Sunnyside

Sunnyside offers a program designed to help people drink less alcohol or quit entirely, positioning itself around moderation rather than mandatory abstinence. The core product is a mobile app built around daily drink tracking, weekly personalized plans issued each Sunday that members pre-commit to, on-demand exercises, videos and resources, analytics dashboards showing progress on metrics such as dry days, drinks cut and sleep, and a member community. Coaching is delivered by trained human coaches — the company explicitly states coaches are people rather than AI, and that they have gone through their own alcohol moderation journeys — reachable via a text-message interface.

Alongside the behavior-change program, the company operates Sunnyside Med, a telehealth offering through which naltrexone is used to reduce alcohol cravings, presented as part of a broader support system. The company describes its approach as grounded in neuroscience and psychology, combining medication, habit change, community, coaching and analytics. It also publishes a code of conduct-style set of commitments covering avoidance of shame or guilt, privacy and security, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Founding story

Sunnyside was founded in 2020 by Nick Allen and Ian Andersen, both of whom are described as children of alcoholic parents. The founders frame the product as coming from personal experience with alcohol and from building healthier relationships with drinking themselves.

Business model

Direct-to-consumer subscription. Members begin with a free 15-day trial that includes every feature, then choose between a Basic plan at $99 per year (stated as $8.25 per month) for tracking, weekly planning, analytics and community, or the Cutback Coach plan at $298 per year (stated as $24.83 per month) which adds hands-on personalized coaching. A money-back guarantee applies if a member is unsatisfied after 30 days. A separate telehealth line, Sunnyside Med, involves naltrexone for craving reduction and requires a qualification step.

Annual consumer subscriptions at two tiers ($99/year Basic and $298/year Cutback Coach), preceded by a 15-day free trial.

Traction

The company reports 600,000+ people helped and 24 million drinks cut since its 2020 launch, a 4.8 App Store rating, and self-reported outcome figures including 96.7% of members drinking less, 90% binge drinking less, 87% experiencing fewer hangovers, 81% better managing cravings, 75% improving mental health and 73% improving sleep. An August 2024 ACER study reported at least a 33% reduction in weekly alcohol consumption over 12 weeks.

Latest developments

In August 2024 an ACER study reported that Sunnyside reduced weekly alcohol consumption by at least 33% over 12 weeks. The company currently markets Sunnyside Med, its naltrexone telehealth offering, alongside the app-based program.