There is something very Kristin Cavallari about looking at a category people have simply learned to tolerate and asking why it can't be better. For years, protein drinks have occupied a particular corner of the beverage world. They are functional, practical, and often consumed with a certain amount of determination. You shake the bottle, prepare yourself for the texture, and remind yourself it is good for you. The branding typically speaks in the visual language of gyms, performance and precision.
Cavallari saw room for something entirely different. Her newest venture, Fizzen, arrives with bubbles, real fruit juice, and an invitation to reconsider what drinking your protein can actually feel like. Crack open a cold can, and the experience is closer to reaching into a cooler on a hot afternoon than standing beside a blender with a scoop. The drink contains 20 grams of whey protein isolate, peptides, and essential vitamins and minerals, creating a drink that sits comfortably between wellness and everyday refreshment.
That distinction matters to Cavallari, who has spent years thinking carefully about what she puts into her body without allowing wellness to remove the joy from eating or drinking. "I felt like there was a gap in the market," she explains. "I feel like so many of the functional drinks, they either taste medicinal, have a ton of sugar, or I feel like they're actually just intimidating to your average customer. I wanted to create something that people would genuinely be excited to drink."
Building Trust Through Longevity
It is an uncomplicated explanation, but it captures exactly why Fizzen makes sense as her next move. Cavallari has spent more than two decades in the public eye, but the woman behind Fizzen is not the same person who found fame on The Hills in Orange County, California. Today, she is an entrepreneur, author, and podcast host who has learned that longevity is built differently than celebrity.
People may initially follow a celebrity by name, but they stay when they trust your taste, judgment, and willingness to be honest about what actually belongs in your life. That trust has become one of Cavallari's most valuable forms of currency. Her relationship with wellness has evolved publicly alongside her audience, including through three cookbooks and years of openly discussing the food, habits, and ingredients that shape her routine. Rather than chasing perfection, her approach feels practical and decidedly livable. It is food that tastes good, ingredients she feels good about, products that earn their place in a daily routine, and choices that do not require turning life into a fulltime optimization project. Fizzen slips naturally into that philosophy because it delivers functionality without asking the consumer to become a different type of person.
Overcoming Initial Skepticism
The concept is simple, even if the development behind it was not: protein does not always have to look, taste, or behave like traditional shakes. When Fizzen's founders approached Cavallari with the idea of a sparkling protein drink, even she needed convincing. "When they said a sparkling juice with protein, I was like, that actually sounds disgusting," she admits. "My initial thought was, is this going to be like a thick juice? My mind couldn't really make sense of it."
The skepticism was understandable. Protein has long been associated with dense shakes, powders, and beverages that coat the mouth and linger unpleasantly on the tongue. Fizzen had to undo those expectations while still delivering enough functionality to justify its place in the category. Once Cavallari tasted the formulations, however, her concern gave way to surprise. "I was blown away because you can't taste the protein at all," she says. "It just tastes like a really light, sparkly juice."
The reaction was not limited to Cavallari, and the product quickly won over more than one member of the Cavallari household. Her children were with her and immediately wanted their mother to become involved. "They were like, 'Mom, you have to do this,' because they just wanted to get free Fizzen," she says with a laugh. Beneath the humor was a reaction she found meaningful. Her children had seen the many opportunities placed in front of her over the years, but this was one of the few times they encouraged her to say yes because they genuinely loved the product.
Expanding the Occasion
That endorsement reflected Cavallari's own evolving thinking about the beverage's potential. Fizzen did not need to live exclusively in the narrow window between a workout and a shower. It could become something a consumer reaches for in the morning, tosses into a bag for the afternoon, opens by the pool, drinks between meetings or grabs when water feels a little too plain. For Cavallari, who avoids caffeine later in the day because it can interfere with her sleep, the drink also offered an energizing afternoon ritual without relying on stimulants.
"What I love so much about protein is that it can be consumed at any time of the day," she explains. "This is something you could have in the morning. You could have it before or after a workout. You could have it as an afternoon snack. I have the ability to fit it into my day so effortlessly, where I can have this nice afternoon drink that I know isn't going to keep me up at night."
