Hydrate Naturally, Walk Lighter: How Two Founders Are Scaling Bold Visions into National Brands They're proving that mission-led brands can grow fast and stay rooted in what matters.

Clean kicks and cactus sips?

It might sound like the start of a dad joke, but it's the growth strategy behind two thoughtful consumer brands. Meet the founders turning hydration and footwear into full-blown movements: Kun Yang, co-founder and CEO of Pricklee, and Steve Patiño, founder and CEO of Ales Grey.

Both brands are rooted in personal stories and inspiring missions. Pricklee is reimagining wellness beverages made with real food ingredients. Ales Grey is proving that sustainable, U.S.-made shoes can deliver lasting comfort. They are both supported by BIZ Experiences Ventures and recently partnered with SHOPLINE, a fully integrated platform to power unified omnichannel e-commerce experiences. At a time when consumers want more from the products they purchase, these founders are offering a new blueprint for success.

Pricklee: Replacing artificial with authentic

Pricklee started with a simple frustration: why were so many "healthy" drinks still packed with artificial dyes, sweeteners, and hard-to-pronounce chemicals? Kun Yang and his co-founder Mo Hassoun, both pharmacists at the time, thought of a solution. During Hassoun's childhood, his family produced a natural drink made from prickly pear cactus, a hydrating, antioxidant-rich fruit that's environmentally sustainable. Why not produce this drink at scale?

"We wanted to create a product we'd feel good giving our own kids," Yang says. "And we saw an opportunity to uplift an overlooked supply chain at the same time."

After hundreds of recipe tests and plenty of weekends at farmers markets, Pricklee launched in 2021. Their visibility was boosted by an appearance on Shark Tank. Soon, the drink landed on the shelves of Whole Foods, Sprouts, HEB, and other natural retailers.

"We were obsessed with understanding our customers: what they cared about, where they shopped, what they avoided," Yang explains. That feedback shaped everything from ingredients to branding and positioning.

The nostalgic family recipe is now a fast-growing wellness brand rooted in culture, science, and sustainability, with even bigger ambitions ahead—particularly online. Pricklee recently partnered with SHOPLINE to level up and support their next phase of growth in direct-to-consumer sales. "It's helping us simplify operations while telling a clearer story," Yang says.

Ales Grey: Turning algae into impact

After three decades in global footwear, Steve Patiño wasn't necessarily looking to build another shoe company. But the birth of his son changed everything.

"The company's name is a promise to him," Patiño says. "A vision to make the world a little less gray with less waste, less pollution, and more purpose."

That vision became Ales Grey: a U.S.-based footwear company committed to high-performance, low-impact shoes made from algae bloom, a renewable material that doesn't compete with food systems and requires almost no water waste to produce.

Each pair is molded in one piece, without glue or stitching, and is fully recyclable. Even the packaging is made from compostable seaweed.

Ales Grey now supplies shoes to REI, Nordstrom, and Amazon, and works directly with restaurant chains like Buffalo Wild Wings. Their go-to-market approach includes pilot programs with hospitality workers and event teams, testing the shoes in real-world conditions before scaling production.

"These are need-based products," Patiño says. "When someone wears our shoes for 12 hours and feels the difference, that experience beats any ad."

To support its growing retail and B2B footprint, the brand recently relaunched its website with SHOPLINE, enabling custom QR-code ordering and streamlined operations across teams. "We finally have a system that is fast, clean, and built for scale," Patiño says.

"We're passionate about empowering brands with a mission," says Christopher Yang, co-president of SHOPLINE. "Partnering with Pricklee and Ales Grey has been incredibly inspiring—not only because of their innovative products, but because of the heart and purpose behind them. We're proud to provide a platform that helps fuel their next phase of growth."

Visit SHOPLINE.com to learn how to accelerate your e-commerce business.