After battling multiple injuries and eventually being forced to stop playing high school football, Daelyn Knight, 20, was committed to staying involved in the fitness world and that led him to create Knight Chews, a vegan creatine gummy supplement.
Creatine, a workout additive popular among hardcore gymgoers, is derived from amino acids and enzymes, which are synthesized to be used in supplements.
Most people naturally ingest creatine through animal-based proteins like meats and seafoods, and small amounts can be found in dairy and eggs, but entrepreneurs like Knight have found a way to turn it into a thriving business tailored to the fitness-conscious.
“Launching the company put me right back into the fitness world without having to physically play,” Knight said. The Allen native landed his first retail placement this past February with the support of his parents, friends and community leaders.
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Today, Knight Chews is available in 40 locations throughout Texas, Oklahoma and California.
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Knight started by developing his own formula for the gummies. While creatine is typically sold as a power that must be mixed into water, Knight wanted a more convenient option that eliminated the mess. He wanted to make sure the product would stand out and intentionally designed his formula to be vegan and free from artificial colors.
“This new flavor that we just released, we use a spinach powder for our color, I wanted to make it a vegan-based brand.” Knight consulted with his manufacturers to ensure his formula was compliant with the FDA and is adamant about third-party testing.
“We post our third-party test. We don’t hide it. We want you to see what we claim has been proven to be in the product.” Knight said this decision is intentional to enhance his credibility within the fitness space. It “builds trust between me and all of the retail stores and even our customers online.”
Knight Chews, a chewable creatine supplement. Founder Daelyn Knight is an Allen-native who started the company after high school.
Daelyn Knight / Courtesy of Daelyn Knight.
Meanwhile, creatine has been subject to many narratives within the fitness world. According to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the supplement “is a safe and effective intervention for improving certain aspects of sport, exercise performance, and health across the lifespan.” According to Nutrients, a peer-reviewed journal, creatine’s “beneficial effects include increasing anaerobic energy capacity, decreasing protein breakdown, leading to increased muscle mass and physical performance.”
Understanding the science behind creatine was only part of the journey for Knight. Starting his brand in high school wasn’t easy. Knight had to wait to be 18 to form the LLC for his company. With the advice of his mentor and close friend’s dad, Damon Bowman, Knight was able to form his LLC and distribute his products to retailers near Allen.
To scale the business, Knight would drive to different stores after his classes, even returning to the same store multiple times until a deal was made. Knight attributes much of his success to the community of Allen. “I have so much Allen pride because they genuinely did shape me into the man that I am today,” Knight said, beaming.
Now, as a freshman at Pepperdine studying business administration, Knight is learning to balance coursework with running a growing company. He takes sales calls between classes, and often spends late nights on his computer managing the operations of the brand. Looking ahead, Knight said he plans on expanding beyond just creatine to different supplements and even pre-workout. He hopes to scale through larger retail partnerships and eventually nationwide distribution.
“I look forward to growing this brand and making the relationships with the people around me so that this company can thrive because Allen, Texas, my hometown, has been supportive of me with this brand,” Knight said.