CPG Week Podcast: A Better Bagel Bootleg And Barron Trump’s Beverage Bet

[00:00:05] Monica Watrous: Welcome to the CPG Week podcast by BevNET and Nosh. I'm Monica Watrous, here with my co-host Lukas Southard. If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe on your listening platform of choice. Now here is the latest in food and beverage industry news. The long-winded unraveling of low-carb, high-protein bread company Better Brand has taken yet another turn. Easy Lunches & More, a specialized food delivery service that claims to be the, quote, last retailer of Better Bagel, began shipping its own version of the product, called the Fit Bagel, in September after it was, quote, ghosted by Better Brand, according to its Instagram page. The Fit Bagel, which bears nearly identical packaging to the flagship product of the apparently now defunct Better Brand, is available in three varieties, including plain, sesame, and everything. Better Brand, once valued at $170 million, produced a portfolio of low-carb bread products that scaled to over 2,000 stores, including major chains like Target and Whole Foods. The startup was backed by a handful of high-profile investors, such as restaurant entrepreneur Sean Thomas and actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, among others. But in 2024, the company came crashing down as rumors began to swirl that it was ceasing operations, claims that founder Amy Yang vehemently denied at the The Better Brand has faced operational breakdowns, product quality complaints, and mounting unpaid obligations since its launch. Multiple vendors have told Nosh that they are owed substantial sums, The Better Brand has stopped accepting new orders and its Shopify site is no longer active. The company hasn't posted publicly for months and Yang has not responded to requests for comment. The launch of FitBagel comes after Cold Chain 3PL, an e-commerce cold goods fulfillment service that shares the same business address as Easy Lunches & More, denied any current business relationship The Better Brand, directly contradicting the struggling company's claims that the fulfillment provider had stepped in to help stabilize operations. Our team has reached out to the founder of Easy Lunches & More, and we are getting the scoop on this bagel saga.

[00:02:26] Lukas Southard: I hope Fit Bagel doesn't have the same moldy bagel problems The Better Brand did.

[00:02:33] Monica Watrous: Don't we all?

[00:02:35] Lukas Southard: Moving on to beverages, President Donald Trump's youngest child, Barron Trump, is getting into the beverage business, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission Form D filed by pre-launch yerba mate brand Solos. The 19-year-old Trump's name is listed as a director on the form, likely signaling that he invested in the brand's $1 million pre-seed funding round. Not much is known currently about Solos as its website is password protected with only an opening soon message along with an email newsletter signup. According to its LinkedIn profile, the brand is based in Palm Beach, Florida, quite near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Solos co-founder Spencer Bernstein, who went to the same high school as Barron Trump, wrote in a LinkedIn post that he would be postponing his college education to work on the, quote, lifestyle beverage brand built around clean plus functional ingredients. Barron's not the only Trump in the beverage game these days. Kai Trump, granddaughter to the president and daughter of Don Jr., is a brand ambassador for Lance Collins's Accelerator Active Energy Drink. The 18-year-old Trump has committed to the University of Miami for the coming school year and will play for the school's women's golf team. So lots of Trumps in beverages these days.

[00:04:04] Monica Watrous: Make America hydrated again?

[00:04:07] Lukas Southard: We'll workshop that.

[00:04:08] Monica Watrous: Yeah, sounds good. In late January, we reported that after four years, Peter McGinnis is stepping down as chief executive of Impossible Foods. A little over a week later, we learned where he's headed next. McGinnis has been appointed to lead U.S. operations at global food company Bell Group, the owner of brands including Laughing Cow, Baby Bell, and Go Go Squeeze. As CEO of Bell North America, McGinnis is set to oversee the company's business across the U.S. and Canada, which includes three offices and five manufacturing facilities in the two countries. He'll be tasked with implementing Bell's purposeful snacking strategy across a portfolio of seven brands and over 200 products, as well as, quote, accelerating growth, advancing M&A and breakthrough innovation, strengthening the company's local footprint, and building a more sustainable and performance-focused food business, according to the company. McGinnis joined Impossible Foods in 2022, succeeding founder Pat Brown in the CEO role. During his tenure there, he oversaw an evolution of the brand's positioning as a meatier and more taste forward plant protein company, complete with revamped packaging and more accessible messaging developed to appeal to mainstream meat eating consumers. Earlier in his career, he led operations at Chobani for eight years as president and chief operating officer.

