Steven Adams is among a number of high-profile investors into brain supplement drinks company 'Ārepa'. Photo / Supplied
NBA player Steven Adams has announced he's taking a shot at the drinks business with an investment in brain supplement drinks company Ārepa.
Ārepa makes 'nootropics', which its founders say use neuroscience to increase cognitive performance for people under pressure and stress.
Zachary Robinson (Ngāpuhi iwi, Ngāti Hao) and university mate Angus Brown founded Ārepa in 2017, with the company getting its name from a reo Māori transliteration of the word alpha.
“Neuroscience, not pseudoscience” is the pitch according to the company's website.
"It's cool to support a company from New Zealand like Ārepa, to see the science behind the product and how it can help people," the Memphis Grizzlies star Adams told NZME.
He said he found the company online and that piqued his interest.
Ārepa is a brain supplement drinks company launched in 2017, its founders hope it could become a $1 billion business. Photo / Supplied
Robinson and Brown say they've generated $3.2 million from high-profile Kwis like Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson, Comvita founder Alan Bougen and Adams, in their latest funding round.
Some of that pūtea is for a Dementia Australia Research Foundation-backed study investigating how Ārepa’s powder performs in comparison to a so-called “purple food diet” in people with mild cognitive impairment.
“Scientists at the University of Wollongong found our blackcurrant neuroberries have the highest levels of anthocyanins out of all purple foods in New Zealand and Australia and so they believe they may help delay neurological decline,” Brown said.
Studies into anthocyanins (the purple component in foods) reveal they might alleviate neurological dysfunction such as cognitive and memory functions.
“Through our human clinical research, we’re showing that with the right brain food diet including Ārepa, it’s possible to support stress and anxiety and positively impact brain health. I’d call this a breakthrough,” Brown said.
Tree bark is among the other notable ingredients of Ārepa.
Ārepa founders Angus Brown and Zac Robinson (Ngāpuhi iwi, Ngāti Hao), have known each other since their university days. Photo / Supplied
Adams, 29, may have more time than normal to monitor his new investment.
The Grizzlies revealed last week his recovery from a right knee ligament sprain will likely take several more weeks.
Ārepa says it hopes to one day be a billion-dollar company.
In 2021 revealed it had bought some 400 tonnes of New Zealand blackcurrants, about 20 per cent of the country’s total production.
International ambitions have also seen it launch across the ditch.
No word if an NBA tie-up might be in the offing.
