Welcome back to Weekly Pickups!
This has been another crazy week for the world of protein. Isn’t it always. Pop-Tarts released an official protein Pop-Tart (finally), Consumer Reports dropped a report about lead in protein powders that lead (don’t worry, some of the brands cleared the air), and Barebells launched a protein soda. Honestly, we are so here for all of it! The protein conversation is happening everywhere right now.
And if you want the full story on where protein came from and how we got where we are today, we did a two-part podcast on it that’s absolutely worth checking out. Go give that a listen—it’ll help you make some sense of the chaos!
Now, let’s get into what we’ve been loving this week →
Nate’s Pickup:
Gigantic Candy - Deluxe Candy bars
These bad boys are BACK, and I for one am so happy they are. I loved the old bars and the fact that these are not a better for you chocolate bar, just less sweet. But they’re back with a fresh rebrand and a new format that somehow makes them even more addictive than before.
Quick Facts: Luxe Italian dark chocolate bars with brown sugar caramel centers, available in four flavors: Salted Peanut, Almond Horchata, Crispy Coconut, and Double Dark Mint. Housed in a cigarette-box-style packaging with five individually wrapped bars—and yes, “chainsmoke” is absolutely the vibe.
Reasons to love:
The sweetness is dialed in just right. This is the sweet spot (pun intended) that many new candy brands miss. They’re not aggressively sugary. But they’re also not pretending to be healthy. The dialed-down sweetness means the actual flavors actually shine through instead of being buried under a mountains of sugar. It’s the difference between a candy bar you eat and a candy bar you savor.
The texture is genuinely satisfying. There’s something deeply gratifying about biting into one of these. The brown sugar caramel center is chewy but with this tiny bit of thickness that makes every bite feel substantial. As Chloe Gordon perfectly captured in her rebrand coverage: these are candy you’d want to chainsmoke. And she’s not wrong. The addictiveness is real, partly because each bite is genuinely pleasurable.
The packaging is fun. The cigarette-box aesthetic is having a moment right now—Chloe Gordon wrote this incredible piece about how cigarette-inspired packaging is trending thanks to smoking’s cultural cache—and Gigantic nailed it. But it’s more than just trend-riding. There’s something so satisfying about popping open the box and pulling out an individually wrapped bar, it feels like a new ritual. That said, I do have one complaint: there are only 5 bars in the box, and there need to be 50!
Where to buy: Online
Jenna’s Pickup:
Better Sour - Tart Cherry
I LOVE sour gummies. As more and more supplement companies launch functional gummies, it’s been genuinely hard for me to stick to the recommended dose—I frequently find myself “overdosing” on biotin, simply because I crave more than 1-2 gummies 🤷♀️. Luckily, Better Sour makes gummies that were made to be consumed in full-bag quantities, without the subsequent sugar crash. They’re not functional; they’re simply gummies made with great ingredients that taste even better than the OG sweets.
Quick Facts: Vegan, low-sugar, high-fiber sour gummies inspired by (and made with) real global fruit flavors—no artificial blue razz or sour watermelon, here.
Reasons to love:
The most wonderful co-founders + story. The only thing better than this product is the two women behind it. Better Sour was founded by two daughters of Iranian immigrants who were raised in Hawaii and grew up on vibrant, global fruits. They’ve been best friends for decades, and always wanted to go into business together—as flavor fiends, the food world felt like the most natural path. When they noticed that the candy aisle wasn’t responding to the rise in demand for heritage flavors, they made it their mission to close that gap. This isn’t just a “better-for-you” remake of OG gummies—it’s a fully reimagined idea of what culinary, global candy can be.
Sour flavor to its very core. Because their flavors are inspired by naturally tart fruits, these aren’t just some sweet fruity flavor forcefully layered with a sour sugar—they are sour by nature. And because they rely on the real fruit flavor, the ingredients are pretty simple: real juice, tapioca fiber, allulose, pectin, and color only from real fruit and vegetable juice. I love all of their flavors, but I got to try the tart cherry this week at Consumer VC Live in Austin, and fell in love with it! It’s a perfect remake of the cherry candy flavor you (likely) grew up with, but in its most authentically tart form—made from tart cherry juice from Georgia and dried Montmorency cherries from the U.S.
Where to buy: On Amazon or in stores nationwide.
✨ Special Guest ✨ Lucas Ballasy
Lucas Ballasy is the CEO and Partner at Barrel, a commerce agency specializing in customer experiences for CPG, beauty, and fashion brands. A former freelance designer, he has been with Barrel for over a decade. His work at Barrel has involved helping brands such as Hu, McCormick, and Sweet Loren’s build “smarter, connected digital experiences”. In addition to his agency leadership, Ballasy is a writer and musician. He explores topics like leadership, creativity, and personal growth through his blog and his weekly newsletter, Borrowed, Learned, and Thought.
Let's dive into his picks! →
What are they?
That’s it. Crunchables, the variety pack with Cinnamon, Apple, and Strawberry. I’ve been a fan of their mini fruit bars for a while and thought I’d give these a try.
Where'd you purchase it, and why that channel?
I grabbed them on a weekend trip to Costco. I always go in with a list but love to explore and end up coming home with something new. These snacks were that wildcard. It was a commitment to buy a 21-bag variety pack, but I trusted the brand enough to take a chance.
What about this product intrigued you?
I was surprised to see something other than fruit bars from That’s it. These looked like a mix between a cracker and dried fruit, and I hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. Mostly, I was excited for my two-year-old son Mylo to have a new healthy snack. I bought them for him.
Why do you love it?
That’s the thing… Mylo isn’t a fan yet, so after he didn’t finish the bag, I tried them myself and enjoyed them. I love the crunch, but they’re also only 40 calories, no sugar, and made from just apples and another fruit depending on the flavor. The small bags make it easy to snack guilt-free without worrying about eating a huge bag.
Anything else you’d like to share?
If you ask me, the best kids snacks are the ones parents will enjoy, too. Also, I love when a brand sticks to its mission and finds new ways to make it fun. In this case, simple-ingredient snacks done right.
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Thanks for reading! Anything you think we should try for an upcoming edition of Express Checkout? Email us at nate@expresscheckout.co and jenna@expresscheckout.co