Venture with a Side of Fries
vitamin sprinkles and intelligent grocers
“As a founder in the CPG space it's been invaluable to me as a resource to keep my finger on the pulse of what's happening here." —Arjun, a paid reader.
Hot Fries, Frozen Aisles
Jesse & Ben’s announced a $10M Series A led by Greycroft, alongside others like Midnight Ventures and Willow Growth Partners, and individuals like Nicolas Jammet (Sweetgreen) and Allison and Stephen Ellsworth (Poppi), the raise going towards their retail expansion having launched at Whole Food’s and Target nationwide.
The conversation around seed-oils has allowed for a new wave of healthier frozen fries to come to life, with Jesse & Ben’s leading it, see their beef tallow SKU—other recent brand launches include Folkland and Naked Fries. Frozen continues to be a hot category as it’s been growing double digits, mostly post-pandemic as households increased their freezer space and a narrative shift from depressed and processed, to fresh and natural.
Momofuku vs. A-sha
If you buy Momofuku’s noodles regularly did you notice a change with taste or texture, Reddit threads began to pop up months ago, with people claiming the new noodles tasted different, with some noting it did so in a bad way. There was a noticeable change to their packaging as well, notice how you don’t see the A-Sha logo on it anymore? That’s because A-Sha originally was producing their noodles, but a lawsuit emerged last summer, with both companies being in a legal battle against each other—until now, it looks like they may have settled their differences.
So have you noticed any difference?
Gen Beta’s Vitamin Sprinkles
First Dr. Glitter, and now vitamin sprinkles, we’re moving further into confectionery supplements, is this Gen Beta’s version of Flinstone vitamins?
Self-Driving Supermarkets
Vori has raised an additional $22M in capital to further their agenda of using AI powered operation system to help grocer’s with their biggest pain point—better margins.
Here’s how they are helping grocers reduce costs creating intelligent supermarkets that can run themselves—
VORI’s system of records consolidates every product, supplier and transaction into one “source of truth.”
VORI’s system of action runs the store, when inventory runs low, new orders automatically places themselves, when the costs of goods changes, they update the price automatically with their digital shelf tags.
VORI’s sytem of transaction processes every $ that flows through the grocery store.
Can see how this can create so much value for median and independent grocers.
Will Olipop Go For an IPO?
According to Axios, Morgan Stanley is advising a $200M secondary raise for Olipop, according to the story, talks of M&A between Coca-Cola and Red Bull led nowhere (not sure who the source is for that specific note) at this point I’m wondering if they are prepping to go the IPO route as the company has been profitable since 2024.
Would love to know what you think?