Philadelphia (November 25, 2024) – The National Lacrosse League (NLL) today announced KéLó as the Official Hydration Partner of the NLL in the United States. The exclusive new partnership positions KéLó as a foundational partner of NLL UnBOXed™, the League’s groundbreaking grassroots youth initiative designed to grow the sport and engage young boys and girls in the U.S.
Beginning in January 2025, KéLó beverages will be on-floor with NLL players, coaches, and lacrosse operations personnel in the U.S. The company will also support the hydration needs of NLL UnBOXed, with products available to participating elementary and middle schools beginning in Spring 2025.
“Our partnership with KéLó represents a unique synergy between two industry-disrupting brands with deep Indigenous roots and a passion for innovation,” said Kurt Hunzeker, NLL Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations. “KéLó delicious beverages will not only fuel our players, but also the next generation of lacrosse athletes through NLL UnBOXed, helping position the NLL as an innovative leader on our way to becoming ‘The Next Major League’ in North America.”
In choosing a new hydration partner, the NLL sought a brand that shares its commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and high-performance products tailored to the needs of athletes. KéLó, known for formulating the world’s first COCA-enhanced functional beverage in collaboration with its global ingredient supplier Power Leaves Corp, meets these requirements with natural plant powered blends crafted to promote peak athletic performance. KéLó beverages contain “COCA X,” a decocainized coca extract from Colombia, ZERO sugar, sucralose, Ace-K or aspartame, natural caffeine from green tea extract, prebiotics for digestive health, and amino acids for recovery and energy.
“It is a privilege to enter this partnership with the National Lacrosse League as we trailblaze a new line of healthy functional blends enhanced by decocainized COCA extract. Lacrosse is a beautiful game gifted by our Indigenous ancestors, The NLL & KéLó are jointly committed to bringing awareness and education to our Indigenous partners in both Colombia and North America” said Founder & CEO of KéLó Andrew Lougheed.
“We are thrilled to be supplying KéLó with our novel, all-natural Coca X product for their beverages,” commented Pat McCutcheon, Founder & CEO of Power Leaves Corp. “KéLó’s partnership with the NLL speaks to the quality of its beverages and forward-thinking approach to beverage innovation. We look forward to helping power the performance of NLL athletes in the upcoming season!”
The partnership serves as KéLó’s springboard into the U.S. market, driving brand awareness and authentic connections throughout the NLL’s expanding activation footprint of 26 U.S. communities. In 2025, fans can also look forward to NLL team-branded KéLó bottles, available nationwide.
About the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s largest professional lacrosse league and welcomed more than 1 million fans for the second year in a row during the 2023-24 season. Founded in 1986, the NLL is comprised of 14 franchises across the United States and Canada, and recently unveiled its largest brand campaign ever, “Welcome to The Next Major League™” and introduced its comprehensive grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, that will expand the League’s footprint to more than 60 communities across North America by 2028.
For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. Games are available live and streaming on TSN, TSN+, the ESPN family of networks, ESPN+, and NLL+.
About KéLó
KéLó is a leader in innovation for the natural beverage industry which developed the first proprietary functional sweetening system using coca extract and clean-label sugar alternatives. KéLó is the world’s first line of clean, coca extract-enhanced functional beverages including energy, hydration and prebiotic gut sodas. KéLó harnesses the power of coca to create healthy and natural products for consumers disrupting the traditional sweetening systems across all functional beverage categories using our coca extract in liquid and powder form. KéLó is redefining the power of COCA by combining traditional practices with modern innovation to develop CLEAN functional natural beverages for today’s consumer that demand benefits.
For all media inquiries and interview requests, please contact:
Meghan O’Donnell and Samantha Ward, National Lacrosse League, [email protected].