That wider range of occasions is where Fizzen becomes particularly interesting from an industry perspective. The beverage business is in the middle of a protein boom, but consumers are also becoming increasingly discerning about how functional ingredients enter their lives. The days when "good for you" was enough to excuse an unpleasant texture, questionable ingredients or a flavor profile better suited for a supplement store are disappearing. Wellness has become more lifestyle driven, visually engaging and experience focused, and Fizzen appears built for exactly that shift.
Flavor as a Foundation
The flavor lineup is designed to sound like summer instead of supplementation, including Strawberry Lemonade, Grapefruit, Watermelon and Pineapple. Fizzen looks like something consumers might want to drink before they ever stop to study what it does for them. That visual and gustatory appeal matters because while some consumers may purchase a functional beverage once because of an ingredient story, repeat purchase happens because the drink is genuinely enjoyable.
Cavallari's own experience reflects this dynamic. Her preference has since shifted to Peach Mango, though her excitement for the lineup seems rooted less in choosing one winner and more in the fact that the products taste like recognizable fruit drinks rather than disguised supplements. The sparkling texture keeps Fizzen feeling light and refreshing in ways that heavier protein beverages can feel more like a task than a treat.
The versatility extends beyond traditional wellness occasions. During the interview, Cavallari revealed that she had recently mixed Fizzen with tequila and found the combination surprisingly delicious. It was an offhand comment, but it hinted at another compelling possibility for the brand. A product designed for the morning or postworkout window could also move into entertaining, hospitality and alcohol-free or low-alcohol menu occasions, particularly as consumers become more interested in beverages that blur the lines between function, refreshment and social enjoyment.
Reframing Protein
Fizzen's greatest advantage may be that consumers do not need to become a different type of person to drink it. They do not have to identify as athletes, count every macro or carry a shaker bottle. The product can sit beside sparkling water, juice and other better-for-you beverages while quietly delivering protein without ceremony or performance. This approach is especially relevant to people who understand the importance of protein but have never felt particularly spoken to by traditional products in the category.
Cavallari is careful, however, not to treat protein as another passing wellness craze. "I really don't like health trends," she says. "I don't think that protein is a trend. I think my issue with health trends is that there is too much emphasis put on them, and now people are living in fear that they're not getting enough protein. I'm just someone who has always been mindful of getting protein in."
For her, Fizzen is not intended to fuel that anxiety. It is simply another convenient way for consumers with active lives to add several grams of protein to their day. That measured perspective helps the brand avoid the more aggressive messaging often attached to functional products. Fizzen is not asking consumers to completely rebuild their routines around a can. It is offering them one more accessible way to make a choice that serves their health.
Ingredient Integrity
The source and quality of the ingredients were equally important to Cavallari. Years of building brands have taught her how easily marketing language can make a product sound more impressive than the formula behind it. She wanted to understand where the protein came from, how it functioned, and whether the quality aligned with the standards she had already established with her audience. "I know how marketing works," she says. "You can get away with saying something is one thing when it kind of isn't. A big thing that was important to me was making sure that the quality of our protein was top-notch."
That scrutiny is central to the relationship she has maintained with her followers. Celebrity-backed products are no longer unusual, particularly in beverages, and the category has become crowded with options. A recognizable name cannot guarantee the first purchase, and it certainly cannot guarantee the second purchase. Cavallari approaches that reality from the perspective of someone whose audience has watched her make business decisions for years. They have also watched her turn down opportunities, adjust course, and become increasingly selective about where she lends her name.
"My audience has grown up with me, and I think they know my authenticity," she says. "I will never put my name on something or get behind something unless I 100 percent believe in it. I think the reason a celebrity brand does well is that you have to live and breathe the brand. The audience can see through it now."
That visibility can be unforgiving, but it can also create a valuable level of accountability. Cavallari believes her audience understands that she will not meaningfully promote something she does not use herself. In the wellness space, that credibility carries particular weight. Consumers are being asked to trust not just how a product tastes, but how carefully it has been formulated and whether the person introducing it has asked the questions they would want answered themselves.
"I hope they know that every ingredient that went into it was consciously thought of," she says. "You can have both a really delicious drink while still getting really good nutrients. You can have ingredient transparency. There are so many brands that say one thing but do another, and I want people to know that if I'm going to get behind a product, it's because I have personally been a
