LIFEAID Beverage Company to Attend Get Hired 2021

Orion Melehan and Aaron Hinde (Dan Coyro — Santa Cruz Sentinel file)

Article by Malina Long

Since the 5th Annual Get Hired event is just around the corner on June 2nd, we will be highlighting a few of the companies who will be participating. LIFEAID is a notable company with headquarters in Santa Cruz whose success in the beverage industry speaks for itself. 

LIFEAID was created in Santa Cruz by Orion Melehan, a Certified Financial Planner™, and Aaron Hinde, a sports chiropractor with a background in nutrition, when they struggled to find low sugar, nutritious, caffeinated drinks that aligned with their active lifestyles. Melehan and Hinde developed the initial formulation and then teamed up with Flavor House Inc. and a food scientist to conduct further research. After two years and hundreds of taste tests from friends and family members, Melehan and Hinde joined together as business partners in 2011 to launch LIFEAID, a leading manufacturer of nutritious and convenient products designed to boost performance and speed recovery for those who live active and healthy lifestyles. 

LIFEAID’s low calorie, caffeinated beverages are made without artificial sweeteners and are available in powdered form and a convenient to-go bottle form. What makes them unique from their competitors is that they are an independent company using high quality ingredients in their beverages such as magnesium, glutamine, B-vitamins, and BCAAs in their beverages, with ingredient percentages clearly stated on each product’s nutrition label. 

LIFEAID comes in a variety of flavors and specializes in creating tasty beverages tailored to address specific needs such as athletic recovery, energy, sleep, and immune support all while maintaining an impressively low amount of sugar and calories without sacrificing taste. If you’ve ever been down the drink aisle in Target, Whole Foods, or Walmart, you’ve likely walked by a LIFEAID product. 

Over a decade has passed since LIFEAID’s inception and they have now grown from a small team of four into a company with nearly ninety employees worldwide. For the fifth year in a row, LIFEAID has renewed its partnership with CrossFit, a popular fitness and nutrition regime company that was also founded in Santa Cruz, and now has over 15,000 gyms and millions of followers worldwide. 

LIFEAID is also backed by well-known athletes such as: Kevin Looney, American Professional Basketball Player for the Golden State Warriors, to Bishard "Budda" Baker, American football safety for the Arizona Cardinals, and Sara Sigmundsdóttir, Icelandic weightlifter and CrossFit athlete. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company grew about 35% last year and they are on the trajectory to generate upwards of 100 million dollars in revenue over the next few years.

Aside from their amazing lineup of beverages, LIFEAID is also known for supporting fire relief efforts. LIFEAID created the viral social media #koalachallenge where they donated approximately $30,000 to support firefighters and those affected by the raging Australia bushfires in January 2020. In August 2020, Aaron Hinde’s home and property were lost in the CZU Lightening Complex fire. Although devastated from the loss, Hinde and his LIFEAID team turned tragedy into an opportunity. They launched a GoFundMe campaign resulting in approximately $20,000 raised to provide crucial supplies and resources to support displaced community members. 

Melehan and Hinde strongly believe in corporate responsibility, sharing success, and cultivating a fun and positive work environment for employees. LIFEAID employees receive medical benefits, free access to LIFEAID’s private gym, as well as financial participation in the company’s growth to ensure that those who work (and play) at LIFEAID are stakeholders. Melehan and Hinde’s company, products, and philanthropy clearly demonstrate their passion for healthy living, inside and out.

LIFEAID is expanding their company and currently have approximately fifteen positions opening up in a variety of departments such as sales and customer success. Be sure to register for Get Hired on June 2nd to hear more about LIFEAID, as well as other organizations who will be sharing more about their company culture and job openings.