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It's mid-September and I'm already talking about Black Friday. Might sound crazy but it's just 2 months away!! Sorry folks. But the data says I'm right on time! ~80% of shoppers start their BFCM shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving week. Only 17% wait for the actual weekend. So, if you're waiting until November to build your plan, your customers are already ahead of you. Way ahead. Tapcart recently surveyed 1,205 shoppers for their 2026 BFCM Data Report, and it answers the questions even I wanted answered - How shoppers are using AI to decide what to buy (55% already have, and 26% plan to this BFCM) - Which cohorts plan to spend more this year (42% overall, and luxury shoppers lead the pack at 63%) - The biggest reason ready-to-buy shoppers bail on their carts at the last second (46% named the same culprit, and it's completely fixable) A few more numbers that piqued my interest.... 84% of shopper expect their favorite brands to have an app 40% of holiday buying is now people shopping for THEMSELVES, up from 31% three years ago Fear of stockouts as a reason to shop early jumped from 33% to 42% And fair warning, turns out this thing is a DENSE 87 pages! yay data! But every answer comes with a specific play you can run...plus it's free! 🔗 Go check it out at the link in the comments 🔗 (Partnered with Tapcart on this one, but it is genuinely worth your time.)

Want to be the next $2B brand? You may need to piss a lot of people off. Or at least, that’s what David just taught us. David’s parent company Medici Brands just raised a $250M Series B at a $2.2B valuation, which probably infuriates some of you, and that's the point. David Protein was founded in 2024 by Peter Rahal, the former co-founder of RXBAR (the one that listed every ingredient right on the front of the pack, because clean ingredients were its whole shtick). David launched with an opposite philosophy: optimizing for macros. Where RXBAR promoted individual ingredients, David’s nutrition label grouped each ingredient into “systems” (fat system, flavor system, protein system)—a more formulaic approach that emphasizes function over food. The brand was made possible by EPG, a modified plant fat that gives the taste and texture of traditional fat, but can’t be digested by the body, so it contributes negligible calories. David bought its producer Epogee to own the ingredient, and a slew of lawsuits ensued. First, David was sued over a “bait and switch” scheme to monopolize this ingredient (pending). Then, it faced a class-action lawsuit alleging that the fat + calorie content of its bars was higher than disclosed (which was dismissed). Currently, it’s part of another class-action lawsuit around the ingredient allulose (David will, in all likelihood, win) ((and it should… more on that another time)). All the while, the brand was working overtime to add fuel to the fire—launching literal boiled cod to emphasize its protein-to-calorie ratio, partnering with Julia Fox on billboards that managed to sexualize protein bars, donning a truck with an AI-generated image of a wildly disturbing jacked cow on a truck to advertise ice cream… you name it, they imagined it, and then also executed it. The brand that’s caused an avalanche of legal fees, lost consumer trust, and consistently pissed everyone off continues pushing forward. A few months ago, David launched its high-protein ice cream. Medici Brands recently launched HallPass candy. Last week, David launched its protein shakes. And now, the company is worth $2.2B. At the end of the day, consumers want indulgence and restriction at the same time. We want the pleasure of a convenient sweet treat packaged in such a way that protects our egos and our precious calorie counts. David offers all of that, wrapped up in an antagonized brand that makes it feel even cooler to like it… like you’ve heard all of the noise, and you’re rebelling and buying it anyway. I can say all of this, because—however shameful, or rebellious, or *insert other value judgment*—I’m a consumer of David, too. I’m probably gonna be a consumer of HallPass, and maybe whatever else it launches next. And for all the times it pissed me off, for all the times I’ve participated in the discourse against it, I can see why it’s worth $2.2B today. Congrats, Peter Rahal, on pissing everyone off and building a massive company while doing it.

