Yanni Hufnagel

Inspired by the positive change in the American beverage market as consumers seek healthier drinking alternatives, Yanni Hufnagel invented a new enhanced water called Lemon Perfect. The idea came to him after years spent coaching university basketball players who guzzled enhanced flavored waters by the gallon. For more than a year, Hufnagel worked with research and development teams to develop the most delicious, flavored lemon water brand, which he founded in California in 2017. Amazon picked up Lemon Perfect in 2020, and it has since entered retailers all over the U.S., including Publix and Target. 

Lemon Perfect is a zero-sugar and five-calorie beverage containing the juice of half a squeezed organic lemon in every bottle. It is made with organic plant-based sweeteners and no artificial ingredients. It also contains electrolytes and is packed with vitamin C, and it is certified organic and non-GMO.

Lemon Perfect comes in 7 flavors: Just Lemon, Dragon Fruit Mango, Peach Raspberry, Kiwi Star Fruit, Blueberry Açai, Strawberry Passion Fruit, and Pineapple Coconut. The company sells the drink at a low retail price, starting at $1.99 per bottle, so it’s accessible to all. Hufnagel, a self-taught entrepreneur, produces the beverage through his Atlanta-based startup, The Lemon Perfect Company. 

Hufnagel began his career as an assistant basketball coach after graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a graduate assistant coach, and went on to coach at Harvard University, Vanderbilt University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Nevada, Reno. Hufnagel took college teams to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament six times.

Hufnagel’s abilities as a coach to network and negotiate have served him well as he has entered the evolving and super-competitive enhanced water market. According to food and beverage market researchers Fortune Business Insights, analysts expect the global functional water market to grow from $13.80 billion in 2021 to $22.97 billion in 2028. 

In 2019, one of the industry’s foremost arbiters of taste, BevNET, placed Lemon Perfect in the Best New Products category of its BevNET’s Best of Awards. Bai, Hint, and Vitamin Water were already in the space, but Lemon Perfect took off like a rocket as soon as it hit the market, making it a competitor. Initially, in August 2020, Hufnagel raised $11.6 million through private investors. Later, in April 2022, the company closed a Series A round of funding at $31 million, bringing its total funding to $42.2 million and total valuation to more than $100 million.

Between Hufnagel’s two funding rounds, Lemon Perfect got more exposure through an unlikely route: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, the singer-songwriter and actress, posted a photo of herself on Instagram that revealed she drinks Lemon Perfect Dragon Fruit Mango. Knowles-Carter ultimately became one of the backers of the Series A round of funding, along with Beechwood Capital, NNS Capital, and Trousdale Ventures.

Hufnagel was born August 26, 1982 and grew up in Scarsdale, New York, where he participated in high school basketball and lacrosse. He was a team captain of the Scarsdale High School varsity lacrosse team and a student commentator for the boys’ varsity basketball team’s games on a local access cable TV channel.