CPG Week Podcast: Are We Over Protein Yet? Plus, A Meal Delivery Merger

[00:00:05] Monica Watrous: Welcome to the CPG Week podcast by BevNET and Nosh. I'm Monica Watrous, here with my co-host Brad Avery. Here is the latest in food and beverage industry news. David Protein has unveiled the latest, quote, masterpiece in its portfolio, Bronze, a new line of indulgent coated protein bars that launched this week. The bronze lineup includes cookie dough, caramel crunch, s'mores, chocolate crunch, peanut butter, chocolate crunch, and double chocolate crunch. And each bar delivers 20 grams of protein, 150 calories, and zero grams of sugar. By comparison, the brand's flagship gold bars have 28 grams of protein with the same calorie count. Marketed as the most decadent protein on the planet, the bronze bars feature a whipped marshmallow core, a chocolate-flavored coating, and crunchy inclusions, and are formulated with a protein blend of whey protein isolate, egg white, milk protein isolate, and calcium caseinate, plus other ingredients like maltitol, collagen, cocoa, sweet cream, natural and artificial flavors, and sucralose. The formulation also includes the proprietary fat replacer EPG, which is currently at the center of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit involving the company. This launch caps a busy year for David, which raised $75 million in a Series A round and acquired ingredient supplier Epi-G in May. At the same time, the company reported distribution in more than 3,000 retail locations and projected first year revenue exceeding $100 million. David also generated headlines this summer with the surprise launch of frozen wild-caught cod fillets sold online and at least one New York specialty grocer. The company was founded by Peter Rahal of RxBar fame and Zach Reynon, a former investor and entrepreneur. And its backers include Green Oaks, Valor Equity Partners, physician Peter Attia, and neuroscientist and wellness podcaster Andrew Humerman.

[00:02:04] Brad Avery: Quick fact check, Michelangelo's David is made out of marble, not bronze.

[00:02:09] Monica Watrous: No, but masterpiece is the key word here. And this brand is built on this idea that it has delivered the optimal protein per calorie ratio of any protein bar on the market.

[00:02:23] Brad Avery: Yeah, and I'm curious that despite the big push for natural ingredients in the marketplace, he's continued to focus on using sucralose as a sweetener and other artificial ingredients in the midst of all this. Well, also, yes, including a higher protein blend and plenty of positive ingredients as well. What is the sense of how this is playing out in the market?

[00:02:45] Monica Watrous: When David launched in September of 2024, critics did balk at the highly processed nature of the bars and some of the ingredients in the ingredient deck. And David actually doubled down last year and removed some of the more naturally perceived sweeteners in favor of Sucralose, Ace K, sugar alcohols like Maltitol, and actually started using artificial flavors in addition to natural flavors.

[00:03:14] Brad Avery: It is fascinating counter branding in a moment where processed foods are really under scrutiny. So I am excited to see how this plays out. Well, for those who'd rather drink their protein, don't worry, there's plenty of new innovations for you as well this week. On Monday, podcaster and self-help author Mel Robbins jumped into the CPG space with Pure Genius Protein, a new line of 3.3-ounce shots containing 23 grams of protein in each bottle. The line is available now, online, and retail expansion is in the crosshairs for later this year. For Robbins, whose life advice is often focused on quick fix solutions, advising people embrace simple changes like counting the five before beginning tasks or ignoring gossip and criticism, a shot that can be consumed in a few short gulps makes sense. And she's hoping that busy consumers with no time to stop and eat, as she said, will embrace the product. And Pure Genius is far from the only new protein drink launched this week. Female-focused energy drink brand Gorgi also announced its latest innovation line, Protein Energy, a 12-ounce canned drink packing 150 milligrams of caffeine and 8 grams of protein. Founder and CEO Michelle Cordero-Grant said the line was developed in response to consumer demand for a product that, quote, feels fun, energizing, and easy to incorporate into everyday routines. We've taken to calling this the era of peak protein, and it's no surprise to see more protein drinks hitting the market. In particular, beverages like these that are blurring category distinctions and increasingly focusing on women. Late last year, we also saw podcaster Alex Cooper add a protein line to her Unwell Hydration brand, and we're not expecting things to slow down anytime soon.

[00:04:58] Monica Watrous: I just wrote for Nosh a piece about peak protein and how this trend is expanding and evolving and what marketing and product development experts are expecting for protein in the year ahead. Of course, the past year was defined by how much protein can you add to something. and which formats could possibly contain protein, instant mashed potatoes and ice cream and popcorn being some of the examples that rise to the top. But the next wave might bring more of these combinations of benefits like protein and energy, as you mentioned in these two examples, or protein and peptides, collagen, fiber, other functional benefits

[00:05:39] Brad Avery: It is one of those trends where you have to ask the question of how much is going to be too much, both from a health perspective and from a market perspective. There's so much saturation already. And as I just said, it's not slowing down.

