GAYA – Ancient Wisdom. Swiss Precision.

Over 1 billion people do the same thing every morning, every day: They make a cup of coffee. Coffee and energy drinks have become an indispensable part of our modern life, yet for many people, they come with unwanted side-effects such as jitters, energy crashes and disrupted sleep. Simultaneously, consumers are increasingly looking for healthier ways to support their energy, focus and overall well-being without compromising on taste or convenience.

Many available alternatives lack transparency, compromise on taste, fail to deliver products that consumers can realistically integrate into their daily routines, or are non-existent due to differing regulations in Switzerland and the EU.

GAYA is changing that.

The Solution

GAYA develops premium functional beverages inspired by traditional botanical ingredients and produced in Swiss labs with a strong focus on quality, transparency, and everyday usability.

GAYA Deep Focus is GAYA’s first product designed as a healthier coffee alternative. It combines organic cacao with functional mushroom extracts, including Lion’s Mane and Reishi, enriched with their own focus-mix of essential vitamins and minerals.

The formulation is designed to support focus and energy without the typical energy crash associated with conventional coffee. The ingredients are sourced organically and ethically without compromising on the premium quality.

To guarantee this level of quality and efficacy, we partner directly with trusted Swiss supply pioneers:

Single-Origin Organic Cacao: Sourced through Pronatec, a Swiss pioneer in certified organic ingredients. Our cacao is 100% single-origin, ethically harvested, and fully traceable back to the farm, ensuring rich natural flavor without artificial additives.

Dual-Extracted Functional Mushrooms: Sourced via the Swiss-based Kündig Group, renowned for strict safety and quality standards. To deliver maximum potency, our Lion’s Mane and Reishi extracts are grown and extracted in regions with thousands of years of specialized cultivation heritage.

Uncompromising Safety: Every single batch undergoes dual Swiss laboratory testing to verify active compound levels and ensure absolute purity against heavy metals, pesticides, and contaminants.

GAYA is developing a broader product ecosystem covering three key areas of preventative health:

• Energy
• Exercise
• Sleep

Traction

GAYA has already established its first commercial foundation and currently:

• sold to more than 2’000 customers
• achieves gross margins of approximately 40%,
• sells products through both direct-to-consumer and B2B channels,
• is already available in Swiss Post Shops all over Switzerland, nutrition stores such as MANA & BRIDGE, Offices & Co-Working spaces such as HeadsQuarter, Medbase pharmacies and coffee shops in Zurich City
• has 5* Google reviews and 4.6* Trustpilot reviews
• has developed repeatable production processes and defined unit economics

The company has also attracted external investors through multiple Convertible Loan Agreements totalling CHF 475k, demonstrating confidence from early supporters: CHF 250k from a fast-moving consumer goods family office, CHF 100k from business angels, and CHF 125k in marketing services CLAs.

Market Opportunity

Consumers are increasingly prioritizing preventative health, natural nutrition, and healthier daily routines. Functional beverages have become one of the fastest-growing categories within the broader food and beverage industry, driven by growing interest in wellness, longevity and alternatives to traditional caffeinated drinks.

GAYA operates within:

• a US$ 168 billion global functional beverages market, on course to US$ 314 billion by 2035 (TAM)*
• a US$ 5.9 billion European coffee alternatives market (SAM)**
• and US$ 72 million, 10% of Swiss functional beverages market, growing at 6.2% annually (SOM)***

Sources:

*Precedence Research, Functional Beverages Market, 2026

**Global Market Insights, Coffee Substitute Market, 2025

***MarketLine, Switzerland Functional Drinks, 2022–2027

Business Model

GAYA combines multiple sales channels to diversify revenue generation and reach consumers where they already shop.

The business currently focuses on:

• Direct-to-consumer online sales
• Pharmacies & Offices
• Retail distribution
• Corporate and hospitality customers

This multi-channel approach allows the company to build direct customer relationships while simultaneously expanding brand visibility through physical distribution partners.

As additional products are launched, GAYA will increase AOV and embed itself more deeply into customers' daily lives across multiple touchpoints, naturally driving high retention and lifetime value.

Competitive Advantage

GAYA replaces an existing daily habit — coffee — with something better.

