Vasa Zoran Martinez had a devastating run. In 2017, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Over the next few years, he would lose several close friends and family members, including his best friend, his cousin, and later his longtime roommate. The grief took a toll.
“Instead of doing the healthy things I used to do, like working out, I dug myself into work to deal with the trauma,” he recalled. A lifelong soda drinker, he found himself drinking more than ever. When he was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, he knew something needed to change.
In 2021, Martinez, who had spent years working in marketing for food and beverage brands, cashed in his crypto investments and hired a top R&D team to develop sugar-free, all-natural versions of his favorite sodas. The effort resulted in Perfy, a line of mood-boosting, low-sugar sodas flavored with real fruit juice and made with nootropics and adaptogens like L-theanine, ashwagandha, and turmeric. Flavors include Blood Orange Yuzu, Fruit Punch, and Tropical Citrus.
His self-funded gamble paid off. In 2023, Perfy’s revenue grew 293% year-over-year, and today the brand is valued at $12 million.
The name Perfy is a tribute to his mom, who lived long enough to see the brand take off.
“When I was just two years old, I wasn’t able to say the word ‘perfect.’ Instead, I’d say, ‘Hey, ma, you’re Perfy.’ So I named the company after her.”
Martinez launched Perfy in the Amazon store from day one, crediting Amazon’s suite of seller tools with helping the brand grow and retain customers. The visually rich storytelling features of A+ Content allowed him to enhance his product listings with vibrant imagery and interactive modules, while Subscribe & Save has helped him build a reliable base of recurring customers.
“Subscribe & Save has been great for repeat purchases. Because of it, we’ve seen strong retention and customer reviews,” he said.
While he’s proud of Perfy’s growth, Martinez said the real reward is hearing how the sodas have supported customers managing diabetes.
“It’s so heartening to read through the Amazon reviews and see story after story of customers with Type 1 Diabetes say that Perfy has no impact on their blood sugar, that it’s like drinking water even though it tastes like a traditional soda,” he said.
Perfy is part of a wider goal to battle diabetes nationwide.
“My mission is to remove high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar from the food supply by making soda smarter,” he said. “To me, Perfy isn’t just a soda, it’s a feeling. It’s love, it’s grief, it’s happiness. Every can is a tribute to our loved ones and is made with the utmost amount of care.”