Blodin Ukella

Blodin Ukella is the founder and chief executive officer of The Ryl Company, a Morristown, New Jersey-based functional beverage company that produces zero-sugar ready-to-drink iced teas.^[1] Born in Kosovo, Ukella fled the country as a child during the Kosovo War and was resettled in New Jersey through a U.S. refugee program.^[14] He founded The Ryl Company in 2022 after holding strategy roles at two health-focused beverage brands, Bai Brands and OWYN, the latter of which was acquired by The Simply Good Foods Company for $280 million in 2024.^[1][2]

Ryl Tea launched in January 2023 with $6.7 million in seed capital and initial distribution in Wegmans and select Whole Foods Market stores across the Northeast.^[1][6] The company raised a $7.5 million Series A in early 2024, a $15 million Series B in April 2025, and a $20 million Series C in June 2026 led by Purchase Capital, bringing total funding to approximately $50 million.^[2][3][4] At the time of the Series C, Ryl Tea had grown 157% year-over-year according to Circana data, while the broader $4.5 billion canned and bottled tea category declined 1.8% over the same period.^[3][4]

In 2024, Forbes named Ukella to its 30 Under 30 list in the Food & Drink category.^[12] The company's investors include country music artist Morgan Wallen, who also serves as a brand ambassador, as well as Palm Tree Crew, Cam Fordham, and Leigh Feuerstein, who serves as chairman.^[9][13]

Blodin Ukella was born in Kosovo, then part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the youngest of three children in an Albanian-Kosovar family.^[14] During the Kosovo War in the late 1990s, his family fled the country and spent six months as refugees in Northern Macedonia before being granted entry to the United States in 1999.^[14] They were resettled through a refugee program in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, which provided rent-free housing.^[14]

Growing up, tea — called çaj in Albanian — was a daily ritual in the Ukella household, used both as a beverage and as a home wellness remedy rooted in traditional Albanian health practices.^[14][1] Ukella has described his experience as a war refugee as giving him "a positive and optimistic approach to life and business."^[14]

Ukella attended Rutgers Business School in Newark and New Brunswick, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance.^[1] He later joined the school's Entrepreneurial Advisory Board.^[1]

Bai Brands (2015–2018)

Ukella began his career in the beverage industry as a data analyst at Bai Brands, the antioxidant-infused enhanced water company.^[1] Bai was acquired by Dr Pepper Snapple Group for approximately $1.7 billion in 2017.^[1] At Bai, Ukella worked under Ken Kurtz, who served as the company's president and who would later join The Ryl Company in the same role.^[18] The experience gave Ukella exposure to the analytics and retail mechanics behind scaling a health-focused consumer brand.^[1]

OWYN (2018–2022)

In September 2018, Ukella joined OWYN (Only What You Need), a plant-based ready-to-drink protein brand, as Head of Strategy.^[1] He rose through successive roles — SVP of Commercial Strategy and then Chief Strategy Officer — over a nearly four-year tenure.^[1][8] OWYN was subsequently acquired by The Simply Good Foods Company for approximately $280 million in 2024.^[2]

Ukella left OWYN in August 2022 to found The Ryl Company.^[1] He has cited his time at both Bai and OWYN — two brands that repositioned legacy beverage categories around functional health benefits — as directly informing his approach to building Ryl Tea.^[8]

The Ryl Company (2022–present)

Founding and launch

Ukella founded The Ryl Company in July 2022.^[1] The founding insight came from the gap between how his family had used tea as a wellness remedy throughout his childhood and what was available in the American ready-to-drink tea market.^[14] "We were shocked to see how most teas consumed in the US are loaded with refined sugar or artificial ingredients that can have negative impacts on human health," Ukella told Telegrafi.^[14]

The company spent nine months developing what it calls Ryl Polyphenol Technology, a proprietary process designed to deliver a consistent 200 milligrams of tea polyphenols in every 16-ounce can.^[6][7] The product launched in January 2023 with four SKUs — Original Green Tea, Peach Black Tea, Raspberry Black Tea, and Lemon Black Tea — sweetened with monk fruit and stevia, containing zero sugar and fewer than five calories per can.^[1][6] The brand carried Non-GMO, OU Kosher, gluten-free, and plant-based certifications.^[6]

