Express Checkout #113

Hello hello!

This week, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael Fedele, Founder and CEO of Throne SPORT Coffee—the new coffee RTD co-created by none other than Chiefs QB, Patrick Mahomes! Though Mahomes didn’t have the best Super Bowl Sunday (to say the least…), SPORT Coffee certainly made the most of its moment in the spotlight.

News From the Week

Let's be real: the CPG industry loves talking about how hard it is for startups to make it. And don’t get us started on beverage: brutal margins, impossible distribution, and competing against behemoths like Coke and Pepsi? Godspeed 🫡 

But this week, Olipop reminded us what’s possible. They just landed a cool $50M Series C that values them at $1.85B—sending shockwaves through this category that was supposed to be impossible to crack.

Olipop is proving that the old CPG rulebook needs an update:

• Actually make money on each can (revolutionary, we know). Olipop built its model around solid unit economics from day one. This allowed them to hit profitability in early 2024 as they crossed $400M in annual sales.

• Diversify distribution. Olipop isn’t DTC-first like every other brand. They actually started in select health stores, then expanded to conventional, and now use DTC only for what it's best at—keeping their superfans happy and testing new products through clever SMS marketing.

• Don’t reinvent the wheel. They took something familiar (soda), made it better (gut health for the win), and didn't overcomplicate it. No wild pivots, no chasing every trend—just consistent execution on a solid plan.

The craziest part? Olipop's early investors are looking at 256x returns—outperforming even OpenAI's early backers. And unlike the tech giants burning cash, Olipop is already profitable. They don't need to raise more money—they just can if they want to accelerate growth. That's the kind of flexibility most founders dream about.🥤

And yes, Poppi is a pretty impressive competitor (with a casual $40M in funding under their belt), but no, we’re not going to add any more fodder to the Poppi vending machine situation. Just watch Nate’s video 👇️ 

@nate.rosen

As someone who works in CPG the whole @Drink Poppi vending machine situation is interesting 👀 IMO….Both brands won here And here's what m... See more

CPG & Consumer Goods

• Two celeb brand launches in one week? What is this, 2024?

  • Hailee Steinfeld partnered with Premium Beers Group to launch Angel Margarita, a ready-to-drink cocktail in four flavors: Lime, Grapefruit Paloma, Ranch Water, and Wild Berry.

  • Floyd Mayweather launched a new line of nutritional supplements called 101 (One of One), developed in collaboration with Magnum Nutraceuticals.

• Big news for NA beer lovers. Athletic Brewing Company partnered with Live Nation to provide its non-alcoholic brews at over 100 concert venues and festivals across the U.S.

  • Why? Alternative distribution channels allow brands to meet potential customers in contexts where they’re already in a discovery mindset, forging stronger emotional connections. So instead of vying for attention among thousands of beverage choices in the supermarket aisle, these brands become synonymous with memorable and culturally relevant experiences

  • We’ve also seen a similar playbook with Liquid Death x Live Nation, who invested in the brand and gave them exclusive bottled water rights in 120 venues.

• Is B Corp dead? Dr. Bronner's thinks so. The major soap brand dropping its B Corp status, citing concerns over the dilution of the certification's meaning and its association with large corporations.

  • This decision reflects a growing sentiment: While B Corp certification can provide a starting point for sustainability practices, it’s increasingly seen as inadequate by companies aiming for higher standards.

• Taking “plant-based” to a whole new level. Califia Farms launched "The Green Album," a collection of daily meditations, for your plants, aimed at promoting plant growth (no, seriously).

  • For every stream on Spotify, the company will plant a tree through One Tree Planted, with a goal of 25,000 trees.

eCommerce

• Is Amazon coming for Google? Kinda. Amazon is testing a new shopping experience that directs customers to brands' own websites for products not available in its store. This feature will show up in search results alongside items sold directly by Amazon. The initiative is currently in beta for select U.S. customers and seeks to improve their shopping experience.

Retail

• Brand spies 👀 Instacart is piloting a program that allows its independent contractors to accept in-store tasks for CPG brands, like taking photos of brand displays to assess inventory levels. The program is currently running in select markets, where workers can opt in to tasks and see payment details before accepting.

• Everyone and their mother has a Substack…including the retailer The RealReal. They just launched a Gossip Girl-style Substack newsletter written by an “anonymous fan,” providing resale tips, behind-the-scenes insights, and maintain a candid voice in discussing The RealReal's offerings.

  • This initiative marks a significant move for brands on Substack (we, too, love a newsletter 🙃 ), a new way of focusing on storytelling and engaging with a community of fashion enthusiasts.

• Amazon takes on…Sephora? Amazon is opening its first beauty and personal care store, called Amazon Parafarmacia & Beauty, in Milan, Italy, as part of its brick-and-mortar expansion. The store will offer a variety of beauty products and non-prescription medications, along with services like digital skin analysis.

  • It's a continuation of Amazon's experimentation with brick-and-mortar formats, following previous ventures like Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, and Amazon Style.

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Funding news

• Sugar is becoming a thing of the past. Oobli—the maker of sweet proteins that are 2,000-5,000x sweeter than sugar—raised $18 million in Series B1 funding and partnered with stevia supplier Ingredion to develop “sugar reduction techniques.”

  • The partnership emerged through a rapid research and development sprint, where the companies worked together to combine sweet proteins with stevia for consumer testing.

  • Check out our recent interview with Oobli CEO Ali Wing!

• Clearly I’m not the only one who loves Mezcal. Madre Mezcal closed a $3M funding round, led by No Sleep Beverage, following a previous $3M Series A in 2021.

  • The brand, known for its mezcal and additive-free tequila, reported a 14% year-over-year growth in 2024, outperforming the overall spirits industry.

• Getting the right manufacturer made easy. Keychain, an AI-powered platform for CPG manufacturing, raised an additional $5 million—bringing its total funding to $38 million.

  • The platform facilitates over $1 billion in projects monthly and is launching new capabilities focused on packaging and ingredients. This investment positions Keychain for expansion into the European market.

• Is CBD back? Sky Marketing Corp. acquired the CBD beauty and wellness brand Prima from The Hedgehog Co. for an undisclosed amount.

  • Prima had the best hand sanitizer, which was sadly discontinued!

• Jitterless coffee? Sign me up. Rarebird Inc., founders of the “first-ever jitterless coffee”—announced a strategic capital infusion of $1M through the 43North accelerator in Buffalo, NY, alongside the relocation of its corporate headquarters and plans to launch its first coffee roastery in the Buffalo region.

• The water wars never end. Tru—an enhanced sparkling beverage brand—secured $4.6 million in funding, strengthening its partnership with Polar Beverage and expand into powdered stick packs.

Weekly Pickups

cracks knuckles let’s start with the foodstuff

Loopini is a new frozen pizza brand that I was pleasantly surprised by. Not only is this a high quality (made in italy) pizza it also packs 50g of protein in a pie!!

We’ve got another Italian frozen item in my freezer this week: Ripi Foods. Frozen stuffed pasta from Ian Tecklin and Top Chef star Joe Sasto! Joe also has another delicious CPG brand called Tantos.

THC bevvies will be popping off over the next year, I’m calling it now. And I hope Choom is part of that, cause this is some tasty liquid.

I also got some fun skincare products in my medicine cabinet this week:

Daybird is a serum, moisturizer, sheer foundation, and SPF 50 rolled up into one product. And it feels great

Aaaand for another brand that also starts with “day”: DayBreak Skin, a Hypochlorous acid spray which also feels great!

See ya next week!

Nate + Jenna :)

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