[00:05:55] Monica Watrous: I think as brands look for white space and consumers become savvier about their nutritional needs, quality is going to matter more than quantity. Moving on to the meal delivery market, Splendid Spoon has acquired Mosaic Foods, backed by an undisclosed investment from venture capital firm, Gather Ventures. The deal brings together two direct-to-consumer, plant-forward meal delivery businesses with more than $190 million in combined revenue. Mosaic Foods' in-house commercialization and manufacturing complements Splendid Spoon's innovation and branding capabilities, and expands its lineup to more than 200 plant-based and vegetarian meals, snacks, and beverages, according to Splendid Spoon. The deal will yield Mosaic Foods vertically integrated hub in Woodland Park, New Jersey, which has developed more than 100 items for specialty food, organic restaurant chains and private label markets to meet growing demand for higher quality options with more vegetables, simpler ingredients and convenience. The meal delivery market has evolved and consolidated in recent years in the aftermath of a pandemic driven surge. Individual brands are repositioning and in some cases dropping subscription requirements to remain competitive and relevant to modern consumers. Roughly seven months after its acquisition by Chobani, plant-based smoothie and meal brand Daily Harvest announced in late December, it was relaunching its direct-to-consumer business with a new collection of smoothies, elixirs, and oat bowls, and eliminating its subscription requirement. And similarly, last year, Blue Apron teed up a major evolution that included a new identity, expanded product lineup, and subscription-free shopping options, nearly two years after its $130 million acquisition by Wonder Group.

[00:07:44] Brad Avery: And in investment news, coconut water brand Zico Rising has secured $2.2 million out of an expected $7 million funding round, according to a Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month. The brand, which was launched in 2021 after founder Mark Rampolla reacquired the rights to Zico from the Coca-Cola company, has been aiming to increase its presence in the market and this latest funding trench follows a $9 million Series B round last year. Zico Rising is, in fact, rising. It's the fastest growing brand in the aseptic juices category, with dollar sales up 130.8% to around $20.4 million as of the 52-week period ending October 5th, per Cercana Omnichannel data tracking. The new investment also adds Alexander Roberti to the board of directors. Roberti is a board member of private equity firm GP Investments and Zevia as well, according to his LinkedIn profile.

[00:08:40] Monica Watrous: On a lighter note, this week Khloe Kardashian's Cloud Protein Popcorn has landed at Starbucks. The coffee chain will begin selling single-serve bags of Cloud's Kettle Corn Sweet and Salty Popcorn nationwide. If anybody attended Nosh Live, they might recognize the outfit that Ms. Kardashian is wearing in the Instagram post that announces this partnership.

[00:09:06] Brad Avery: You were letting me in that there is a little behind the scenes scoop that we have about the photo shoot that accompanied this announcement, which shows Khloe Kardashian with a whole bunch of Starbucks and, of course, some bags of cloud.

[00:09:20] Monica Watrous: We sure do. So I don't know how much we're allowed to say publicly, but Ms. Kardashian had a green room that we set up for her to take some meetings and do a couple of social media photo shoots after her session at Nosh Live. And that was where she photographed her Starbucks and cloud partnership pics that you can see on Instagram.

[00:09:44] Brad Avery: You mentioned that at the time you thought, huh, they sure do have a lot of Starbucks in here.

[00:09:50] Monica Watrous: I noticed that when we brought her into her green room, and I assumed that they wanted to give her a lot of options. I noticed that there were a bunch of different colors of iced drinks, but I now can see that those were props for this photo shoot, or maybe not. You saw how the magic happens. That's right. But congrats to Cloud. This brand is moving at a very rapid clip and it expects to be in 29,000 outlets by April, which is just mind-blowing growth for its first year on the market.

[00:10:28] Brad Avery: And some news we just got this morning, courtesy of Midday Square's co-CEO, Nick Saltarelli. The chocolate brand is launching No Bread PB&Js, kind of a breadless version of an Uncrustable in a way.

[00:10:43] Monica Watrous: Yeah. And it makes sense that they're trying to get away from chocolate. It's a very expensive ingredient right now. And this appears to be their first non-chocolate innovation, maybe the first of many, but it is a PB&J inspired snack, which is kind of a trending flavor profile that we've seen over the last couple of years.

[00:11:01] Brad Avery: I remember when I talked to Nick last fall about some of the expansion they were doing with the brand. He teased that they had an exciting non-chocolate innovation coming up, but couldn't give me more. So it's pretty cool, and it really is original product format. It's not something I ever would have guessed.

[00:11:22] Monica Watrous: Yeah, it appears looking at the photo that it is the same shape as the brand's flagship chocolate squares, but it has no chocolate. It has a real fruit topping and six grams of protein and four grams of fiber per serving. So I'm excited to get my hands on this. I'm a big fan of that brand and surely this is going to taste just as amazing as their other products. Absolutely. Here are some other notable bits of news from the week. Better for you, frozen waffle company Evergreen reported a $15.2 million investment to close out 2025. A team of entrepreneurs with decades of experience growing spirit and alcohol brands has launched a new hemp-infused drinks platform, HiPour. And finally, Coconut Cult has debuted a new four-ounce format packed in resealable plastic cups exclusively at Target nationwide. For these stories and more, become an insider at BevNET Anosh. And if you're enjoying the show, please subscribe on your listening platform of choice. That wraps up this edition of CPG Week by BevNET 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.