Express Checkout #99 - the latest in CPG, Retail, and eComm

Hello hello!

Kicking off today’s edition with some 🚨 HUGE NEWS! 🚨 Express Checkout just passed 5000 subscribers—a milestone I’m still pinching myself over. I want to thank everyone for being so supportive of this endeavor, continuing to send this newsletter to friends, family, and colleagues, and engaging with me over the past two years.

It means the world that you trust Express Checkout for your weekly consumer, retail, and eComm news. If you have any feedback on how I can make this even better, please reply and let me know.

Now, onto the news of the week!

It's been a heavy week for many of us. As we process the election results, I’m turning to what I can control: preparing for how this new reality might impact our industry.

A sobering new study from the National Retail Federation (NRF) shows that Trump’s proposed import tariffs could hit American wallets hard—we're talking a reduction of $46-78 billion in consumer spending power annually. These changes would disproportionately impact low-income families and could potentially slice up to $50 billion off the GDP.

When big policy threatens to squeeze consumers and small businesses alike, our purchasing choices matter more than ever. Want to make a real impact? Here are some incredible female- and minority-owned brands that aren't just creating great products—they're reinvesting in our communities:

• Nopalera: Bringing Mexican beauty rituals to the mainstream with stunning botanical body care.

• Viv: Revolutionizing menstrual care with sustainable solutions

• Golde: A superfood health and beauty brand

• Resist Nutrition: Clean nutrition bars crafted for women’s hormone health, by women.

• Scent Lab: Customizable, luxury scents powered by clean, non-toxic ingredients.

• Experiment: Hyper-effective beauty products that make science (and women in STEM) cool.

• Better Sour: 100% plant-based, low-sugar sour gummies with globally-inspired flavors, made by two Iranian-American best friends.

My take? While policy changes may create headwinds for retail, these innovative brands show us what resilience looks like. They're not just creating great products. They're reshaping industries, challenging norms, and building stronger communities—something we could all use right now.

🛒 CPG & Consumer Goods

• Sweet turns sour for Hershey (literally). While Hershey saw a rough Q3, the chocolate giant also made a big acquisition this week. Let’s break it down:

  • In Q3, Hershey’s sales dipped 1% and EPS was down 10%. The culprit? Sky-high cocoa prices (over $7,000 per ton!) and weaker snacking demand.

  • But while their core business struggles, they just acquired sour candy brand Sour Strips to diversify. Founded by social media personality Maxx Chewning in 2019, the brand's "sour candy that doesn't suck" tagline might be exactly what Hershey needs right now.

  • With the stock down 25% over three years and analysts turning bearish, looks like they're betting on sour to save their sweet spot.

• Thanksgiving gets a glow-up. Heyday Canning Co. just dropped a limited-edition Cranberry Sauce at Whole Foods nationwide. They're mixing it up with maple syrup, Diaspora Co. spices, candied ginger, and orange—talk about an upgrade to the holiday table!

• A big week for B.T.R. B.T.R. Nation, a superfood snack brand, just launched into select Whole Foods Markets across California, Nevada, and Arizona and introduced two new flavors of their delicious superfood chocolate cups: Coconut Cashew Butter and Almond Butter.

• That’s some serious cafeteria clout. Little Sesame launched its new line of organic hummus cups for kids, designed to be convenient and healthy for school lunches and snacks and available at Whole Foods Market.

💻 eCommerce

• Target x Linktree = creator economy goals 🤝 Target's latest move? Partnering with Linktree to turn influencer content into sales. With over 50 million Linktree users, this could be huge for holiday shopping. Smart way to tap into the creator economy!

• Amazon takes to the skies ✈️ Prime Air drone deliveries have landed in Phoenix's West Valley, promising sub-60-minute delivery for packages under 5 pounds. The new MK30 drone got FAA approval to fly beyond visual line of sight.

🛍 Retail

• Grocery gets personal 🛒The latest Grocery Trend Report shows retailers are finally catching up to what shoppers want tailored digital experiences, stores designed for specific communities, and mobile-first shopping integration

  • We're seeing this play out with Albertsons upgrading their tech game, while Save A Lot, T&T Supermarkets and Kroger are creating culturally-specific store experiences like Kroger’s two "Asian Experience" launching in Dallas supermarkets next year.

  • It's great to see major retailers recognizing and serving diverse communities!

• Big news for our Canadian friends: Ontario is letting all licensed grocery and big-box retailers (including Costco) sell beer, wine, cider, and RTD beverages. They're not just expanding access—they're investing in social responsibility too.

