’s why names like Burrow and Prescott are involved here. Not as sponsors, but as investors.
Ultra fits how high performers actually live:
It’s not about more energy.
It’s about cleaner focus, on demand.
This isn’t an energy drink story.
It’s a format shift.
Ultra is betting that the future of performance isn’t louder, stronger, or more extreme — it’s cleaner, more intentional, and easier to integrate into real life.
With athlete backing, rapid early traction, and a category projected to hit $25B, Ultra is positioning itself early in what looks like the next major performance ritual.
Not another supplement.
Not another stimulant.
A new lane entirely.
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