People Don't Give a Shit About Seed Oils

C-store cults, Whoop for poop, vegan protein water

Should I change my official title to “Snack Nostradamus”? The New York Times did a full profile on Snaxshot, written by the incomparable Rachel Sugar, it’s the best way to celebrate turning 5 years old. This newsletter has gone from underdog to being the most sought after CPG publication read by everyone from top executives at the biggest food and beverage companies in the world, food scientists, buyers, venture capitalists, analysts, agencies, celebrities, influencers, professors and students and just your average snacker. There’s a student who did a whole thesis featuring Snaxshot, I’ve heard from both MBA and undergrad students Snaxshot is often brought up in classes discussing consumer products, and I’ve actually been able to give guest lectures at schools like MIT and Cornell.

Over the course of half a decade, our work has been able to change the way people talk and interact with CPG products themselves, I’ve also been able to consult for both emerging and BigFood brands, helping shape and influence what eventually makes it to a grocery aisle. But my most important work to date, helping upend dynamics in the space, helping empower both consumers and emerging brands instead.

I’m so thankful for this space and your support, and cannot wait to see what the next 5 years brings. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

What we discuss in this issue—

• Beef tallow won’t save us or restaurants

• Why we want to rep our favorite C-stores

• Olipop can now prove their function

• Welcome to Mad Libs of CPG

• Curation of new products

Who Can Afford $17 Chicken Tenders?

Running a restaurant is brutal business, and in 2025 everyone from fast food to high end have been struggling, those unit economics are not for the faint of heart. We’ve seen Eleven Madison revert back to meat and even what feels like an American staple like Wingstop have been down WING 0.00%↑ YOY. So it’s never surprising to come across some restaurant owner’s thread trying to keep it real and share how hard it is to be in this business—it usually works in favor of them with some even going as far as raising from their audiences to help keep their business afloat, that wasn’t the case for this particular shop Tallow.

Tallow is found within a ShopRite and seemingly never bothered to swap out the old signage of the former tenant.

In a now deleted thread the founder details their struggles starting off with “Maybe our food isn’t good, but we bring around $50-125 per day being open for 7-8 hours,” the thread goes on, “I’ve poured every penny I have into this. Thinking people would want a restaurant that serves everything that’s made from scratch Including sauces, ketchup etc. Avoiding seed oils, high fructose corn syrup, fillers, preservatives and more and still being affordable to today’s standards.”—instead of being met with sympathy, the internet began to call out the restaurant for what they believe makes no sense in the first place. The restaurant which is called Tallow, is found inside of a ShopRite, inside of a strip mall that has a Cane’s, Wingstop and Popeye’s as well—although it’s called tallow, it only sells chicken tenders that go for $17 for a 4/piece without any sides included.

$17 for 4 chicken tenders is wild.

An X user noted, “restaurant success is all about location but putting "no seed oils" on your sign/logo is basically an announcement that you serve the douchiest demographic possible, one step away from raw milk psychos. normal people don't want to be associated with that kind of neurosis.” while another one said, “poor guy didn't realize that there's like 2 mil people total in the united states who give the slightest shit about seed oils and while they might all be here on twitter they are not high enough density to support a physical restaurant.”—do people really give a shit about seed oils? The reality is no one is going to care about seed oils or tallow if the product or meal is costing them 3x the price of what is readily available out there. These trends will remain a social media echo chamber that won’t be able to succeed outside in the real world, where Americans can barely pay for groceries and even fast food has become a luxury to them, while the government likes to tout about the good that MAHA is doing, none of it matters if the average American can’t afford to opt out of seed oils or into tallow.

Last year I predicted that beef tallow would be the ingredient of 2025, and I was proved right yet again, what happened with Tallow (the restaurant) speaks to the fate of all these newly launched CPG brands touting beef tallow as their main ingredient yet their chip bags are retailing for $15 a bag. The success in this space comes down to one thing, can it be succesful middle-America out? Anything outside of that and you’re basically participating in a circle jerk.

Forget Erewhon, We Want 7Eleven Merch

There’s a renaissance happening in American C-store/gas stations, we wrote a bit more about that here, noting that there’s so many iconic rest stops that still exist to this day in the US. But before new concepts of Maggie’s or Tesla diners sprung, American staples like Buc-ees and 7/Eleven have been capturing the hearts and wallets of newer generations, as more Millennials and GenZ flock to their spaces whether it’s for their clean bathrooms or viral slurpees.

Buc-ees has been recruiting for a cult ever since they started spending hardcore money on billboards in the north, they need to let you know the closest Buc-ees is hundreds of miles away in case you thought you would be safe from them outside the South anywhere else in the US. From PJs to bathing suits, plushees, backpacks and sweatshirts, there is no escaping Arch “Beaver” Aplin, his net worth estimated to be around $1.3 billion. One of my followers said it best, “7-11 having better merch than any other brand in 2025 is so goated”—their latest collaboration with Eddie Eddie by Billy Tommy highlights their famous Montauk location, which has previously been reported as to be the highest-grossing store in the United States. These merch drops serving as a form of noveau memorabilia, and a great way for Millennials and GenZ to flex what they love best, signaling an “in the know” kind of taste.

“Whoop For Poop”

Olipop may just beome a trillion dollar company based on this—Throne Science which we first wrote about last year, has announced they are launching in January, this toilet wearable will be able to give you with a microbiome test, you get 120+ biomarkers for $250+ per test—can you imagine how much more valuable Poppi would have been if they could have proved their function?

How Many Buzzwords Fit in a Can?

I need the CPG industry to take a hard look at itself—what are we even doing at this point. What does vegan protein water mean? Why is there a prebiotic, protein, Kool-Aid energy drink? The MadLibs are getting out of hand.

HOL

Bone broth bars are the new protein bar.

Rosi’s

We’ve written extensively about the olive oil tin renaissance, Rosi’s is the latest to get into the space, featuring the aesthetic we dubbed as noveau artisanal.

Orita

One of my favorite branded sodas of the moment, based in Mexico. Is this the new Topo Chico?!

Nashi

Pear juices continue to boom as hangover prevention.

Aider

Remember when I predicted protein pints would be the next Halo Top? Yet another example.

Cassavida

One of the best healthy snack I’ve had in 2025, South American classics like arepas, pao e queijo and now cunapes are permeating into mainstream.

Stray

What did I say about savoury drinks?! This is also from a bar getting into RTDs, another prediction we made here.

Bunky

Post Khloe Kardashian’s Khloud, we’re experience protein popcorn boom.

Juicy Bite

Remember when I predicted the rise of RTE chicken breast?!

KICK

Very fun and clearly influenced by L’isolina’s Spaghetti Dust.

Giardonnaise

Most people think this is a competitor to Ayoh, but you can’t fake local.