Here’s what you missed last week across consumer brands, CPG, and retail! Liquid Death and goodwipes collaborate on sCREAM Soda butt wipes and a “Buttler” sweepstakes Makers of David launch HallPass, a low-calorie, zero-sugar candy brand at Walmart AG1 launched greens gummies Goldfish (Pepperidge Farm) FINALLY launches gluten-free Goldfish, so celiacs can have a shot at reliving childhood Unwell is reportedly shutting down Unwell Beverages, because celeb beverage is harder than it seems… Ferrero acquires Purely Elizabeth, its next bet on breakfast Heist brings the highest-quality coffee to decaf BROC SHOT, Inc. partners with Kim Kardashian to flex its benefits for psoriasis The Farmer's Dog launches its first shelf-stable, dry format (add water to rehydrate into fresh food) Frida gets into kids personal care products with a 32-item line Alix Earle invests in Cymbiotika, her second major foray into CPG investing Bubs candy will scale through the acquisition of its parent company by Orkla Snacks Anthropologie bets on beauty and skincare with the expansion of new shop-in-shops For more CPG and consumer brand news, subscribe to our Substack—link in comments!

Here’s what you missed last week across consumer brands, CPG, and retail! WashWise raises $1.2M pre-seed for Reset Spray, a “dry shampoo for clothes” that neutralizes odors and wrinkles between washes GOODLES gets twirly with Twirly Mac, a new spiral noodle format in three flavors Khloud, Khloe Kardashian’s snack brand, launches its first Walmart-exclusive line: collagen-boosted Protein Chips Plus Collagen Esther Choi launches Sessy, a Korean pantry staples brand starting with soy sauce, sesame oil, and gochujang, made with Korea’s Sempio E.L.F. BEAUTY x Bubble—the #1 and #2 brands with U.S. teens—drop a three-product collab merging their holy grails, live at Target PRIMA becomes the top-selling protein bar SKU at Sprouts and Erewhon, and just launched nationwide at Kroger Procter & Gamble acquires practitioner-trusted supplement brand Thorne from L Catterton for $3.8B—less than three years after it went private for $680M Aquaphor goes beyond the ointment with its first-ever daily lotion and cream line, featuring 6% and 9% hyaluronic acid blends Target launches its first-ever Good & Gather cookbook—100 recipes with every ingredient shoppable at Target The Farmer's Dog acquires Woof, the refillable enrichment brand behind the Pupsicle, expanding beyond fresh food into play and wellness Axum Capital Partners acquires a controlling interest in Barcode, the hydration brand co-founded by NBA champ Kyle Kuzma Javvy Coffee, the functional protein coffee brand doing ~$300M in annual revenue, explores a sale that could value it at ~$1B Plantible raises $35M to 5x production of RuBisCO, the leaf-based protein that digests 5–6x faster than whey CJ OLIVE YOUNG USA partners exclusively with SEPHORA to bring 19 Korean skincare brands to 500 U.S. locations starting August 20th For more CPG and consumer brand news, subscribe to our Substack—link below! #cpg #primaprotein #eatprima

Here’s what you missed last week across consumer brands, CPG, and retail! Drizzy, the Australian squeeze-bottle peanut butter backed by Alexis Ohanian Sr., officially launches in the U.S. with just two ingredients—American peanuts and peanut oil California Naturals launches a kids’ collection of gentle, dermatologist-tested hair and body care in adorable bottles Summer Fridays enters body care with a Body Fragrance Mist and Body Butter Balm in vanilla, pistachio, and pink guava Lunchly, the brand from MrBeast and Logan Paul, enters the PB&J wars with Lil Sammies—crustless sandwiches with 13g of protein (plus a Cookies & Cream flavor) The Sola Company keeps the PB&J battle going with Sola Bites, peanut butter-stuffed bagel minis exclusively at Walmart Vita Coco goes premium, acquiring super-premium cold-chain coconut water brand Copra for up to $275M Curie unveils a sweeping gender-neutral rebrand built around “clean performance”—new packaging, logo, messaging, and DTC site Nurri (Trilliant Food & Nutrition, LLC) launches multiserve ultra-filtered, lactose-free protein milk with 20g of protein nationwide at Walmart 105-year-old Utz Brands, Inc. has been sold to Germany-based Intersnack in a $2.9B deal RYSE launches a bottled RTD protein shake line with 30g of protein, rolling out at GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Walmart Smash Foods raises an $18M Series B led by L Catterton for its better-for-you chia seed jams and snacks Peppertux raises $2.35M to expand its pistachio-based spreads and snacks into thousands of grocery stores MOTH Drinks - B Corp™, the London-based canned-cocktail brand, raises £11M to expand UK convenience retail and push into the US Organic Traditions raises $10.5M to bring its daily greens, mushroom coffees, and functional lattes stateside For more CPG and consumer brand news, subscribe to Express Checkout’s Substack—linked below!

