In this new series, TCU Magazine visits with alumni in the food and beverage industry. Send recommendations to tcumagazine@tcu.edu.

The year he graduated, Cooper Neel ’24 launched Coop NeuroRefreshers, a line of sparkling teas crafted with medicinal herbs to fuel the mind; his goal is to serve and give back to those with learning differences. Neel, who grew up with multiple learning differences, began by concocting drink flavors in his home kitchen in the Philadelphia area. Coop NeuroRefreshers are now produced in New Jersey and sold online and in select grocers and retailers in the Northeast. This fall, the line of beverages is coming to Whole Foods locations in Fort Worth and Dallas.

What is a NeuroRefresher?

We’re trying to create a new category of beverages — NeuroRefreshers are sparkling iced teas designed to invigorate and enhance mental wellbeing. We have eight herbs in it: lemon balm, reishi, passion flower, holy basil, ginseng, angelica, ashwagandha and lion’s mane. All these different herbs work together to create this delicious, healthy but also brain-boosting tea. We really wanted to make it a better-for-you energy drink. When we went to pick the ingredients for the drink, we were very intentional about it being non-GMO and natural ingredients.

What are the flavors and which is your favorite?

We have two caffeinated varieties: the Mango Sparkling Yerba Mate and the Raspberry Lemon Sparkling Green Tea. And we have two caffeine-free varieties: Strawberry Jalapeño Sparkling Rooibos and the Blueberry Lavender Sparkling Chamomile. I love them all, but if I had to pick one, I love the strawberry jalapeño.

How did your degree in communication studies help with starting a business?

What I love about communications is it’s very versatile; you use it in many different industries. Whenever I pitched the product, the Communicating Effectively courses I took really helped me. A big part of getting your product into stores is being able to talk to managers about your brand in a succinct but meaningful way.

One-fifth of Coop NeuroRefreshers’ profits go to the Coop Learning Differences Fund. Photo by Eric Schaeffer

What was the process of starting your business?

I started in the kitchen experimenting with different teas, berries and ingredients, boiling them together like a syrup and then mixing it and having family and friends try it. The hardest part is that doesn’t translate into being able to put it into a can. You have to find a company — they’re called flavor houses or beverage development companies — and they take that kitchen formula and create it and scale it up so it’s commercially viable.

Then you have to create the brand. Our can design is very unique because we worked with an artist in the UK, Matt Johnstone. What’s cool about our Coop logo is that each of the different letters depicts a different learning difference. The C is dyslexia, the O is dyscalculia, O is dyspraxia and the P is dysgraphia.

You’ve got to build a website. You have to go and pitch the product. What my intern and I were doing last summer was going door-to-door in my hometown, Villanova, Pennsylvania, telling the story about Coop NeuroRefreshers.

What’s next for your business?

Get into as many doors as possible; the ultimate goal is to support people who learn differently. I really want to use it to show kids who learn differently that there’s nothing that they can’t do. When I was growing up, I was discouraged and at one point I didn’t even think I would go to college.

We are going to give a portion of the proceeds to different organizations dedicated to learning differences like AIM Academy, which is the high school I went to for bright kids who learn differently. They really help you figure out how to advocate for yourself, which played a big role when I came to TCU.

Editor’s Note: The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.