#34. We think constantly about what we eat, how we move, and how much we sleep - but how often do we think about actually nourishing our brains? In a world built around caffeine and the afternoon slump, what if the thing we reach for every day could support both hydration and brain health?

This week, Kate Yarbrough sits down with Megan Burton, co-founder and CEO of BrainFood, a functional sparkling water designed to support focus, clarity, stress balance, and brain health without caffeine or added sugar. With a background in biomedical engineering and genetics, Megan began her career in consulting before earning her MBA from Wharton, where she began turning her own experience with burnout into what would eventually become BrainFood.

In this conversation, Megan shares how BrainFood evolved from an early idea into a broader approach to brain wellness, why she believes nutrition and physical habits play such an important role in how we feel mentally, and how she developed the product from the ground up. She also gets candid about the realities of building a beverage company - from formulation and flavor testing to manufacturing, retail, and learning how to grow without moving too quickly.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Megan's path from biomedical engineering and genetics to consulting and entrepreneurship

• How burnout inspired the original idea for BrainFood

• Why brain health has historically been overlooked within wellness

• The connection between nutrition, physical habits, and mental wellness

• Why BrainFood was created as a beverage rather than another supplement

• How early exploration around focus and ADHD helped shape BrainFood’s broader approach to brain wellness

• The research and testing behind BrainFood's ingredients

• How Megan developed and tested 17 different flavor concepts at Wharton

• What she has learned about manufacturing, retail, and growing a CPG brand

• Why enjoyment is essential to creating sustainable wellness habits

• Megan's own daily wellness practices as a founder

• Megan's Green-ish Goal for remembering that how we feel mentally can often be influenced by sleep, nutrition, movement, and other physical habits