• Locked up + pushed out. A recent Numerator report revealed that 60% of shoppers regularly encounter locked merchandise, and 27% would rather leave the store than wait for help. Not exactly the "frictionless retail" everyone's been promising.

• Vitamin Shoppe parent hits Chapter 11. Franchise Group (Vitamin Shoppe's owner) just filed for Chapter 11, lugging around $2B in debt. They're closing American Freight stores and converting debt to equity to keep the ship afloat. Silver lining? Vitamin Shoppe remains one of their stronger brands.

🏭 Supply Chain

• Goodwill goes circular ♻️ Goodwill, Reju™, and WM (yes the trash company) are teaming up to create a circular textile ecosystem in North America. With less than 1% of textiles currently being recycled, this multi-year initiative aims to create a real circular textile ecosystem.

• Uncrustables goes BIG in Bama. Smucker's is betting big on no-crust nation—they just opened a massive 900,000-square-foot Uncrustables factory in Alabama. With $800M in sales last year and dreams of hitting $1B by 2026, looks like America's favorite lazy lunch is taking off.

  • My take? Pretty interesting timing with Chubby Snacks drowning in lawsuits over sugar content and Smucker's trademark drama. While the newcomer's fighting legal battles, the OG is quietly building an empire.

💸 Funding, Mergers, and Acquisitions

• One trick is all you need. Meet One Trick Pony, the new peanut butter brand that's keeping it simple with just two ingredients: Argentinian peanuts and Patagonian sea salt. Now backed by Collaborative Fund (and me!!), an early investor in Sweetgreen, Blue Bottle Coffee, and OLIPOP, they're sure to take on giants like JIF and Skippy!

  • ^ Jenna (behind-the-scenes Managing Editor—feel free to reach out on LI! 👋 ) pitching in here to say that I discovered this brand when I was judging Startup CPG’s Shelfies Awards two years ago. They were one of the most obvious winners I tasted!! I am obsessed with this brand—peanut butter this simple shouldn’t be able to taste this good.

  • I’m a proud investor in One Trick Pony as well! it’s an amazing brand, product and team. I couldn’t be more excited 🙂 

• Their stuff really is just so soft. SoCal's favorite athleisure brand Vuori just landed an $825 million investment, pushing their valuation to $5.5 billion. Led by General Atlantic and Stripes, this funding is set to fuel their global expansion.

  • Vuori's been crushing it since 2015, and this investment just proves they're not slowing down. Special shoutout to finance bros for keeping it alive.

• Brewing up something big 🍺 US craft brewers Lord Hobo and Lone Pine Brewing are joining forces, with the deal set to close in Q4.

  • What's cool about this merger? Both breweries get to keep their identity while gaining more market muscle.

• The Rock's energy drink gets a boost. Molson Coors just took a majority stake in ZOA Energy, the health-focused brand co-founded by Dwayne Johnson. This isn't just another energy drink deal—it's part of Molson Coors' bigger play to expand beyond traditional alcohol products.

• Casper wakes up to new reality 😴 Casper Sleep, the former DTC darling turned post-IPO roller coaster, was acquired by Carpenter Co., maker of polyurethane foams. Former Purple CEO Joe Megibow is taking the reins—let's see if he can help them rest easier after their rocky IPO journey.

🤔 Interesting News

• If you work in CPG, you’ll want to see this. Force Brand’s 2025 Salary & Market Trends Reports just dropped, and it provides great intel on compensation across food, bev, beauty, wellness, and cannabis. Finally, some real data on what you should be making in this wild industry.

• Digital beats brick & mortar for SMBs 💻 New PYMNTS report shared some fascinating insights on SMB growth: Online businesses are crushing it compared to physical stores, with:

  • 21% higher average revenue

  • 52% reporting growth (vs 42% of physical stores)

  • Better access to financing and more likely to use it

  • More focus on innovation vs. cost-cutting

😋 Brands and Things I’ve Tried This Week

I made a video the other week about modernized traditional Jewish food, and so many people tagged Little Latke that I got in touch with the founder and got some of her product! It’s amazing!!

Election night the wine was flowing, Defy wine. There’s been a rise in wine-in-a-can brands and this one is one of my absolute favorites!

And finally, I got sent this new cognitive support product called Graymatter (clever name!). I’ve had it a few times and it tastes great, excited to see how I feel after a few more tries.

See ya next week,

Nate + Jenna :)

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