Kayvon Jahanbakhsh

Kayvon Jahanbakhsh is the co-founder and CEO of Halfday Iced Tea, a prebiotic iced tea brand that reached more than 7,000 retail doors by 2025.^[20] He co-founded the company with Mike Lombardo while both were undergraduates at Rowan University, building it from a class project into a nationally distributed consumer brand carried by Whole Foods Market, Target, Wawa, Wegmans, and other major retailers.^[1][2][6] Jahanbakhsh and Lombardo were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Food & Drink category in 2023.^[4]

The brand originated from Jahanbakhsh's personal experience with ulcerative colitis, which hospitalized him for three months at age 18 and caused him to lose more than 80 pounds.^[4][20] During his recovery, he began incorporating prebiotic fiber into homemade iced tea to support his gut health — a routine that became the basis for Halfday's product line.^[14][9] Each can contains six grams of prebiotic fiber from the brand's proprietary GOODDAY Prebiotic Blend and fewer than five grams of sugar.^[2][5]

Halfday raised approximately $10 million in total funding, including a $7.29 million Series A round in August 2023.^[7][3] The company expanded from select Whole Foods stores in 2022 to a national rollout across all Whole Foods locations in 2024, added more than 1,000 Wawa doors the same year, and launched in approximately 1,100 Target stores nationwide in 2026.^[1][6][2] Jahanbakhsh is a first-generation Iranian-American based in southern New Jersey.^[19]

Jahanbakhsh grew up in southern New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia, in a first-generation Iranian-American household where tea was served with every meal.^[9][19] He was a competitive swimmer and began training collegiately before his health crisis intervened.^[19]

In 2015, at age 18, Jahanbakhsh was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.^[4][20] He was hospitalized for three months, lost more than 80 pounds, and was forced to abandon his athletic career.^[14][20] The experience reshaped his diet and daily routine. During recovery, he began making his own iced tea without sugar and adding prebiotic fiber — specifically inulin — to support his damaged microbiome.^[9][14]

Jahanbakhsh enrolled at Rowan University's Rohrer College of Business, where he studied finance and graduated in 2019.^[3][19] He was not an entrepreneurship major, but an entrepreneurship class taught by Dr. Dominic in 2018 introduced him to the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund and the university's startup ecosystem.^[19] It was in that class that he and his classmate Mike Lombardo — a marketing major — first developed the concept for a prebiotic iced tea as a school project.^[19][15]

Halfday Iced Tea (2018–present)

Founding and early development. The idea for Halfday began when Jahanbakhsh's older brother Anthony suggested he bottle the prebiotic iced tea he had been making at home during his recovery from ulcerative colitis.^[9][20] Jahanbakhsh and Lombardo initially launched the concept under the name Topos Tea while still undergraduates at Rowan.^[15] The two participated in three Rohrer College of Business entrepreneurship programs — the Idea Challenge, the New Venture Competition, and the Summer Accelerator — using competition prize money and non-equity seed funding to develop the product.^[19] They won the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund, which provided a $75,000 investment.^[3]

The founders spent roughly three years developing the formula before launching commercially in 2021 under the rebranded name Halfday Tonics.^[14][20] In the pre-launch period, neither founder drew a salary. They delivered product in coolers in the backs of their cars.^[20] One of Jahanbakhsh's first retail buyer conversations took place from a hospital bed, post-surgery. The buyer, whose family member also had ulcerative colitis, agreed to stock Halfday before the founders had physical product to send as a sample.^[20]

Retail expansion. Halfday entered select Whole Foods Market stores in 2022, with Jahanbakhsh and Lombardo sampling in stores during every free moment to build trial and brand awareness.^[1] By late 2022, the brand was in more than 1,500 U.S. retailers, including Target and Publix.^[3][4] In 2023, Halfday added a Raspberry flavor and launched at Wegmans.^[10][11]

The company raised a $7.29 million Series A round in August 2023, bringing total disclosed funding to approximately $10 million.^[7] That same year, Halfday was nominated for BevNET's Best of 2023 Awards.^[18]

In early 2024, Halfday rolled out nationally across all Whole Foods Market stores.^[1] Weeks later, the brand added more than 1,000 doors through a partnership with Wawa, entering the convenience channel across the Mid-Atlantic and Florida.^[6] The Wawa launch carried personal significance for both founders as lifelong South Jersey residents. Jahanbakhsh told BevNET that whenever a new Halfday hire arrives from out of town, the team takes them to the nearest Wawa.^[6] Additional retail partners added during this period included Sprouts, Kroger, Albertsons, Erewhon, Amazon, and Thrive Market.^[16][8]

Brand refresh and continued growth. In February 2025, Halfday underwent a full packaging and branding refresh, introducing a new visual identity and the Half & Half flavor — a prebiotic take on the classic Arnold Palmer.^[16][12] By mid-2025, the brand was stocked in more than 7,000 stores.^[20]

In July 2026, Halfday launched nationwide in approximately 1,100 Target stores with a new slim can format and an exclusive Strawberry Half & Half flavor.^[2][5][17] The company also released a seasonal Crisp Apple Tea in September 2026.^[13] Each slim can contains six grams of prebiotic fiber sourced from chicory root, fewer than five grams of sugar, and 35 to 40 calories.^[5][2]

Jahanbakhsh and Lombardo were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Food & Drink category for the class of 2023.^[4][3] At the time of the listing, Halfday was available in more than 1,500 U.S. retailers.^[3]

Halfday was included in the Whole Foods Market Trend Council's Top 10 Trends for 2024, a designation that preceded the brand's national rollout across all Whole Foods stores.^[1][9] The brand was also nominated for BevNET's Best of 2023 Awards.^[18]

At Rowan University, Jahanbakhsh and Lombardo won the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund, which provided a $75,000 investment and early credibility for the brand.^[3][19]

Jahanbakhsh is a first-generation Iranian-American who grew up in southern New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia.^[9][19] He and co-founder Lombardo were high school classmates before attending Rowan University together.^[3] Jahanbakhsh has described himself publicly as a digestive health advocate, a label he uses alongside his founder title.^[16] He resides in Swedesboro, New Jersey.^[19]