CPG Week Podcast: Beyond Meat’s Beverage Launch And The Curious Case Of DayDayCook

[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. Last week, Beyond Meat announced plans to enter the beverage category. Brad, can you share more?

[00:00:21] Brad Avery: Yes, it's looking like Beyond Meat to see just how far it can take its plant-based protein concept with its latest innovation, Beyond Immerse, a functional protein drink line that launched last week as an e-commerce exclusive LTO. The drinks come in three flavors and in 10 grams of protein and 20 grams of protein varieties. Now, it makes sense for Beyond Meat want to look to a new category when its sales have been struggling for its flagship meat alternative products. In its Q3 2025 earnings report in November, the company reported net revenue down 13.3% to $70.2 million for the quarter ending September 27th. And we're still waiting to see what the full year results are, but expectations are low for the company. So embracing a category like protein drinks, which have been booming as consumers are seeking out any way to get more protein in their diets that they can, as we've talked about many times in the show already, makes sense for them. Now, reminder, it is a LTO. It's part of their Beyond Test Kitchen platform where they pilot new products. So we're not sure yet whether Beyond Immerse will stick around, but it's showing that Beyond is thinking outside of the box.

[00:01:38] Monica Watrous: Yeah, I mean, this is a company that's been aligned with the meat category for many years. Several years ago, the company partnered with PepsiCo to launch Beyond Meat Jerky Line, and that was a failed experiment. But this is a company that's obviously looking for different ways to bring protein to consumers in a more sustainable and plant-based fashion. So I will continue to be watching this launch, as I'm sure you will be doing, and we will report on it on BevNET and Nosh. Speaking of protein, Prime is entering the protein shake category with a new product line announced on social media last week. Prime Shake, which is billed as an ultra-filtered milkshake, was showcased in three flavors, vanilla, chocolate, and cookies and cream, with 32 grams of protein per 11-ounce can, along with 3 grams of sugar and 150 calories. Prime co-founder Logan Paul announced the launch in an Instagram post alongside online fitness influencer Bradley Martin. Prime's move into the category comes amidst surging interest in protein shakes, with ultra-filtered milk a substantial segment. While bottles and cartons have fueled growth for category leaders like Fairlife, cans have also been a popular choice for rising names such as Slate and Nouri. The brand Prime has suffered sharp declines for its sports drink and energy drink businesses, which dropped 53% and 64% respectively in sales last year.

[00:03:15] Brad Avery: When you consider that just a few years ago, Prime was looking like it might be the next billion dollar brand and really closing in on that number. Now, if you look at Nielsen data for retail, the core drinks are in the 200 million range, somewhere in there. And the energy drinks have really fallen off to a fairly low revenue in comparison to where they were at their height. So Prime coming out with a protein drink is definitely trying to reinvigorate through innovation. And in a way, you know, I am reminded of what Beyond is doing as well. You know, both are companies that have been in decline over the past year or more and are now looking at the fastest growing category in protein. And in international news, DDC Enterprise Limited, which does business as Day Day Cook, has officially exited its U.S. operations and is pivoting its full focus to Bitcoin. The company, which just over a year ago said it wanted to be the general mills of Asian foods, is now focusing on its core Asian markets and its Bitcoin reserve strategy. Last year, DDC closed a $124 million round led by PAG, Pegasus Fund, and Molana Investment Management solely for the Bitcoin treasury strategy. The big question is, what happened to the CPG brands that Day Day Cook had acquired? Nona Lim, Yaiztai, and Omsom were all purchased by the conglomerate in 2023 and 2024. Now, it seems that all the brands are off the market. Websites have gone offline, products cannot be found in stores, and the founders of those companies are quiet.

[00:05:06] Monica Watrous: And I imagine they will be required to be quiet for some time. I believe they all had to sign some kind of non-disclosure agreements. But it is curious how this pivot occurred, especially with its ambitions of, like you said, being the general mills of Asian food with three very strong brands in its arsenal.

[00:05:26] Brad Avery: Last year, when DataCook first began making the shift to Bitcoin, an equity analyst, Pedro Goulart, suggested that DDC appeared to be a quote, easy candidate to transition to a Bitcoin treasury model. Things weren't working financially and a shift to cryptocurrency. is a common play in the current marketplace for businesses in these types of situations. Now, we've been unable to get in touch with Day Day Cook. I know I reached out multiple times. Our colleague, Shauna Golden, has reached out to them and they've not responded to any of our attempts to reach out. So, I'd love to know more about what happened behind the scenes and what the future might be for these brands that had a lot of momentum behind them. Omsom, Yaiztai, Nona Lim, these were all strong, fast growing brands with a lot of buzz. And now they've just disappeared and there doesn't seem to be opportunity to revive them or see a future for them if Day Day Cook doesn't sell the IP.

