STORM Healthy Energy opens drink shop in St. Pete

From left, STORM Healthy Energy co-founders Molly Mills and Cole Schaller at the new St. Petersburg store. Photo provided.

The Details

While attending college, Molly Mills and her fiancé, Cole Schaller, began creating electrolyte beverages with minerals, vitamins and natural sources of caffeine.

The couple would ultimately launch STORM Healthy Energy, which recently opened a St. Petersburg location at 2600 4th Street N.

Initially, Mills and Schaller would go to places like Smoothie King and Starbucks to purchase refreshments after workout dates.

“I would get these mid-day crashes,” Mills explained. “We were like ‘what can we drink after the gym that’s like a healthy energy drink that doesn’t have all of these unnecessary ingredients?’ So, we started doing research and ordered different products to make our own concoction, just for fun.”

Once the entrepreneurs developed their first formula, they decided to see if they could market it to the public.

“We didn’t have a name,” she added. “We didn’t have a business plan.”

Mills, who was raised in St. Petersburg, initially wanted to open a store in the city. However, she and Schaller could not find an affordable rental space. When an opportunity presented itself in Tampa, the couple decided to establish the business there.

“The landlord allowed us a one-year lease, which is why we took it,” Mills said. “God forbid, if all of this failed, we could walk away and pretend it never happened.”

Mills and Schaller would “build out” the original store, at 3401 S. MacDill Avenue, in one month. Coming up with a name was one of the key early marketing challenges.

The entrepreneurs would ultimately choose “STORM.” Mills and Schaller explained that it pays tribute to the state. As Florida natives, both have felt the impacts of severe weather firsthand. Schaller argued that “hurricanes and storms have so much energy.”

The establishment opened its doors in 2021.

“For the first month, no one came in except our parents and friends,” Mills said. “We were just sitting in the store every single day from open to close.”

Eventually, high school students began sharing their experiences at the STORM shop on Instagram. Over time, more people learned about the concept. She explained that it “was a slow trickle of word of mouth.”

“As this was happening, we were still adjusting our STORM electrolyte drink,” Schaller added. “We would change everything and that’s how we built our baseline of what STORM drinks are. ”

The concept was perfected after Mills and Schaller began working with a professional chemist. The couple sells beverages in more than 15 flavors. Customers can add caffeine if they wish. They have also created a variety of protein shakes.

Over time, Mills and Schaller would expand their venture in the Tampa market. They would eventually open two stores on Kennedy Boulevard.

St. Petersburg was a logical next step. Mills said that customers began to request a location on TikTok.

“We had to build out a team,” she explained. “We had to get to a certain point where we had enough people to handle our Tampa locations so Cole and I could put our energy into a St. Pete store.”

Mills added that the company plans to open another establishment in the area in the future.

“I feel like in this era or the time that we’re in now, people are actually starting to care about their health,” she said. “In Tampa and St. Petersburg specifically, there’s such a market for workout studios.”

For the two entrepreneurs, the journey has been far from easy.

Schaller believes that there are “so many questions” about “how to do things.” He argued that this “ hinders a lot of people” from starting their own businesses.

“Problems are good,” Schaller said. “They’re opportunities to do better, learn and be more productive. We made so many mistakes.”

“Don’t be scared to think outside of the box,” Mills added. “You don’t have to use your degree to get a corporate job. You have the freedom to start your own business.”