Misfit Amps up Energy Drink Line With Supplements

Thom DeFelice at the 2024 Made in NH Expo (Photo by Mark Bolton)

A NH startup is looking to disrupt the saturated energy-drink market by including performance supplements to its line of canned beverages. Misfit Energy Drinks was started by two friends, both in their 40s, four years ago in Manchester. Thom DeFelice, whose main job is in sales, and Stephen Noseworthy, a voice actor, were experimenting with flavored water at
the time, but DeFelice says they quickly grew bored. 

“We kept talking about how creating an energy drink would be fun, but we wanted something useful, and we wanted the flexibility to change the formula,” DeFelice says. “The energy drink space is super crowded but if you’re going to make an energy performance drink it should have supplements that increase performance.”

While everyone loves caffeine, DeFelice says, caffeine is a vasoconstrictor that often creates short-term increases in blood pressure. “I’m caffeine sensitive so when I exercise it doesn’t work. We wanted to counteract that,” he says. Misfit tries to balance that effect with L-Citroline, which DeFelice says is a vasodilator, in addition to caffeine and other supplements, like Cognizin Citicoline, that helps with attention and focus, L-Carnatine, and a host of B vitamins.

The drinks, which come in nine flavors including Peach Mango Crush, Blueberry Cake, and Key Lime Donut, are making their way into stores, gyms, and yoga studios from Hooksett to Nashua, including the Common Man Roadside on I-93. “People like supporting a local brand and our long-term goal is to go as far as we can with what we have,” DeFelice says. “Quality is king. We don’t want to put out anything that isn’t perfect.”

Misfit turns out 2,300 cans per batch every two or three days at its packing and distribution center in Epsom.

“We felt strongly about the identity of Misfit Energy. The concept is that we’re trying to create a brand that highlights those weird places where you feel like you don’t fit,” DeFelice says. That vibe and the duo’s humor is apparent on its web site, which states at the top “Misfit – cringy tagline.” “It’s the idea that you’re part of something even when you feel like an outsider.” For more information, visit misfitenergy.com.