[00:06:29] Monica Watrous: I hope they do. I would love to be able to consume, uh, all three of those brands in the future. So maybe there is opportunity out there. Speaking of brands with buzz though, million cold brew. See what I did there. Coffee buzz. Yeah. Chameleon Cold Brew has been sold to multi-brand roll-up Next & Natural. The Texas-born cold brew maker has changed hands several times over the past decade, most recently when it joined System Foods, a partnership of private equity firm System Brands and Mark Rampolla's venture capital firm Powerplant Partners, now known as Groundforce Capital, back in 2022. The group also owns Hum Kombucha and Rebel. NextInNatural founder Jeff Lichtenstein has updated his LinkedIn profile to list himself as CEO of Chameleon Cold Brew, while the brand is no longer listed on system's website. Lichtenstein told BevNET Chameleon Cold not been facing financial difficulties and cited a non-disclosure agreement, so it couldn't say much on Chameleon other than it's quote, an amazing product and profitable company with a lot of exciting innovation in the pipeline. Co-founded by Chris Campbell in 2010, Chameleon emerged as a successful pioneer in premium cold brew at grocery, leading to its acquisition by Nestle in 2017. The brand was jettisoned by the Swiss conglomerate just a few years later. Nexen Natural's beverage portfolio also includes Orabora Sparkling Water, Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha, and Sound Sparkling Tea.

[00:08:03] Brad Avery: Yeah, Next to Natural is another one of those companies that's been on a buying spree, picking up smaller brands, brands that were definitely next gen, had a lot of movement and buzz. In the case of Rowdy Mermaid, they acquired it last year. I know that Rowdy Mermaid was struggling at the time and looking at a sort of existential moment when Next to Natural came along. Sound had similarly had some financial struggles and out-of-stock issues when Next to Natural came in to help revitalize it. It's a strategy that they've employed a few times. So I understand wanting to clarify the state of Chameleon's business, which as far as I understand, they're pretty prominent in Whole Foods and many other retailers nationwide. Why it's changed hands so many times since the Nestle acquisition is something that I'm curious about. I remember when Nestle bought it, it was a major move and a big affirmation for cold brew coffee. And since then, seeing this brand shuffled around, I do wonder what its owners see as the future for not just this brand, but for the category.

[00:09:11] Monica Watrous: Jesse and Ben's, which markets frozen french fries cooked in beef tallow, mocked up a fake bag of protein fries to post on social media, and the stunt drove real results. According to founder Jesse Koenig, the post, which intended to poke fun at the protein craze, generated tens of thousands of organic views on Instagram and TikTok, and by his account, drove shoppers into stores to buy the real non-protein products.

[00:09:38] Brad Avery: So are they going to be making the protein product now?

[00:09:41] Monica Watrous: I think he's pretty firm in their stance that they are not jumping on any fads. They're all about real food and they are committed to being a sidekick to a protein forward center of plate option. Our colleague Ferron Salniker this week on BevNET wrote about Spiked Aid, a vodka spiked sports drink that launched last summer. It's positioning itself as a first to market entrant at the intersection of three growing beverage segments, which are spirits-based beverages, functional hydration, and flavor for non-carbonated boozy drinks. What do you think about that? A beverage that hydrates you and dehydrates you at the same time? Needs more protein. Yeah, it could be playing in four spaces.

[00:10:30] Brad Avery: And 200 milligrams caffeine.

[00:10:32] Monica Watrous: Of course, the beverage that does everything. I personally am not weirded out by the inclusion of alcohol in a functional performance setting. As we've established on this podcast, I enjoy partaking in the occasional victory beer, or maybe not even a victory, but an on-course beer during a marathon, sometimes even a shot of Fireball. So I'm not exactly confused by this positioning, but I do wonder how many consumers are going to get it versus feel overwhelmed by a beverage that's doing a little too much.

[00:11:04] Brad Avery: Well, I joke about protein and everything, caffeine and everything, but also hydration has been another one of those big trends that you're seeing put into a lot of product formats. It's a matter of adding electrolytes and whether or not it's always intuitive. I think we've been seeing a lot of innovation and experimentation with what can we make hydrating? No cap soda is an example. They have electrolytes added. So why not a spiked aid?

[00:11:30] Monica Watrous: Here are some other notable bits of news from the week. Cactus snack maker Nemi, seasoning blend producer Toto Verde, and powdered beverage platform Tuio, all led by Latina and Native American entrepreneurs, have merged under the Tuio Foods name. Stoli Group USA, the owner of Stoli Vodka, will move into the liquidation phase after initially filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024. And finally, frozen food maker Saffron Road has elevated President Paul Turbeville to the role of Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Adnan Durrani. For these stories and more, become an insider at BevNET and Nosh. And if you're enjoying the show, please subscribe on your listening platform of choice. 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.