Its positioning combines several key elements:

• EU compliant formulations developed by certified Swiss lab
• Transparent & traceable ingredient sourcing
• Organic and ethical sourcing of cacao & mushroom extracts
• Functional & physiological effective formulations with superior taste
• Omni-channel distribution via D2C/B2B and retail
• Expansion across multiple wellness categories under a single brand identity
• Strategic partnership with a major Swiss beverage brand

This creates a consumer proposition built around trust, taste and usability rather than complexity.

Team

GAYA is built by four founders who each bring a different discipline to the same conviction: that daily habits can be healthier, without being harder to maintain.

Mark Zahran - CEO & Founder 

An architect by training, but a FoodTech-Entrepreneur by conviction. He founded YASAI, an ETH spin-off that took vertical farming from lab concept to a successful exit, rebuilding an old industry with modern precision and circularity at its core. At GAYA, he brings his focus on nutritional health to life, taking ancient wisdom and re-engineering it with Swiss precision to build a food system rooted in metabolic health and daily rituals.

Joel Roos - CSO & Founder

Investor in over 20 startups, but a serial-entrepreneur at heart, still committed to building rather than just backing. As a former member of the Swiss national Volleyball team, performance was daily practice, not just theory. That same instinct carried him through a master's in robotics at ETH Zurich and into VAY, an ETH spin-off building AI for motion analysis in fitness and physical therapy, which he exited successfully. At GAYA, he is the analytical lens: using his expertise to support strategic decisions.

Timon Graber - CMO & Founder

A creative mastermind for over a decade in the marketing industry, but a nutrition enthusiast long before it became his job. He co-founded Tuttswitt Holding, building WITWINKEL into one of Switzerland's sharpest creative agencies and growing a portfolio of ventures alongside it. At GAYA, he brings that same instinct for brand-building: turning complex science into a story people don't just believe, but want to live by.

Tobias Schneider - CFO/COO & Founder

The CFO behind two of Switzerland's international scale-ups. With degrees in business administration from University of Zurich and St. Gallen, he scaled Zippsafe and AirConsole onto the international stage. At GAYA, he keeps the numbers honest, so the company can chase Swiss excellence at a global scale without losing sight of the fundamentals.

To complement its internal capabilities, GAYA has also established advisory relationships covering strategic partnerships, B2B sales, branding & marketing, commercial strategy and fundraising.

Roadmap

GAYA's long-term vision extends beyond its initial cacao product.

Following the successful launch of the first commercial offering, the company plans to broaden its portfolio with additional products targeting different daily health needs, including sleep, exercise and further energy-focused formulations.

The roadmap outlined in the company materials includes:

2026

• Continued commercial growth of GAYA Deep Focus Cacao in CH
• Expansion of retail and B2B distribution in CH
• Launch of GAYA Mushroom Matcha in CH

2027

• Launch of GAYA Beauty Sleep in CH
• Launch of Cross-Border D2C sales in EU/DACH market
• Development of GAYA Latte Ready-To-Drink

2028

• Launch of Ready-To-Drink products for Swiss market

Why Invest?

GAYA combines several characteristics that make it an attractive early-stage consumer investment opportunity.

Growing market with mega-trends

The company operates within multiple long-term consumer trends, including preventative health, functional nutrition, longevity and coffee alternatives.

Commercial validation

Unlike many early-stage startups, GAYA has already launched its first product, generates recurring revenue and has established both direct and business-to-business sales channels.

Scalable brand platform

GAYA is building a wellness brand with opportunities to expand across multiple daily consumption occasions and different formats. A Ready-To-Drink solution is already in the works with a major Swiss beverage company.

Multi-channel distribution

The combination of direct online sales and physical retail partnerships provides several avenues for future growth while reducing dependency on a single sales channel.

Early-stage upside

As an early commercial business, GAYA offers investors exposure to a company that has already demonstrated initial market validation while still being in the early stages of its growth journey.

High Conviction

Experienced team has invested over 300k at inception, plus attracted investors & advisors deeply embedded in the field.

GAYA is building more than a single beverage. We are building a platform in functional drinks & coffee alternatives. Join us and participate in our growth!