Anatomy of a Press Release
Learn how a perfect press release is structured. This annotated example walks you through every section, from the headline to the boilerplate, so you can craft and submit yours with confidence.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SteepMaxx Launches SteepKnow™, an AI That Selects Your Tea Before You Wake Up
Wellness tea platform raises $38M Series B to solve what its CEO calls "the single most consequential decision of the morning"
PORTLAND, OR / PRMWire / May 5, 2026 — SteepMaxx, the direct-to-consumer wellness tea company best known for its 2021 rebrand from "a tea subscription" to "a ritual optimization platform," today announced the launch of SteepKnow™, a proprietary AI that analyzes sleep quality, calendar stress load, weather patterns, and what the company describes as "bioemotional tea readiness signals" to predict the optimal tea for each customer before they get out of bed.
"People think they know what tea they want in the morning," said SteepMaxx CEO and Co-Founder Jasper Wren, 33, who previously worked at a kombucha startup and holds a certificate in mindfulness from an institution he describes as "basically MIT but for wellness." "They don't. They're guessing. SteepKnow ends the guessing."
SteepKnow™ integrates with the SteepMaxx SmartKettle™, a connected device the company has been quietly shipping since 2015 that has logged over 340 million brew sessions across 2.1 million households. This dataset, which SteepMaxx's CTO describes as "the most comprehensive human steeping behavior corpus ever assembled," forms the foundation of the SteepKnow™ recommendation engine.
The system currently supports 34 tea varieties, including:
- Chamomile — recommended during high-stress calendar windows, back-to-back meetings, and what the algorithm classifies as "a Greg situation"
- Matcha — predicted for mornings following quality sleep and at least one creative task before noon
- Nettle — recommended exclusively on Mondays, which SteepMaxx's internal research identifies as "nettle days"
- White Peony — recommended when the system detects the user hasn't taken a proper break in 11 days, which for SteepMaxx's average customer is most of the time
- Pu-erh — the algorithm's "wild card," deployed when no dominant signal is detected, described in internal documentation as "a vibe call"
- Ashwagandha Blend — recommended when calendar stress load exceeds what SteepKnow™ classifies as "a reasonable amount"
SteepKnow™ delivers its recommendation as a push notification at 6:47 AM, precisely 13 minutes before the average SteepMaxx customer's alarm. The SteepMaxx Pod™, a companion auto-dispensing device, will prepare the recommended tea at the predicted time. It requires a SteepKnow™ Pro subscription at $24.99 per month and proprietary SteepMaxx capsules, which are not compatible with any other device, system, or kettle philosophy.
SteepMaxx's 180 retail locations will remain open, rebranded internally as "sensory calibration nodes." Staff will be retitled "Steep Intelligence Associates" effective Q2. Compensation is unchanged.
The company closed a $38 million Series B led by its existing institutional investors, with participation from a Portland-based angel investor named Finn who got in early because he "really believed in the chamomile thesis."
About SteepMaxx
SteepMaxx is a Portland-based wellness tea company founded in 2013. The company operates 180 retail locations across 22 states, ships to 34 countries, and has logged over 340 million customer brew sessions via its SmartKettle™ connected device network. SteepMaxx was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2022, an honor the company continues to mention in every press release regardless of relevance. For more information, visit steepmaxxx.com.
Ondine Marsh
VP of Communications & Ritual Intelligence Narratives
ondine@steepmaxx.com
+1 (555) 555-0147
Place your logo at the top of every release. It identifies the issuing company at a glance and reinforces brand recognition across syndicated placements.
Always the first line. Tells editors this can be published right away. Use "Embargoed until [date]" only when timing matters.
One sentence, under 100 characters, active voice. Who did what, written like a newspaper headline, not a tagline.
Optional second line adding context. Not all outlets display it, but it helps editors grasp the angle quickly.
Opens with CITY, STATE / Newswire / Date, then the lead paragraph answering Who, What, When, Where, Why. If an editor reads nothing else, this is it.
At least one attributed quote from a named spokesperson. Should add opinion or color, not repeat facts already in the body.
Fine for feature lists: bold the name, dash, short description. Keep all narrative sections in prose.
The real SEO value. Include 2–3 keyworded anchor text links to your site, plus one plain URL. Outlets that preserve links pass direct backlinks, and that's what drives rankings.
Standard company description reused on every release: what you do, founded when, website. Third person, kept consistent.
Name, title, email, phone. A real person, not a generic inbox. Always the last section before any disclaimer.
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SteepMaxx, SteepKnow™, Jasper Wren, Ondine Marsh, Finn, and all associated products, investors, and brand claims are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual wellness tea platforms, AI recommendation engines, or chamomile theses is coincidental.