Ashley Selman

Ashley Selman is the co-founder and chief executive officer of heywell, a Chicago-based functional sparkling water brand formulated with adaptogens, antioxidants, and organic caffeine.^[1] She and co-founder Britt Dougherty launched the company in 2019 after spending a combined 25 years as marketing executives at MillerCoors, where Selman rose to vice president of brand marketing and helped build Blue Moon Brewing Company into the top-selling craft beer in the United States.^[20][10]

heywell debuted at Foxtrot Market in Chicago in March 2020 — weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down retail — and the founders pivoted to direct-to-consumer channels to survive.^[2] The brand grew organically, doubling revenue year over year with minimal marketing spend, and reached profitability before raising outside capital.^[1][8] By early 2025, heywell was carried in approximately 2,000 stores — including Erewhon, Wegmans, and Central Market — and announced an expansion into nearly 900 additional doors with Target, The Fresh Market, and Hy-Vee.^[1]

Selman was selected as a 2024 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow and heywell was named to Oprah's Favorite Things in 2022.^[14][5] The brand is certified as a women-owned business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council and donates one percent of sales to nonprofits that advocate for inclusion.^[20]

Selman earned a Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis in 1993.^[20] She subsequently studied at La Sorbonne in Paris, completing a certificate in the Cours de Civilisation Française.^[20]

She began her career in advertising as an account director at Thompson-Murray from 1999 to 2001 before transitioning into the beverage industry.^[10]

MillerCoors (2001–2018)

Selman joined MillerCoors — then Coors Brewing Company — in 2001 as a field marketing manager.^[20] Over the next seventeen years she held progressively senior roles across channel marketing, brand management, and portfolio strategy, ultimately becoming vice president of brand marketing overseeing the imports, premium, and economy portfolios.^[10][20]

A defining chapter of her MillerCoors tenure was her work on Blue Moon Brewing Company. As brand manager from 2007 to 2009, and later as senior marketing director of the craft, cider, and prestige imports portfolio, Selman helped build Blue Moon into the number-one craft beer brand in the United States and oversaw the development of the brand's first standalone brewery in Denver.^[20][10]

It was at MillerCoors that Selman met Britt Dougherty, who held a parallel marketing career at the company. The two were frequently the only women in marketing at the vice-president level.^[20]

By the time both left the company in 2018, they had accumulated more than 25 combined years of beverage industry experience spanning brand strategy, channel marketing, and portfolio management — expertise that would form the operational foundation of heywell.^[20][5]

heywell — Founding and launch (2019–2020)

The idea for heywell emerged from a frustration Selman and Dougherty shared during their corporate careers: wellness beverages consistently prioritized function over flavor, used intimidating ingredient language, or were priced and marketed in ways that felt exclusionary.^[10][5] After years of building brands for MillerCoors, the two decided to build one of their own — a sparkling water formulated with adaptogens like ashwagandha, L-theanine, and lemon balm that would taste good enough to drink every day.^[7][1]

They incorporated Good Beverage LLC in 2019 and developed the brand while working out of a Foxtrot Market location in Chicago — the same retailer that would become heywell's first wholesale account.^[7][3] The product launched commercially in March 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the retail landscape.^[2]

The timing was catastrophic for a brand built on in-store discovery. Retailers shifted focus to essential goods, and consumer shopping patterns changed overnight. Rather than retreating, Selman and Dougherty pivoted to direct-to-consumer channels — building distribution through platforms like SnackMagic, GoPuff, and Good Eggs — while maintaining a presence at Foxtrot, where heywell became a best-seller.^[2][18]

heywell — Growth and retail expansion (2021–2023)

heywell tripled its volume from 2020 to 2021 and was on track for one million dollars in revenue by 2022.^[5][16] In May 2022, the company closed a seed investment from Sybilla Masters Fund, a venture fund focused on women-founded companies.^[5][16] That same year, heywell was named a finalist for the NEXTY Award for Best New Beverage of the Year at Natural Products Expo West and a finalist in BevNET's New Beverage Showdown.^[17][5] The brand was also included in Oprah's Favorite Things.^[5]

In 2023, heywell expanded into specialty and natural retailers including Wegmans, Heinen's, Harmons, and Gelson's, while tripling its Amazon business.^[11][19] The company also launched a limited-edition Cherry Limeade flavor in collaboration with Foxtrot Market.^[7] Throughout this period, the brand grew without a dedicated marketing budget, relying instead on product quality, retailer relationships, and word of mouth.^[1]

heywell — Profitability and national expansion (2024–present)

In 2024, heywell closed a strategic funding round led by Alethia Venture Partners.^[4] The company tripled its direct-to-consumer business and doubled its overall revenue year over year, reaching profitability through organic growth.^[1][8] Selman and Dougherty presented at BevNET Live Summer 2024 in New York on building a customer-centric brand platform.^[6] New product launches during this period included a Lemon Fizz flavor supporting energy and hydration.^[12]

In February 2025, heywell announced its largest retail expansion to date: nearly 900 new store doors with Target, The Fresh Market, Hy-Vee, Fresh Thyme, and Mariano's, bringing the brand's total retail footprint to approximately 2,900 stores.^[1] The company simultaneously launched its first-ever paid marketing campaign.^[1] According to SPINS data for the 52 weeks ending January 26, 2025, heywell was outpacing the flavored sparkling water category by five times.^[1] At Natural Products Expo West in March 2025, the company announced an additional investment round ahead of a planned Series A.^[8]

In 2026, heywell continued to expand its product line with limited-time offerings including a calm + restore Sparkling Green Apple Pineapple.^[9]

Selman was selected as a 2024 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow in the Food & Beverage category for Illinois, a national fellowship program for women entrepreneurs.^[14]

heywell was named a 2022 NEXTY Award finalist for Best New Beverage of the Year at Natural Products Expo West and a finalist in BevNET's New Beverage Showdown the same year.^[17][5] The brand was included in Oprah's Favorite Things in 2022.^[5] heywell is WBENC-certified as a women-owned business.^[20]

Selman is based in the Chicago metropolitan area.^[1] heywell donates one percent of sales to nonprofits that advocate for inclusion, a commitment Selman has said is rooted in her experience as a woman in the male-dominated beer industry.^[20]