Taste Tomorrow Ventures

Moments like this signal a brand’s move into mainstream culture. SkyPop Protein Soda featured on The Price is Right, in front of more than 4 million viewers. An iconic show, a massive audience, and another meaningful step in building and leading an emerging category. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Walmart Publix Super Markets Kroger Albertsons Companies CVS Pharmacy Dave Cohen Solyco Capital Chad Cunningham Christian (Tovar) Moreno, MBA Adam Beier Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. Taste Tomorrow Ventures

TRIP just made a move every consumer brand should be studying 👀 They just put Kendall Jenner, Joe Jonas, Madeline Argy, Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo all in one commercial. Quite frankly, it's one of the best produced campaigns I've seen this year. But here's what you might have missed that made this SO smart 👇 1. Not one of them was on a flat fee. They’re all equity holders. A fee gets you a campaign window, equity gets you a partner who cares about retail sell through years from now with real skin in the game. 2. All five were genuine customers before any deal existed. Joe Jonas was already on the cap table from last year's $40m round. They didn't buy the endorsements, they brought people on board who already believed in the brand. 3. The demand for the product was already there. They didn't use celebrity to manufacture demand from the outset, they used it to amplify cult demand that already existed. $100m revenue in 2025, on track for $200m in 2026. 75,000 doors globally, 20,000 in the US and climbing. 4. TRIP is still founder led. Olivia Ferdi and Daniel Khoury left careers in law and finance in 2019 to build this.  Seven years later they're on billboards in Times Square, Hollywood Boulevard and London, and the story is still theirs. That DNA of why they started is still running through the brand, even when bringing strategic partners on board. The lesson for anyone building a consumer brand? Most brands still treat creators and talent as a media buy. A line item, a fee or a campaign window. The smartest ones make them owners, immersing creators and celebrities into the brand universe with their own identities, exactly like TRIP have done here. It's a masterclass in brand growth that most founders spend years trying to achieve. Hats off to Olivia Ferdi, Daniel Khoury and the entire TRIP team on this. My eyes are peeled for where this goes next 👏

Thank you BevLab for this feature on SkyPop Protein Soda and for highlighting what’s driving our leadership in the category. https://lnkd.in/gj_U89TQ Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. LA Libations iHeartMedia Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. Solyco Capital Taste Tomorrow Ventures Albertsons Companies Target Walmart Publix Super Markets Kroger CVS Pharmacy Danny Stepper Chad Cunningham Christian (Tovar) Moreno, MBA Dave Cohen Adam Beier Joseph Escobar

The best collab in the history of collabingtons. Should we make more of these? happy®💚Doom See Marvel Studios' #AvengersDoomsday in theaters 12/18

🚨 ATTN EMERGING BRANDS - BIG NEWS: L.A. Libations has been working with Walmart on Emerging Beverages since we founded the company and I can say with absolute certainty that the current Walmart Beverage Team led by Brian Salmon is by far the most committed and focused to giving their customer what they want than I have ever seen before! It could not be more reflective in the big changes happening that I witnessed yesterday! There are many. Today I am only going to share one of those important initiatives (more later). The “New and Noteworthy” set which will be rolled out in 1200 Walmart stores. Yesterday Joseph Escobar, Patrick Bolden and I were invited to visit stores in Texas with the Brian Salmon and his team of merchants to see it live…and all I can say is WOW! The “New and Noteworthy”set created and managed by Hudson Henry is going to have very large impact on the Beverage Industry! In 1200 stores, a quarterly cohort of emerging brands will enter the “New & Noteworthy” set which is 4 or 8 feet (depending on store size) of Grab & Go COLD SPACE (!) in the front of the store (Yes COLD SPACE). Brands that perform will graduate to other locations in the store (more on that another day!). The brands in the inaugural cohort are 7 Brew Coffee energy drinks and coffee (exclusive to Walmart - and from what I understand have insane velocities, TRIP, Recess (brought in early by Alex Ryals), UPDATE, FLRT from Monster Energy and Free Rein Coffee Company. There will be sampling opportunities (think Costco Roadshows) and other unique “FOUNDER FRIENDLY” elements! This is a massive move for the industry as Walmart wants to be a first destination for emerging brands, and they are taking action steps to make that happen.  Brands are encouraged to get set up on Walmart.com (http://walmart.com/) as a first step to be considered.  Reach out to Dan Weisbach - dan@lalibations (and L.A. Vibrations) if you need a partner for walmart.com set up. There are other MAJOR moves in motion in Walmart’s Beverage Department which will effect CSD, Energy, Water, Mood which will be revealed and discussed with Walmart in Miami at The Beverage Forum Winter in Miami on November 12-13th! #showup! Big moves! Steven Litwiller, Paxon Alexander, Gabriella Cox, Ibirogba T. Babatunde, Melody Richard, Melissa Hagerman, Denetrias Charlemagne

