The great caffeine rush ⚡️

CPG and Retail news from the week of 7/14/25

and

Jul 21, 2025

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News From the Week

Liquid Death just announced it's entering the energy drink space in January 2026 with "Sparkling Energy"—100mg of caffeine per can in what CEO Mike Cessario calls "unextreme" levels compared to the 200mg+ monsters dominating shelves.

At first glance, this might seem surprising for a brand built on murdering your thirst with plain water. But dig deeper and it makes perfect sense.

According to the brand, energy drinks are the No. 1 item purchased alongside Liquid Death products. And at BevNET Live, their Chief Strategy Officer dropped another telling stat: Liquid Death is the second most followed beverage brand on social, beaten only by "that one energy drink brand" (Red Bull, obviously).

When your own customers are buying energy drinks with your water AND you're losing social dominance to energy brands, the message is clear: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

And with revenue expected to hit $340 million this year and reports of seeking $20 million in fresh capital, launching a me-too energy drink feels more like checking a box for public market investors than genuine innovation.

The energy drink gold rush is in full swing. While Monster and Celsius still dominate market share, a new wave of brands is proving there's room to disrupt:

Bloom Energy sold 35+ million cans in year one
Gorgie raised $37 million to take on the titans nationwide
Lucky Energy raised over $40 million and is in 10,000+ doors
PHX, Dave Portnoy's latest bet, is combining hydration and energy in one drink

The energy drink market hit $22 billion last year (up 9.9%) and is expected to nearly double to $64.9 billion by 2034.

But maybe the real story isn’t about energy drinks—it’s about caffeine more broadly. Compare caffeine to adaptogen brands that spent millions educating consumers about ashwagandha and reishi mushrooms—ingredients with effects you probably won't even notice. Meanwhile, caffeine has BEEN functional. It doesn't need to prove itself. 🤷

And innovation is everywhere. (Modern Retail just talked about this):

Chocolate: Awake Chocolate just raised CAD $8 million this week alone
Sprays: Allday and Pzaz are making caffeine sprayable
Gum: Rev Gum and Neuro are bringing energy to chewing gum
Chips: Bangers launched caffeinated potato chips (yes, really…)
Bars: BOLD Bar combines protein + caffeine! (very trendy and tasty)
Syrups: Jordan's Skinny Mixes just dropped zero sugar, zero calorie Energy Syrups with 100mg of caffeine—intended for use in sparkling water, tea, or sodas (v trendy for the "dirty soda" trend)

We could write a whole thesis on caffeine as an ingredient and its complex relationship with hustle culture, gaming culture (remember GFuel??), and how it's both a pushback to AND a feature of the wellness movement—but we'll save that for another time (or format...).

But today, we're just pointing out: brands like Liquid Death are finally waking up to caffeine (pun intended), giving this slept-on (another one) functional ingredient the innovation and respect it deserves—no longer taking a backseat to flashier functional ingredients.

CPG & Consumer Goods

High-protein summer. Egglife, the egg-based wrap brand, is breaking out beyond wraps with two new categories this summer:
- GRAB & GO - Roll-Up's: Their first innovation in the convenient grab-and-go category, featuring signature egg white wraps filled with premium meats and cheeses, delivering 13-16g of protein per package.
- POWER PASTA: A first-of-its-kind refrigerated pasta made with eggs instead of flour, featuring 20g of protein and only 3g of carbs per serving. The macros are impressively lean at 110 calories, offering a similar protein-to-calorie ratio as a David Protein Bar.
Speaking of protein… Catalina Snacks just dropped a new line of protein granola, boasting 13 grams of protein and low sugar, and featuring Catalina Crunch’s own cereal.
- They're not the only high-protein low sugar cereal brand to do this. Earlier this year Magic Spoon launched its own protein granola line.
And just when we thought we reached peak protein… MUD\WTR, the OG coffee alternative brand just launched "Nourish," a new protein powder with 25g of organic plant protein with added nootropics and adaptogens.
- The brand is promoting this launch as the “first protein for mental wellness,” which feels like a line from an Onion article about product ads in wellness podcasts. But honestly, we see this product easily reaching its target market and making a killing. Gains + brains = a subscription model darling. - J
- Side note: This protein “trend” has reached new levels that everyone is noticing, just just us CPG nerds 🤓. One of my favorite YouTubers, Drew Gooden, returned from his 3-month video hiatus to make this deep-dive on protein, and CNBC’s shared one on its YouTube channel too. - N
Loyalty gets a glow-up. Sun Bum launched The Bum Club, a loyalty program that rewards "bananas" (points) for way more than just purchases—think sharing sunset pics, learning about skin cancer prevention, or literally doing nothing at all—netting nearly 14,000 sign-ups during its soft launch.
- The program runs on our favorite innovative rewards platform, Rediem, that turns consumer actions into community-driven UGC feeds.
There’s still so much work to be done. Ami Cole, the award-winning beauty brand for melanin-rich skin, announced that it will shut down in September 2025 despite raising over $3 million and expanding to 600 Sephora stores—a closure that founder Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye attributes to unsustainable market conditions and the beauty industry's retreat from its 2020 diversity promises.
Another celeb beauty brand. Billy Porter just dropped his first beauty brand, Black Mona Lisa, featuring a range of ingredient-conscious products.
FINALLY some ice cream sandwich innovation. My/Mochi is shaking up the frozen treat scene with its new Mochi Ice Cream Sandwiches, launching just in time for National Ice Cream Day (which was yesterday…we hope you all indulged 🍦)

eCommerce

Setting boundaries against AI. Shopify is tightening its grip on autonomous shopping by enforcing human oversight for AI-driven transactions.
- It seems like everyone and their mothers are developing agentic shopping tools. Major players entering this space include OpenAI with their Operator tool (being tested by eBay, Instacart, and DoorDash), Amazon with their "Buy for Me" feature that allows purchases from third-party sites within the Amazon app, and payment providers like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal who have launched integrations to facilitate autonomous payments. Even Google and Perplexity have introduced AI shopping assistants to streamline online purchasing.

Retail

Sounds like someone is bitter... Target is ending price matching for competitors like Walmart and Amazon starting July 28. This decision comes as the retailer faces declining sales and increased competition (from Walmart and Amazon), aiming to boost consumer confidence with everyday low prices instead.
Cyber Chaos. UNFI is facing a staggering $350-$400 million sales loss following the cyberattack that disrupted operations and affected major retailers like Whole Foods.

Funding news

Hummus on the rise! Little Sesame secured $8.5 million in funding to ramp up production, led by InvestEco with participation from Santatera Capital and Beliade Consumer Partners. With plans for a new facility, they aim to produce 400,000 pounds weekly!
Another soda… NO CAP! Soda Pop (yes, that is the actual name, not a questionable editorial interjection) raised a $3 million from Pinnacle Investment Group to further expand into retail.
The rise of pet 🐶
- Oh Norman!, co-founded by Kaley Cuoco, raised $2.08 million in a round led by Brown University and Mars Petcare's Leap Venture Studio, bringing its total funding to over $5 million.
- And they’re not alone. Pet food brand Jinx is gearing up for a Series C funding round as it approaches $100M in revenue, expanding its retail presence to over 10,000 stores.