Who owns Alani energy drink? As of April 1, 2025, the answer is Celsius Holdings, Inc. a publicly traded beverage company (Nasdaq: CELH) that acquired Alani Nu for a net price of $1.65 billion. Before that deal closed, the brand was co-owned by its founders, Katy Hearn Schneider and Haydn Schneider, alongside Congo Brands, a Louisville-based operating company that held the majority stake.
Who Owns Alani Energy Drink Right Now: Celsius Holdings Since April 2025
How the Celsius Acquisition Happened
Celsius Holdings, Inc. a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq under the ticker CELH announced the deal in February 2025 and officially closed it on April 1, 2025. The acquisition was valued at $1.8 billion gross, or $1.65 billion net after accounting for $150 million in tax assets.
The price was paid through a mix of cash and Celsius stock. Specifically: $1.275 billion in cash, a $25 million earn-out, and $500 million worth of newly issued restricted Celsius shares giving the sellers roughly 8.7% pro-forma ownership in Celsius post-deal.
What Is Celsius Holdings?
Celsius Holdings is an American energy drink company, best known for its Celsius-branded line of functional beverages. The company has grown significantly since being listed on Nasdaq in 2017 and received a $550 million investment from PepsiCo in 2022. It is not a private equity firm or a conglomerate it's a beverage company that now owns two major energy drink brands.
Alani Nu Continues as a Standalone Brand Under Celsius
Celsius has stated that Alani Nu will operate as a distinct brand within its portfolio. The intention is not to fold Alani Nu into the Celsius identity but to expand its reach particularly in convenience stores and large-format retailers where Alani Nu currently has lower distribution coverage than Celsius itself.
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Who Founded and Originally Owned Alani Nu?
Katy Hearn Schneider The Founder Behind the Brand
Katy Hearn Schneider (often referred to simply as Katy Hearn) is a fitness entrepreneur and social media influencer who started Alani Nu in 2018. The premise was straightforward: she couldn't find supplement brands she felt comfortable recommending to women, so she built one.
The brand launched with protein powders, pre-workouts, and wellness supplements, then moved into energy drinks around 2019–2020.Katy's personal experience with hormone imbalances directly shaped some of Alani Nu's early products. That authenticity a real founder with a visible identity and audience is a significant reason the brand grew as quickly as it did.
Haydn Schneider — Co-Founder
Haydn Schneider, Katy's husband, co-founded the business with her. The couple are described in acquisition documents as the original co-founders who sold their stake to Celsius as part of the February 2025 deal. Their exact post-sale role with the brand has not been publicly detailed.
Congo Brands — Operator and Majority Stakeholder
Congo Brands is where things get a little more complex. Many people assume Alani Nu was purely a founder-owned company. In reality, Congo Brands a Louisville, Kentucky-based holding and operating company held a majority stake and handled the day-to-day manufacturing and distribution.
What Congo Brands Actually Is
Congo Brands was founded by entrepreneurs Trey Steiger and Max Clemons. It functions as both a white-label product development company and an investment holding entity. Practically speaking, Congo Brands took Alani Nu from a niche supplement brand and built the operational infrastructure that allowed it to scale into national retail.
Congo Brands' Broader Portfolio
Beyond Alani Nu, Congo Brands' portfolio included PRIME Hydration (co-created with social media personalities Logan Paul and KSI) and 3D Energy sports drinks. Each brand operated with its own identity, but Congo Brands sat behind the scenes handling logistics and operations.
How Ownership Was Split Before the Sale
Alani Nu had four main investors before it was sold: Katy Hearn Schneider, Haydn Schneider, Trey Steiger, and Max Clemons. The Schneiders held founder equity. Steiger and Clemons held their stake via Congo Brands, which also served as the brand's operator. The exact equity percentages were never publicly disclosed this was a private company.
How the Pre-Acquisition Ownership Structure Actually Worked
Founder Equity vs. Operator Control
One thing competitors get a bit muddled on is the distinction between the Schneiders' founder equity and Congo Brands' operational role. Katy and Haydn owned a stake because they created the brand.