We loved being a sponsor & supporter of Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project last night at Paramount’s Universal Studios Hollywood! Our founders, Semira Nikou & Isabella "Bella" Hughes represented team Better Sour at CTAOP’a annual fundraising gala, sharing our 🍬 in all the gift bags & at the snack station. We’re incredibly inspired by the impactful work Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project does to change the lives of young people in 🇿🇦. Big thanks to Kyle Kuhns for getting us involved 🫶🏽 #bettersour #ctaop Amir Zahedi Ed Schultz Laurel Filek Jared LaBounty GingerBread Capital Taste Tomorrow Ventures

“ Halloween-themed Snickers- and Twix-style candy heading to MAJOR NATURAL RETAILERS”....UMMMM… THAT’S US!!!! 🎃🍫 Pretty wild to see that headline in VegNews and realize they’re talking about the little candy company we started because we believed the candy aisle was ready for something totally different. This Halloween, Harken Sweets is showing up with TWO seasonal bags: Salted Caramel and Peanut & Caramel. OFC they're sweetened with dates, have no added sugar, are packed with fiber, and most importantly, actually taste like CANDY. They’re already on shelves at Sprouts Farmers Market nationwide, with another MAJAHHH retailer coming very soon!!! Halloween has always felt like one of those HUGE moments for us. Candy is quite literally the main event. And getting to put our spin on it, with the NEW NOSTALGIC candy bars that are just as fun to eat but made in a completely new way, is exactly why I built Harken. It’s also pretty darn cool to see Harken featured alongside so many brands rethinking what familiar foods can look like. HUGE thank you to the VegNews Editors for including us in this week’s food news and for shining a light on our little Harken bars. Now someone please pinch me because HARKEN IS IN THE HALLOWEEN CANDY AISLE!!!! 🎃🎃🎃 #LOVECANDYAGAIN https://lnkd.in/eCXHd5Wb

TRIP is officially on a screen near you 🎬 ⛅ 💕 Our biggest global TV investment to date is now officially out in the world, bringing together Kendall Jenner, Madeline Argy and Joe Jonas! Talk about a dream lineup 💭 Seeing the brand show up at this scale has been pretty wild. From some of the world’s biggest screens and billboards to TV and social, this campaign has truly landed everywhere. Such an exciting moment for the whole team-and very cool to see TRIP out there in such a big way!!

The Taste Tomorrow Ventures & L.A. Libations team are all buzzing this morning about the the big TRIP announcement! TRIP was the "Brand On 🔥" in April at The Beverage Forum in Manhattan Beach (following BeatBox andBloom Nutrition!). Well the fire is going to spread now!! Huge congrats to our partners Daniel Khoury & Olivia Ferdi on an exclamation point to an incredible year of growth. I love the way this deal is structured and cannot wait to get into on stage with Olivia Ferdi on stage in London at The Beverage Forum Europe! So proud to be an investor and partner in this brand with these great founders! #ShowUp!

SkyPop says its flavor-first protein soda strategy has taken it to 10,000 doors in just eight months. 🥤📈 The rebranded former Don’t Quit platform is now in retailers including Publix, HyVee, Meijer, Giant Eagle and Weis Markets, with additional distribution across Costco, CVS, Target, Walmart, Albertsons and Kroger. The zero-sugar modern soda, made with 10 grams of whey isolate protein per can, is leaning into “superior soda taste” as protein demand accelerates and the category gets more crowded. 🏪 Link to the full story in the first comment below 👇 #BeverageIndustry #ProteinSoda #FunctionalBeverage #ModernSoda #CPG #RetailExpansion #BeverageNews