Chickapea Expands in US with Costco Launch

Big retail wins are reshaping the snack and breakfast aisles this week. 🛒📈 That’s it. has entered Costco’s Midwest and Southeast regions with Fruitola, a four-ingredient “fruit granola” delivering 16g of protein per serving, while Crafty Counter is rolling out its 36g-protein Protein Scramble: Chorizo & Egg to Whole Foods Market nationwide. Meanwhile, Frankie’s Organic Snacks has secured its first national U.S. placement in more than 600 Sam’s Club doors, and Cold Case Ice Cream is expanding to 1,000+ Kroger banners across multiple regions. From better-for-you indulgence to high-protein breakfast innovation, brands are leveraging strategic retail partnerships to scale fast in 2026. 🍓🥣 Link to the full story in the first comment below 👇 #CPG #RetailDistribution #NaturalProducts #ProteinTrend #GroceryRetail #SnackIndustry #FrozenFood

🛒 Retail Wins of the Week Every Friday, we highlight brands expanding into new retail doors. Huge congrats to the founders and teams landing meaningful distribution across mass, grocery, club, and foodservice this week. ☕ Bizzy® Cold Brew → Target (1,300 Stores) Bizzy Cold Brew has expanded into 1,300 Target locations, putting their organic cold brew in front of millions more shoppers nationwide. A major step forward for one of the fastest growing brands in the ready-to-drink coffee space. 🥤 poppi → Starbucks Big partnership news. Poppi is now available at Starbucks, bringing its prebiotic soda to one of the most powerful beverage platforms in the world. A huge visibility moment for the better-for-you soda category. 🥬 Grüns → Costco (U.S. Chainwide) Grüns has rolled out chainwide at Costco across the United States, giving members nationwide access to their nutrient-packed greens gummies. Club scale meets functional nutrition. 🥤 Brinkley's → H-E-B (Texas) Brinkley’s has launched at select H-E-B locations across Texas, landing in one of the most influential regional grocery chains in the country. A strong retail partner in a massive food market. Another big week of founders expanding their retail footprint. 🚀

I was on a call with Gourmet Foods International this week sharing about how I mentioned them as a partner at my talk during #expowest about reimagining retail and building with regional and alternative distributors. Alternative distributors is such a weird term. I said on the call that instead of calling them alternative distributors that we should call them better alternative distributors. I wanted to share that nugget with you all today. #reimagineretail

#Monitor: Beyond Meat is being relocated from refrigerated sections to frozen food aisles at Walmart and Costco Wholesale. The shift could benefit both the company and retailers by extending shelf life and reducing inventory waste. Beyond Meat recently delayed its Q4 2025 earnings release to review excess and obsolete inventory balances, underscoring the challenges it faces. The company has yet to achieve sustained profitability, and analysts advise caution for investors. #PlantProtein #Retail #FrozenFood #BeyondMeat #Walmart #Costco https://lnkd.in/dJcX7NvN

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 ━━━━━━━━━ The most underrated category in American grocery. And this time let’s taco bout tortillas, where companies like Gruma México (Mission and Guerrero), Grupo Bimbo (Tortillas Tia Rosa), General Mills (Old El Paso), Ole Mexican Foods (La Banderita), Tyson Foods, Ruiz Foods, Cacique Foods, LLC. and La Tortilla Factory know exactly why. The tortilla category has quietly become a multi-billion dollar powerhouse in U.S. grocery, expanding faster than many traditional bakery segments, but the real story is not just growth, It is how tortillas became a platform food for modern eating. Today they power everyday occasions across American households: ➜ tacos ➜ burritos ➜ wraps ➜ quesadillas ➜ breakfast formats ➜ portable lunches In other words, tortillas moved from ethnic aisle product to mainstream meal infrastructure. Which is why major CPG companies like PepsiCo, Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Mondelēz International, General Mills, Kellanova, Conagra Brands, The Campbell's Company, Mars, Ferrero and Danone compete for the same meal occasions tortillas now dominate. Even smaller operators and investors such as Harbar LLC are watching the category closely. Why this matters for CPG? Bread built the center of the store, but tortillas built something else… Flexibility. One format can serve as: • bread • wrap • snack carrier • meal base Which makes tortillas one of the most adaptable food formats in modern retail. The Better Peer take: Some of the most important categories in grocery are not the ones making the most noise. They are the ones quietly becoming habit infrastructure, since tortillas are moving in that direction. The real question for CPG leaders is simple. Are tortillas a product…. or one of the most strategic food platforms in American grocery? #TheBetterPeer #CPG #FoodIndustry #RetailStrategy #BrandStrategy #ConsumerTrends #FoodAndBeverage #GroceryRetail #CommercialStrategy

The moat for CPG food & beverage companies is rarely ever just the product. I've watched this play out thousands of times. Two nearly identical beverages launch six months apart. Same ingredients, same can size, same price point...mostly the same target demo. One ends up in thousands of doors. The other is gone in 18 months. The difference was never the liquid. It was the founder who understood that every channel needs a different story. It was the team that built regional strength before chasing national distribution. It was the brand that said no to a bad deal in Q2 so they could say yes to the right one in Q4. The moat is the people. The timing. The strategy. And above all...the relentless execution ✌️

The intersection of entertainment and eating is evolving and redefining how brands show up for gameday and beyond. In a conversation with Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, Kate Winston, digital commerce team lead, dives into the strategy behind the "Here for the Snacks" campaign and how Hormel Foods is meeting the demand for high-quality, protein-forward options without sacrificing convenience. Her insights showcase how we lean into culturally relevant moments to connect with busy consumers and their preferences. Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/e8ztdhWX #HereForTheSnacks #HormelFoodsEmployeeAmbassador

Campbell's struggling to keep up with private label and other brand names in snacks, soups and sauces due to lack of innovation, lower perceived value... t.ly/6hvym

Campbell's struggling to keep up with private label and other brand names in snacks, soups and sauces due to lack of innovation, lower perceived value... t.ly/6hvym

That’s a wrap on our Costco Roadshow tour! Over the past 10 months, we executed 18 roadshows across 13 cities, sampling 500,000+ units and connecting directly with thousands of Costco members nationwide. A few key takeaways from the warehouse floor: • Trial drives conversion • Education matters, once shoppers understand what's so special about great tasting, organic, and probiotic packed, cashew-based dips & cheese, the lightbulb moment happens • Bundling works: our 3-pack format resonated with shoppers looking for value and versatility This wasn’t just a sampling program, it was a real-time feedback loop. We gathered insights across regions, refined our messaging, and saw firsthand how in-person experience translates to basket. A huge thank you to the Costco team (especially Allyson Tremblay, Ravi sander, Costco Wholesale Canada, Demos by Design, Borealis Brands Inc, and The SEED Agency) for the partnership, support, and guidance throughout. And to every member who stopped by, sampled, shared feedback, and added us to your cart, thank you for letting us be part of your table. While roadshows are wrapped (for now), our three stacked bundles remain available on Costco.ca, shipping Canada-wide. Excited about what this unlocks as we continue to grow our retail footprint. #costcocanada #costcoroadshow