{"id":2019,"date":"2024-05-01T15:21:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T15:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/?p=2019"},"modified":"2026-02-27T21:21:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:21:34","slug":"testing-waters-with-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/2024\/05\/01\/testing-waters-with-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing Waters With Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written By:<\/strong> Christine Stutz<\/p>\n

\n

The passion Kun Yang, PharmD \u201915<\/strong>, has for helping people led him first to the pharmacy profession, and then quite naturally to entrepreneurship in the health and wellness industry. As CEO and founder of Pricklee Cactus Water, Yang and his colleagues are carving out a sliver of the fast-growing hydration beverage market.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2021, Pricklee is a beverage derived from the prickly pear cactus and is a powerhouse of antioxidants, electrolytes, and vitamin C that is naturally low in sugar. Some dub the popular product as the next coconut water.<\/p>\n

According to Grand View Research, the global packaged cactus water market size is expected to reach $73.7 million by 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really hitting our stride,\u201d says Yang, who has launches planned in many new markets after first debuting the health and wellness drink in the American Southwest \u2014 Nevada, Arizona, Southern California, and soon Texas. Bright, colorful packaging and a fun, high-energy brand appeal to Millennials and Generation Z.<\/p>\n

As a father of two and someone who describes himself as passionate about health and wellness, Yang is excited about offering consumers a delicious drink that is natural. \u201cI grew up drinking soda, Gatorade, and Tang, and I want to see the next generation growing up with way better options,\u201d says Yang.<\/p>\n

His business partner, Mo Hassoun, grew up in Lebanon, where his family would enjoy cactus water in the hot summer heat.<\/p>\n

Yang and Hassoun, who is also a pharmacist, met in Boston as postdoctoral students. The idea for Pricklee sprouted when Hassoun shared his family recipe. \u201cOne sip, and we knew we had something special,\u201d says Yang.<\/p>\n

Born in China and raised in Canada, Yang moved to the United States after attending McGill University. When he was ready to apply to pharmacy school, he says, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) appealed strongly to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cUMSOP breathed life into my entrepreneurial spirit through research, networking, and leadership opportunities that were afforded to me via its interdisciplinary network, professional schools, and communities,\u201d Yang says. \u201cLooking back, my time there showed me that I wasn’t solely defined by the letters after my name, and that I could make a greater impact in my career when thinking outside the box and collaborating with people and communities from different walks of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ecosystem is truly rare and diverse in thought, and I encourage all students to take full advantage of the resources and connections that UMSOP offers beyond the four walls of Pharmacy Hall,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When he and Hassoun decided to go into business together, they found the transition relatively easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur pharmacy training laid the foundation of entrepreneurship by providing us with an incredible network and skill set,\u201d says Yang. They were able to present Pricklee on ABC\u2019s \u201cShark Tank\u201d in 2021 and received multiple competing offers from the Sharks. \u201cWe went in with the goal of getting great PR and great advice, and we got both,\u201d Yang says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrepreneurship isn\u2019t for everyone, but if there\u2019s one lesson that we can extrapolate from our experience, it\u2019s that you should always challenge yourself to set the biggest goals possible \u2014 because regardless of the outcome, the growth and self-awareness you will gain is the greatest reward in life you can achieve. They say the journey is the destination, and boy, were they right!\u201d<\/p>\n

Pricklee continues to build off its strong momentum in the Southwest and plans on launching into Whole Foods this year. \u201cWe take extreme pride in being the thought leaders and disruptors of this exciting category, and we\u2019re honored and excited to continue our mission of helping people live healthier and happier lives, naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

This article originally appeared in the\u00a0Spring 2024 issue of Capsule Magazine<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A profile of alumnus Kun Yang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[456,34],"tags":[483,454,480,111],"class_list":["post-2019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-practice","tag-kun-yang","tag-my-umsop-story","tag-my-umsop-story-pharmd-bsp","tag-pharmapreneurship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2019"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2025,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019\/revisions\/2025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.pharmacy.umaryland.edu\/insidesop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}