Kelly Krpata’s path to founding a nutrition company began with a grizzly bear attack and two bouts of Stage 4 colorectal cancer. But those experiences didn’t directly inspire him to start a business. Instead, they changed how he viewed everyday life, and that perspective became the foundation for BRYTR DAYS, a company now launching its first product: a once-daily nutritional drink called Daily Nutrition for Real Life.
While hiking in Glacier National Park as a University of Michigan graduate student, Krpata was mauled by a grizzly bear, suffering injuries that required surgery to repair severed muscles and multiple puncture wounds. The ordeal was later featured in National Geographic Adventure. More than two decades later, he received two diagnoses of Stage 4 colorectal cancer. In between, he spent years on Wall Street and at Silicon Valley startups, married his wife Anita, and raised two daughters.
Those events didn’t convince him that life needed to be 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.”
That curiosity about why some days feel easier than others led him to explore nutrition and the science of how the body works. He became convinced that modern life had changed faster than our nutritional habits. Busy schedules, constant stress, inconsistent meals, poor sleep, and endless responsibilities had become part of everyday life, 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 brought together family members, close friends, and experienced scientists for countless conversations about nutrients, ingredient forms, interactions, and formulation. The result was a philosophy the team calls the Three Rs: choose the right ingredients, understand the right interactions, and find the right ratios. These principles guide every formulation decision.
Krpata realized that discovering an idea and building a company are 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 and built a life together, navigating two diagnoses of Stage 4 colorectal cancer. “I’ve always believed discovering an idea and building a company are two different jobs,” Krpata said. “Anita has always been exceptional at turning answers into action.”
Together, they built BRYTR DAYS around a simple idea: if life is 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.
The launch of Daily Nutrition for Real Life matters because it offers a different approach in a crowded nutrition market that often emphasizes optimization and complex routines. Instead, BRYTR DAYS focuses on helping people feel more prepared for everyday demands. “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, the company reflects what life has 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.
