Express Checkout #120

CPG and Retail news from the week of 3/31/25

Hello hello!

What. A. Week. At least we had April Fools to give us a chuckle? Check out my TikTok of all the April Fools products that, IMO, are actually worth making.

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News From the Week

If you haven’t noticed yet Express Checkout has officially moved from Beehiiv to Substack! After careful consideration, we’ve made this switch to enhance your experience and strengthen the future of Express Checkout. We’re excited about what this means for our community :)

Here’s what you can expect:

With this move, we’ll continue delivering everything you love about Express Checkout — the latest CPG news, exclusive interviews, deep dives, and trend analysis — but with improved community tools, cleaner design, and a smoother reading experience:

1. A better reading experience 🔍: Substack’s app (on iOS and Android!) puts all your newsies in one place, in one easy-to-read feed.

2. YOU are part of the convo 💬: One of the main reasons we love Substack is because of its new community features. It’s fun to share news with you each week—but it’s even more fun for it to be a conversation. With Substack’s threaded discussions + Q&As, you’ll be able to contribute your hot takes and speculations on the latest CPG and retail news, funding announcements, and trends.

3. More multimedia coming 👀: Substack has built-in podcast and livestream features that we can’t wait to use…stay tuned.

What do you need to do? Absolutely nothing!

If you encounter any issues, simply reply to this email, and I’ll help sort things out.

Now, let’s get to it! →

CPG & Consumer Goods

• Glen is getting saucy! Hollywood heartthrob Glen Powell launched a new line of organic, better-for-you classic condiments called Smash Kitchen. The product line is exclusively available at Walmart—and all products are under $5.

  • Initial thoughts? The branding and form factors feel…familiar. And in a world of Grazas and Ayohs, a lack of boldness feels like a statement in itself. But with Walmart-only distribution and an affordable price point, this copy-paste style may be a purposeful strategy—easy to envision as a pantry replacement for the beloved classics.

    

• The new wave of protein bars:

  • Kailo, a new line of clean-ingredient protein bars, launched in three nostalgic flavors: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Cacao Walnut, and Oatmeal Chai. Each bar contains over 14 grams of plant-based protein and zero added sugar.

  • BOLD Bar also launched this past week—a new multi-hyphenate bar boasting 100mg of Caffeine and 20g of protein.

• Bringing the booty home. Rob Ehrlich, the eccentric founder of Priate’s Booty brand (and self appointed mayor of a small Long Island village), has reportedly won a significant arbitration case, enabling him to reclaim ownership of the beloved snack brand under his original company, Robert’s American Gourmet.

  • Ehrlich built Pirate's Booty into a household name before selling it in 2013 to B&G, it was later acquired by Hershey’s in 2018.

• The rise of teen skincare. Erin Piper is launching Saint Crewe, a skincare brand focused on age-appropriate products for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The brand's debut collection includes four products designed with dermatologists to ensure effectiveness and gentleness for younger skin.

  • They’re not the only one trying to fill this gap in the market. Bubble Skincare has been leading the charge when in comes to Gen Z focused skincare and recently had an all-door expansion into Target. Brands like Erly, YAWN WORLD, JB Skrub, and Evereden have followed suit.

• Sometimes all you need is a fresh coat of paint. Harry's is hoping to stand out in the growing men's grooming space with its new "Man, That Feels Good" campaign and full brand refresh. Its moving beyond its humble origins as a DTC razor company, positioning itself as a challenger in the broader men's grooming category.

• Sustainable and high protein? B-Sides, a snack startup focused on upcycling, launched Crunch Puffs, a plant-based snack made from leftover oats discarded during oat milk production.

  • Available in cheddar, ranch, and jalapeño flavors, each bag contains 10 grams of complete plant-based protein and is free from the top nine allergens.

eCommerce

• Taking Alexa to the next level. Amazon is testing a new AI shopping feature called "Buy for Me," which allows users to request products from external websites directly through the Amazon Shopping app, without ever having to leave it. The twist? The AI agent will browse external site, select products, and handle the purchase process automatically. Creepy.