[00:05:35] Lukas Southard: The cocoa crisis is over. Well, not quite, but the dramatic rise in prices for the commodity has leveled off. Most significantly in the last six months, prices have dropped with prices falling off a cliff in the last month. Currently, cocoa is trading at about $3,800 per ton, about the same price that it was in October, 2023. But at its peak, it was trading well above $12,000 per ton. Now with commodity costs falling down to historically elevated but much more manageable levels, you would assume that chocolate makers would be dropping their prices as well. And you would be wrong. During earnings calls in the last few weeks, three major chocolate companies all basically said the same thing. Don't expect price cuts at the cash register. While the deflationary period is a relief for chocolate companies, pricing has been baked into their various 2026 forecasts, and margin recovery is still in process. Mondelez CEO Dirk van der Poot reported that the company was, quote, encouraged by the continuing normalization of cocoa costs. But it has not seen a tangible lift from the promotions and lower pricing that it put in place in the beginning of 2025. Along with hedging supply chains, many chocolate companies like Mondelez and Barry, Cal and Bo have expressed interest in leaning into cocoa alternatives derived from food tech companies. So although the West African cocoa supply might be still in flux and is susceptible to some of the disease and climate change that have impacted supply, there are some alternatives where chocolate companies are sourcing as well as some of these food tech options that will hopefully bring a little bit more balance to the cocoa industry. That's really good news. Especially because Valentine's Day is right around the corner, but it might be a little late for that one.

[00:07:43] Monica Watrous: Yeah. We are recording this episode a couple of days after the Super Bowl, which is the premier commercial watching event of the year. I guess there's like a football game in there too, somewhere, but.

[00:07:57] Lukas Southard: Yeah, I mean, you know, kind of bookended around Bad Bunny just tearing it up.

[00:08:03] Monica Watrous: Yeah, Benito Bowl. We've been looking ahead on Bhavna Anosh at some of the big game spots that were set to air from packaged food and beverage companies during the game. What stood out to you as the most memorable commercial?

[00:08:19] Lukas Southard: Well, I actually saw it before the Superbowl itself, but I have watched it many times. It's the Benson Boone and Ben Stiller Instacart ad, which I've laughed every time. And I've watched it at least a dozen times at this point. I guess it's just memorable because they're funny and I thought it was a good idea. It doesn't really scream anything about Instacart in my opinion, but a way to go for them, you know, just having a funny idea and rolling with it. I'm also a big Benson Boone fan, so I like watching him do bat flips.

[00:08:52] Monica Watrous: Yeah, my boyfriend's kids are also big Benson Boone fans.

[00:08:56] Lukas Southard: I think his core demographic is more in the kind of like tween teenage girl zone, but you know, maybe that's where my tastes lie.

[00:09:07] Monica Watrous: Well, my taste ally with the Backstreet Boys, which it wasn't a food commercial, but it was still very exciting for me. They teamed up with T-Mobile for a big game ad that was very delightful. Also though, the Backstreet Boys for Valentine's Day are teaming up with Pizza Hut for a heart-shaped pizza promo. So Backstreet's back. That's all I gotta say.

[00:09:34] Lukas Southard: And you are going to be seeing them soon in Las Vegas for the second time. Do I have that correct?

[00:09:39] Monica Watrous: The second time in Las Vegas, but not the second time in my life.

[00:09:42] Lukas Southard: This is like the 50th time in your life.

[00:09:46] Monica Watrous: Something like that. I don't know. I lost count. Well, it was more of a food-related ad, though not marketing a specific food, more of a specific agenda around food. And that was Mike Tyson's spot that was sponsored by Maha Center. The ad had a very clear message, which was processed food kills. and showed Mike Tyson biting into an apple and speaking about how some of his family members have struggled with obesity related illnesses. I think a lot of folks in the industry are a little concerned about the message of processed foods kills.

[00:10:30] Lukas Southard: I kind of agree with you in that I thought that the ad was definitely heavy handed. I fully support people eating healthier and eating whole foods and yeah, grab an apple instead of a bag of, I don't know, cookies or something. Just like this broad definition of processed food is awful for you, I think is oversimplifying a very complicated issue that most everyday consumers don't really understand. And so you have to be careful with your messaging like processed food kills because your everyday shopper does not really understand what that means.

[00:11:11] Monica Watrous: Yeah. I couldn't agree more. Here are some other notable bits of news from the week. Bulletproof, now under new ownership, is re-centering around its functional coffee roots in hopes of broadening its reach with mainstream consumers and retailers alike. The Coca-Cola company announced it will discontinue the brand's frozen lines in April, citing shifting consumer preferences as frozen concentrates have declined in popularity with Americans. And finally, David Protein was handed an early victory in the antitrust lawsuit accusing it of creating an artificial monopoly for its alternative fat ingredient after a New York federal court dismissed the case brought by competing food manufacturers. For these stories and more, become an insider at BevNET and Nosh. That wraps up this edition of CPG Week by Bevhna and Nosh. Thank you to our audio engineer, Joshua Pratt, our director is Mike Schneider, and our designer is Aaron Willette. If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe on your listening platform of choice, and we will see you next time.