This might be the turning point for men's skincare... and it starts with a cologne mist 👀 Sol de Janeiro just lunched it's first ever men's product, Cheiroso. Sol de Janeiro is known for its viral scents. Their Cheirosa '62 mist (pistachio-vanilla-caramel...you know the one) racked up 850M+ TikTok views in 2025 with barely any paid spend. That viral engine turned a nearly $40M business in 2019 into a $1B business by 2025. And now they're pointing that viral machine at the one category where Gen Z men are spending like never before! The numbers here are wild... → Fragrance was the fastest-growing beauty category in 2024, up 25% YoY → Teen boys rose their fragrance spend 26% → 35% of Gen Z men now drop $200+ a year on scent, MORE than Gen Z women at 18% → AND they're not buying one signature scent, but building "fragrance wardrobes" of 8–12 bottles. My take?? We're about to see a huge wave of new products dedicated to men's beauty and skincare (I mean just look at PAPATUI™). And fragrance will most likely be the trojan horse into men's skincare for many consumers. Look, there are already plenty of brands out there. But many of them are traditionally masculine branded products and don't lean into the Sol de Janeiro side of the space. It's clear men want to smell good and smart brands are finally listening to that... What do you think? Is men's beauty the next big category?

Here’s what you missed last week across consumer brands, CPG, and retail! The Campbell's Company launched a Protein Soups line with 20g of protein and a bone broth base across five varieties, rolling out nationwide for $3.19 Final Boss Sour raised $4M backed by Mondelēz International SnackFutures Ventures and Evolution VC Partners, bringing its total to $12M as it rolls into seven major retailers FAVE mixes raised a $1M seed led by supernatural ventures (backers of Poppi and Goodles) and launched in nearly 500 Sprouts Farmers Market stores as the first certified organic brand in the drink mix aisle JUNOCO is launching exclusively at Ulta Beauty with 14 body care products across 850 stores, after raising $6.3M to scale manufacturing BUFFS raised a $1.1M pre-seed for its puffed meat snack and launches Aug 11. Co-founders George Zhou and Beckett Kitaen started the brand as college juniors IM8 Health, co-founded by David Beckham and Prenetics founder Danny Yeung, secured $1B from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund to scale customer acquisition without selling equity HOPKIND, from the team behind skincare brand Symbiome, is launching a functional NA beer with Senactiv and L-citrulline for muscle recovery The EVERY Company is partnering with ADM to commercially scale OvoPro, the first precision-fermented egg white protein For more CPG and consumer brand news, subscribe to Express Checkout’s Substack—link in comments!

Earlier this year, I ran a survey for Express Checkout that reached ~250 college students to better understand how Gen Z thinks about sugar 🍭 . The results were fascinating... but they also raised a bigger question: Are these opinions unique to highly educated/coastal Gen Z college students, or do they reflect how the broader population thinks about sugar too? So we teamed up with Pogo, a consumer loyalty app that rewards users for sharing transaction data and insights from verified purchases, and surveyed 500+ consumers (aged 35+) across the US using the exact same questions. The differences between the two groups was not what we expected..... Some of the questions we explored: 🍭 Which product categories do consumers care most about sugar content? 🥤 What's more appealing: a naturally sweetened product with 5g of sugar, or a 0g sugar product made with artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols? 🌱 Which sweeteners do consumers feel best about consuming? 🛒 What actually shapes consumers' opinions about sugar when they're shopping? ⚠️ An important disclaimer: this is still a relatively small sample size, so we wouldn't consider these findings definitive. That said, the patterns, and especially the differences between college-aged consumers and the broader US (35+) population, offer some really interesting insights for founders, operators, investors, and anyone building in the food & beverage space. Comment "Sugar" and I'll send you the full State of Sugar Report 🍬! As always, major shoutout to Nate Rosen & Jenna Movsowitz for all their help and support with this project :) #cpg #cpginsights #cpgtrends #cpgreport #cpginvestment