• Bye-bye for now. GoodwillFinds, the online marketplace launched by Goodwill Industries in October 2022, ceased operations, due to a lack of traction among consumers and participating local Goodwills. The platform aimed to capture a share of the online resale market boom but struggled with high prices and shipping costs, leading customers to prefer the older ShopGoodwill.com.

• From cable to TV to vertical video. QVC is launching nonstop live shopping streams on TikTok to revive its business and expand its audience, following a challenging period marked by declining TV viewership and a significant loss of inventory due to a fire. The partnership aims to leverage TikTok's growing user base in the U.S., despite uncertainties surrounding the app's future in the country.

  • And yes, this is genius. Live shopping is booming in the US. Recently, live shopping leader Whatnot raised $265 million in Series E funding, reaching a valuation of nearly $5 billion after achieving over $3 billion in gross merchandise value from livestream sales in 2024.

Retail

• Ulta is making moves this week:

  • Ulta Beauty is increasing its focus on in-person events, planning 70,000 events for 2025, including 20,000 new in-store events and the largest-ever ticketed consumer event, Ulta Beauty World. This strategy aims to drive sales in brick-and-mortar stores.

    • They’re not alone in this IRL push: We anticipate experiential marketing will be a significant line item for many retailers and brands this year.

  • Ulta will pause its expansion of shop-in-shops within Target this year to focus on optimizing the 610 existing locations. The decision comes as Ulta aims to improve its performance amid recent sales challenges. 2024 marked the first year Ulta lost market share in the beauty market following a 2% decline in net sales.

• Back from the dead! Variety Wholesalers announced the opening of nine newly acquired Big Lots! stores, following their acquisition of all 219 locations. The company aims to expand its footprint by reopening additional stores across multiple states in the coming months.

Funding news

• Haircare is hot… Bread Beauty Supply has been acquired by the Cost of Doing Business holding company, founded by Topicals' Olamide Olowe.

• ..and so is going au natural. Unilever acquired Wild Cosmetics, a UK-based natural deodorant brand, for approximately £250 million, less than five years after its launch. Wild's eco-friendly products, including refillable deodorants, gained significant popularity, making it the leading natural deodorant brand in the UK.

• More pickles, please! Good Girl Snacks, a pickle startup launched in February 2024, raised a pre-seed funding round led by Collab Fund, with participation from Sweetgreen's co-founder.

• Another one ☝️ Nixie Beverage Company raised $26.9 million to expand its presence in the zero-sugar soda market.

• Kinda a funny name when you think about it. Wet Hydration has raised a $4.5 million funding round, exclusively backed by private investors. The company aims to enhance its market presence this year with new innovations and key personnel hires, including a former executive from Celsius.

• KJ Holding Corp, the owner of Calypso Lemonades, has acquired Mela Water, a leading provider of premium watermelon waters. This merger aims to leverage Calypso's robust platform to accelerate Mela's growth in the plant-based functional hydration market.

• The sauce wars heat up! Monte’s Fine Foods, an award-winning clean-label sauce brand, secured a $2 million early-stage investment from Night Ventures. The funding will support the company's mission to reinvent Italian-American home cooking and expand its team and product line.

• Another popcorn brand for the chocolate giant! The Hershey Company announced its acquisition of LesserEvil for a cool $750 million, its second better-for-you popcorn company following its purchase of Amplify, the parent company of SkinnyPop, for $1.6 billion in 2017.

• Expanding in the US bev market. Castillo Hermanos, a Guatemalan 139-year-old conglomerate, is acquiring Harvest Hill Beverage Company, known for beloved brands like SunnyD, for approximately $1.5 billion.

Weekly Pickups

All the Bitter cherry coffee blast - More like all the deliciousness! I’m a huge fan of bitters both just in soda but also in my cocktails and this one is damn good.