Surviving a grizzly bear attack and two separate diagnoses of Stage 4 colorectal cancer would fundamentally alter anyone's perspective. For Kelly Krpata, those experiences didn't spark a desire to create a company—they sparked a deeper appreciation for ordinary life. Years later, that appreciation became the foundation for BRYTR DAYS, a nutrition company offering a once-daily drink designed to help people feel more prepared for everyday demands.
While hiking in Glacier National Park as a University of Michigan graduate student, Krpata was mauled by a grizzly bear. The attack required surgery to repair severed muscles and multiple puncture wounds, and the ordeal was later featured in National Geographic Adventure. More than two decades later, he faced two diagnoses of Stage 4 colorectal cancer. Between those events were years on Wall Street and at Silicon Valley startups, marriage, raising two daughters, and countless ordinary experiences.
Those experiences didn't convince Krpata that life needed to become extraordinary. They convinced him that ordinary days were worth protecting. "Going through cancer changes what you pay attention to," Krpata said. "You stop thinking about living an extraordinary life and start appreciating ordinary ones. You want enough energy for your family, your work, and the people you care about. You realize most people aren't trying to optimize every moment. They're simply trying to have more good days."
That perspective led him to explore nutrition and the science of how the body works. He became convinced that modern life had changed faster than nutritional habits. Busy schedules, constant stress, inconsistent meals, poor sleep, and endless responsibilities had become normal, yet much of the nutrition industry continued asking people to do more—follow another routine, buy another product, or chase another trend. Instead of asking how to build another nutrition company, Krpata asked: How could nutrition better support the life people were already living?
That question grew into a shared endeavor, bringing together family members, close friends, experienced scientists, and countless conversations about nutrients, ingredient forms, interactions, and formulation. But Krpata realized that discovering an idea and building a company are two different jobs. He asked his wife, Anita, to become CEO—not because she shared his strengths, but because she complemented them. The two had met as students at the University of Michigan, built a life together, raised two daughters, navigated two Stage 4 cancer diagnoses, and eventually built a company together.
"I've always believed discovering an idea and building a company are two different jobs," Krpata said. "I've always been drawn to questions. Anita has always been exceptional at turning answers into action. I didn't want someone who thought like I did. I wanted someone who challenged my thinking, made better decisions than I would make on my own, and could build the company with the same level of care that went into discovering the idea in the first place."
Together, they built BRYTR DAYS around a simple idea: if life was asking more of people than ever before, daily nutrition shouldn't ask more of them too. It should be simple, thoughtful, and easy to return to every day. Years of research and formulation came down to three principles: choose the right ingredients, understand the right interactions, and find the right ratios. Internally, the team calls them the Three Rs, and they continue to guide every formulation decision.
The result is Daily Nutrition for Real Life—a simple, once-daily nutritional drink designed to help people feel more prepared for the demands of everyday life. "We're not trying to help people optimize their lives," Krpata said. "We're trying to help people feel a little more like themselves. Because when you feel more like yourself, it's easier to show up for everything else that matters."
For Krpata, BRYTR DAYS was never about building another nutrition company. It was about building something that reflected what life had taught him: that extraordinary experiences can change your perspective, curiosity can change your understanding, and sometimes the best way to help people live extraordinary lives is to help them have more good ordinary days.
For more information, visit BRYTR DAYS.