Congo Brands owned a majority stake because they provided the infrastructure manufacturing capacity, distribution relationships, and the operational scaling needed to go from a small supplement company to a $200M+ revenue brand sold in Walmart, Target, Costco, and Kroger.
In short: the Schneiders had the brand identity and audience. Congo Brands had the business machinery. Both were necessary, which is why the ownership structure included both.
Why Congo Brands' Role Mattered
Alani Nu launched its energy drinks in Target stores in November 2020. That kind of rapid national retail entry doesn't happen on influencer appeal alone. Congo Brands' existing distribution relationships and operational experience gained through managing other brands gave Alani Nu a meaningful shortcut. The brand still had to earn consumer loyalty, but it had the logistics to actually get on shelves.
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The $1.8 Billion Sale to Celsius Key Facts
How the Deal Unfolded: A Two-Year Timeline
Alani Nu began exploring a potential sale or investment in July 2023. At that time, reports indicated the brand was being valued at over $3 billion.
Fast forward to February 2025, and Celsius announced a definitive agreement to acquire Alani Nu at a net price of $1.65 billion. The deal closed April 1, 2025.
Why the Final Price Was Lower Than the 2023 Valuation
A $3 billion exploration figure versus a $1.65 billion net deal price is a meaningful gap, and it often goes unaddressed in other coverage. A few things likely explain it. First, valuation expectations during exploratory discussions tend to be optimistic.
Second, Celsius's offer included stock, not pure cash, which complicates direct comparison. Third, energy drink market conditions shifted between mid-2023 and early 2025 including Celsius itself reporting only modest 3% revenue growth in 2024. Sellers often adjust expectations in light of buyer context. None of this is unusual in M&A.
The Deal Terms in Plain Language
Gross price: $1.8 billion. Net price (after tax assets): $1.65 billion. Structure: $1.275 billion in cash, a $25 million earn-out contingent on future performance, and $500 million in newly issued restricted Celsius shares representing about 8.7% of the combined company. Sellers: Katy Hearn Schneider, Haydn Schneider, and Congo Brands.
What This Means for the Alani Nu Brand Going Forward
Celsius has been explicit that Alani Nu is a complementary brand not a product line to be retired or rebranded. The strategic rationale was demographic reach.
Celsius skews toward health-conscious consumers broadly; Alani Nu is female-focused. Together, Celsius believes it has a combined mid-teens share of the U.S. energy drink market. Distribution expansion into convenience stores is the near-term operational priority for Alani Nu under its new ownership.
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Key Takeaways
Celsius Holdings has owned Alani Nu since April 2025. Before the sale, the brand was co-owned by founders Katy Hearn Schneider and Haydn Schneider alongside Congo Brands, which held the majority operating stake.
The deal closed at $1.65 billion net below earlier reported valuation expectations, though not unusually so for an M&A process. Alani Nu continues as a standalone brand within Celsius's growing energy drink portfolio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Alani Nu still owned by Katy Hearn?
No. Katy Hearn Schneider and her husband Haydn Schneider sold Alani Nu to Celsius Holdings as part of a deal that closed on April 1, 2025. They no longer own the brand.
What is Congo Brands, and did they own Alani Nu?
Yes. Congo Brands, founded by Trey Steiger and Max Clemons, held a majority operating stake in Alani Nu before the Celsius sale. They also manage PRIME Hydration and 3D Energy.
Is Celsius Holdings the same company as the Celsius energy drink?
Yes. Celsius Holdings is the parent company behind the Celsius energy drink brand. It's publicly traded on Nasdaq (CELH) and now also owns Alani Nu following the 2025 acquisition.
When exactly did Celsius buy Alani Nu?
The acquisition was announced February 20, 2025, and officially completed on April 1, 2025.
How much did Alani Nu sell for?
The gross deal value was $1.8 billion. The net purchase price after $150 million in tax assets was $1.65 billion, paid via cash, stock, and an earn-out.
