The Ryl Co

The Ryl Co (styled The RYL Company, and known on shelf as Ryl Tea) makes canned iced tea built around a proprietary polyphenol delivery system rather than the sugar-and-flavor formula most legacy RTD teas run on.

Founder and CEO Blodin Ukella grew up drinking tea as a wellness remedy in a Kosovo refugee family, and that background, along with traditional Albanian tea culture, shaped the brand's pitch: tea that actually delivers the polyphenol content of a real steeped cup, not just tea-flavored sugar water.^[1] After raising early strategic capital and running a nine-month R&D process, the company introduced what it calls Ryl Polyphenol Technology, aiming to deliver 200mg of tea polyphenols consistently in every can.^[1] The brand launched in January 2023 with four flavors (Original Green Tea, Peach Black Tea, Raspberry Black Tea, and Lemon Black Tea), sweetened with monk fruit and stevia leaf extract, positioned as zero sugar and zero calorie with no artificial ingredients, and carrying Non-GMO, OU Kosher, gluten-free, and plant-based claims.^[1] Early distribution ran through Wegmans and select Whole Foods locations in the Northeast, with Wakefern and Sprouts targeted for expansion.^[1]

Ryl has since raised additional growth capital, including a $15 million round in 2025 and a $20 million round in 2026, funding that's gone toward retail expansion and building out the product pipeline. The current lineup has grown into a broader "Iced Tea with Benefits" range with newer flavors on shelf, a lineup Bevlab will break down in more detail in a separate product piece.

Ryl is for the wellness-leaning shopper who wants an iced tea that reads more like a functional beverage than a soda-aisle refresh, and the brand has positioned itself as a growth story in modern tea rather than a niche health-food SKU.

References

1. The RYL Company. "The RYL Company Debuts Functional Tea Line Combining Delicious Iced Tea Flavor With Consistent, Transparent, Steeped Tea Health Benefits in Sustainable Packaging." PR Newswire, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-ryl-company-debuts-functional-tea-line-combining-delicious-iced-tea-flavor-with-consistent-transparent-steeped-tea-health-benefits-in-sustainable-packaging-301713956.html