How a Bentonville Entrepreneur Built a Premium Beverage Brand

Anthony Broady wasn’t looking to start a beverage company. He was just looking for something to drink at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

It was an afternoon in Bentonville, Arkansas. Broady had just come off a professional setback. A job offer had evaporated before his first day, and Broady was rebuilding his career when he walked into the Crystal Bridges café and opened the cooler. The only energizing option was a Monster Energy drink. He bought it. Then he carried it through one of the most celebrated art museums in the country and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“I remember thinking, ‘Why is this museum with billions of dollars of artwork selling a product like a Monster Energy drink?'” Broady said. “I sat down and started thinking there had to be something more elevated.”

From a Single Moment to a Market Concept

That moment became the origin of A La Luna, a premium caffeinated sparkling beverage built for restaurants, lounges, hotels, and upscale cafés. The Bentonville-based company closed a loan with Communities Unlimited (CU) in May 2026, supported by the Walton Family Foundation, to fund its pilot production run and marketing launch.

Broady’s background in psychology and a longtime interest in biohacking shaped the formula. He wanted something that would do more than caffeinate.

“Energy drinks have a bad stigma,” he said. “I wanted to create something that a higher-end community would want to consume. I struggle with ADHD, and I know caffeine only makes me procrastinate faster. I needed something that would actually help me focus.”

Building the Formula Around Cognitive Function

Broady researched ingredients backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and built the formula around cognitive function first, then flavor and design. Each can features a cognitive-focused blend of nootropics and natural caffeine, designed to support mental clarity and sustained focus without the crash of traditional energy drinks.

The line includes four sparkling beverages, each named after a gemstone: Ónix (blackberry and lemon), Rubí (pomegranate and cranberry), Safíro (blueberry and bergamot), and Esmeralda (kiwi dragon fruit). The aesthetic pulls from cocktail culture and a speakeasy-inspired visual identity.

A Co-Founder Partnership Rooted in Years of Friendship

Victor Trinidad is A La Luna’s Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He and Broady met years ago through church in Puerto Rico, and the friendship followed them from congregation to neighbors, then through a string of business ideas they tried together over the years. A La Luna is the one that finally took off. Trinidad now balances his active-duty service as an Army Supply Sergeant in North Carolina with running the company’s operations. Broady handles branding, strategy, and sales.

Clearing the Early Barriers

Getting here wasn’t straightforward. Finding financial support to get the business off the ground was a barrier. Formulation quotes ran as high as $10,000 per flavor, which would have meant $40,000 before a single can was made.

Broady found a better path through the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks (AFIC@MCO) in Springdale. A team led by business development manager Daymara Baker and food scientists Roni Mathis and Lucianna Rico worked alongside Broady and Trinidad to develop the formula for roughly $2,000.

Manufacturing was the next obstacle. Many co-packers require minimums that would have meant a large up-front commitment before a single case shipped. A La Luna found a workable arrangement and is currently in production, with Broady overseeing quality and fina

How CU’s Lending Backed the Pilot Run

What he needed was funding for the pilot production run. That’s where CU came in, referred by Navy Federal Credit Union. CU’s small business lending connects rural and underserved entrepreneurs across the South and Mid-South with the capital and consulting they need to launch and grow.

Broady connected with Candence Brooks, an Economic Development Loan Officer on CU’s Lending Team, and also worked with Senior Management Consultant Rhett Douglas on CU’s Entrepreneurship Team.

“Candence asked a lot of questions, but it never felt like she was just checking boxes,” Broady said. “It felt like she genuinely cared about what we were building and believed in the vision.”

Douglas walked Broady through projections, cost structures, and planning in a way that sharpened how he thought about the company itself.

“It helped me ask better questions about the business,” Broady said.

The CU loan will cover inventory, packaging, freight, logistics, marketing content, and working capital for the pilot run. A La Luna’s strategy is wholesale, moving cases rather than cans. Broady is building relationships with premium hospitality partners close to home before expanding further.

What’s Next

“The main goal is scale,” he said. “Right now, we’re not focused on paying ourselves. We’re focused on growing the company.”

Broady started with a question he couldn’t answer at a museum café. Now he has a product, a team, and a distribution strategy taking shape, plus a group of people who believed the idea was worth backing. For him, that last part mattered as much as anything else.

“It wasn’t just about what was on paper. It felt like people genuinely believed in the dream with me. That kind of support gives you confidence when you’re trying to build something from the ground up. It gave me peace of mind knowing that Communities Unlimited had my back and wanted to help us succeed.”

Stories like A La Luna’s reflect a broader pattern of entrepreneurs turning ideas into viable businesses. For a closer look at how CU’s small business loans support entrepreneurs across the region, see how this loan turned a Fort Smith tea and donut shop into a neighborhood fixture.