Who We Are
Temple Lifestyle Brands is a Montreal-based, founder-led company on a mission to inspire healthier living through better beverages. We’re home to Thirsty Buddha®, Canada’s #1 organic coconut water, and Rise® Kombucha, the nation’s leading kombucha brand.
But we’re not stopping there. Temple is building a modern functional beverage platform — uniting bold, better-for-you brands under one umbrella to shape the future of wellness drinks in Canada and beyond.
Pictured (left to right): Michael Magnone, Christopher Magnone, Mark Cigos
What We’re Building
Our Story
We didn’t start as a beverage company.
Temple’s story began in the aisles of local health food stores, where we worked as a natural product distributor, learning firsthand what shoppers were looking for and where the gaps were.
Driven by that insight, we decided to take a bold step: we created our first house brand, Thirsty Buddha®, and debuted it on Dragon’s Den. What began as a single coconut water SKU has since grown into Canada’s #1 organic coconut water and a leader in functional hydration.
That moment of moving from distributor to brand builder set the foundation for a much bigger vision: building a portfolio of functional, better-for-you beverages that Canadians can trust and love.
Temple Lifestyle Brands is more than the sum of its parts. We’re building a modern functional beverage platform, a home where better-for-you brands can thrive.
For entrepreneurs and partners, joining Temple means access to:
Scale & Reach → national retail relationships and omnichannel distribution.
Operational Strength → world-class manufacturing, supply chain, and commercialization support.
Shared Resources → marketing, brand-building, and category expertise to accelerate growth.
Founder-to-Founder Understanding → we know the hustle because we’ve lived it, and we bring that same authenticity to every partnership.
Our platform brings together category leaders like Thirsty Buddha®, Canada’s #1 organic coconut water, and Rise® Kombucha, the nation’s leading kombucha brand. Each maintains its unique identity, culture, and consumer base, but together, they benefit from the power of a collective vision.
This is just the beginning. Temple is actively shaping the future of functional beverages in Canada and we’re building it with partners who share our passion for quality, innovation, and impact.
OUR FOUNDERS
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Christopher Magnone
Co-Founder, CEO
AKA The Visionary - As CEO, Chris leads Temple Lifestyle with big-picture thinking and relentless drive. He’s passionate about building the long-term platform — ensuring that every step the company takes today lays the groundwork for a stronger, healthier beverage landscape tomorrow.
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Mark Cigos
Co-Founder, VP New Business Development
AKA The Brand Builder - With a sharp eye for marketing and storytelling, Mark helped shape the identity of Thirsty Buddha and now plays a key role in shaping Temple’s portfolio voice. He’s driven by a passion for connecting with consumers and building brands that inspire loyalty.
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Michael Magnone
Co-Founder, VP Operations
AKA The Operator - Michael brings hands-on hustle and operational know-how. From the early days of distribution to scaling national supply chains, he thrives on turning ideas into execution and making sure Temple’s beverages consistently deliver on quality and availability.