Ukella raised $6.7 million in seed capital from strategic investors to fund the launch.^[1][7] Initial retail distribution included Wegmans and select Whole Foods Market stores in the Northeast, with Wakefern (ShopRite) and Sprouts Farmers Market following shortly after.^[1][8] At launch, Ukella framed the brand's strategy not as disruption of the existing tea category but as what he called an "additive revolution" — bringing wellness-oriented consumers into the tea aisle rather than stealing share from incumbents.^[8]

Morgan Wallen partnership and early growth

In mid-2023, country music artist Morgan Wallen joined The Ryl Company as an investor and brand ambassador.^[9] Wallen and the Ryl team co-developed a Sweet Tea SKU after six months of research and development, which launched later that year.^[20] A digital short produced with Barstool Sports featuring Wallen generated 15 million impressions within 48 hours of release in February 2024.^[18]

Wallen's involvement extended beyond a typical endorsement deal. "Morgan's level of involvement is at a much, much higher pace at this point," Ukella told BevNET in 2024. "We have content that is consistently being curated with him to basically showcase to his fans that he's all-in."^[18] Additional investors in subsequent rounds included Austin Neal, Seth England, and Cam Fordham.^[13]

Distribution expansion and DSD shift

In early 2024, the company shifted from a wholesale distribution model to direct-store delivery (DSD), partnering with Big Geyser in the New York Metro area and Polar Beverage in the broader Northeast.^[18][15] "In order to elevate the degree of what winning looks like in retail, you need that wholesaler network," Ukella said of the transition.^[18]

The company raised a $7.5 million Series A in early 2024.^[2] Ken Kurtz, Ukella's former boss at Bai Brands, joined as president of The Ryl Company that same year.^[18] In March 2025, Ryl Tea launched in over 500 7-Eleven locations across the New York Metro area, marking the brand's first entry into the convenience channel.^[5]

A $15 million Series B closed in April 2025, bringing total funding to $30 million.^[2][17] The round included continued participation from Wallen and new backing from additional investors.^[13] Leigh Feuerstein, the company's chairman, said at the time that Ukella was "a remarkable leader with a clear vision" and that the board was "backing him with unbridled confidence."^[2] The company planned to use the capital to expand distribution fourfold and grow its workforce past 100 employees by the end of 2025.^[2]

Series C and Hershey partnership

In April 2026, The Ryl Company announced a multi-year licensing partnership with The Hershey Company to produce zero-sugar iced teas inspired by Jolly Rancher candy flavors.^[10][11] The co-branded line launched at Target and Walmart locations nationwide.^[10]

Two months later, in June 2026, the company closed a $20 million Series C led by Purchase Capital, bringing cumulative funding to approximately $50 million.^[3][4] At the time of the raise, Circana data showed Ryl Tea had grown 157% year-over-year over the 52 weeks ending May 17, 2026, while the broader canned and bottled tea category — valued at $4.5 billion — declined 1.8% over the same period.^[3][4] BevNET described the round as part of a broader retailer bet on what the publication called the "modern tea movement."^[3]

In 2024, Forbes named Ukella to its annual 30 Under 30 list in the Food & Drink category, selected from more than 11,000 candidates.^[12] He appeared as a featured guest on the Heritage Radio Network's Tech Bites podcast episode covering the 2024 class, alongside Forbes editors Chloe Sorvino and Kristin Stoller.^[16]

BevNET, the beverage industry trade publication, has covered Ryl Tea's trajectory extensively, featuring Ukella as a speaker at BevNET Live Summer 2023 and profiling the brand's distribution strategy, DSD transition, and funding rounds across multiple articles.^[1][18][19]

Ukella resides outside Morristown, New Jersey.^[1] He serves on the Entrepreneurial Advisory Board at Rutgers Business School, his alma mater.^[1]