The Curious Consumer

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're excited to kick off this week's show with an interview with Tara Bosch, the founder of SmartSweets (exited) and the new better-for-you potato chip brand, Snackish .We then get into some of the themes we saw at this week's Fancy Food Show (starting at minute 17), including real sugar/real indulgence, the continued premiumization of froz...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today, Jenna is joined by Mike Messersmith , CEO of Lasso Labs —a Harvard-born food tech startup using a patented fiber spinning platform to create high-protein, high-fiber foods with cleaner labels and no compromise on texture or taste. Mike shares his journey from legacy CPG to Chobani and Oatly (both at their peaks) to food tech founder,...

Welcome back to The Curious Consumer! This week, we're getting into e.l.f's foray into haircare, Tom Brady's Good Nut (this is not a joke), how AG1 is striving to stay relevant, the bubble-free boom, and the derm-as-creator skincare brand that's taking off in Target. Chapters:0:51 e.l.f. enters haircare8:40 Tom Brady's Good Nut and coconut water's rise16:32 AG1 Pro and the greens powder wars25:13...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today, we’re joined by Priyanka Ganjoo, the founder of South Asian beauty brand Kulfi Beauty—the first South Asian female-owned makeup line to be carried at Sephora. Priyanka shares her journey building an inclusive beauty brand, and the power of a strong emotional and cultural moat. Plus, we’re chatting about the boom of Erewhon lookalikes...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week’s episode is brought to you by Ever Ledger , the full-service accounting and finance partner specializing in high-growth CPG (they handle your books, tax, and modeling all under one roof). If your books are messy, your accountant is too slow for your speed, or you’re gearing up for a raise/expansion, check them out ! Today we’re ge...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week, we have one of our most fascinating interviews yet: Dr. Mastaneh Sharafi, SVP of Science & Innovation at Ritual, a supplement company known for its science-backed formulas. She’ll be answering some of our biggest questions around the most controversial category in CPG: supplements. Let’s get into it! Quick note: There’s some backg...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we sit down with Stacey Hartnett, SVP of Marketing at Chomps to talk about their biggest product launch yet: chicken sticks. Then, we dive into the week’s biggest CPG news. The L-theanine and caffeine combo taking over the functional beverage space, colostrum soda, the booming luxury laundry detergent category, and more. Let’s get...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we sit down with Mark Rushmore, co-founder of Suri (short for Sustainable Rituals)—the UK-based electric toothbrush brand that caught Gwyneth Paltrow’s eye organically before landing in Erewhon, and now Target stores nationwide. (Check out our piece on UK brands entering the US !) We also cover the week's biggest CPG news—new updat...

This week, we're sharing the second episode of our interview series, Brand’s Biggest Fan—featuring Evan Burns, CEO and Co-founder of The Finnish Long Drink—and Long Drink's biggest fan, DJ !We (admittedly) recorded this a few months ago, but were excited to share it today after the news of Long Drink's acquisition by the Mark Anthony Group of Companies, the company behind category-defining beverag...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we sit down with Daniel Solomons, CEO of Update —the caffeine-free energy drink that caught Kim Kardashian’s eye organically before she became a full creative partner. We break down the science behind paraxanthine, the surprise of 4,000+ Walmart doors, and what it means to build a brand around a completely new ingredient. We also c...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we dive into Danone’s $1.15B acquisition of Huel—and what it says about the future of meal replacement, GLP-1 consumers, and food as pure function. We also cover Alix Earle’s skincare launch (Reale Actives), Cardi B’s surprisingly well-aligned haircare line, Olaplex’s acquisition by Henkel after losing 95% of its market cap, the ri...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today we’re joined by the incredible Chimene Ross, CEO of Killer Brownie , for a discussion on the power of branding in bakery, running a family business, and moving from private-label to a branded product. We also dive into the convergence of beauty + wellness (ft. hydration powder with UV protection…), why owning manufacturing is the new C...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're coming at you with a special episode today with our lovely partners over at Faire , the global online marketplace for wholesale for independent retailers. Because Faire works with thousands of retailers and brands from around the world, they are an incredible source of data on burgeoning trends within countless categories. We collabora...

We just got back from the “Super Bowl of CPG”, AKA Expo West, and we have thoughts . In this episode, we’re digging into the overall vibe of the show, the trends we saw, the brands that left an impression, and what Expo even is. If you’re looking for a deeper dive into these trends, check out our newsletter from this week, linked below! The Breakdown 00:00 Intro01:15 What Expo West is and who atte...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today we’re joined by the incredible Jenna Goldring , co-founder of The High Confectionary , to talk about navigating the complex world of hemp-derived THC, building low-dose edibles for a new generation of consumers, and breaking cannabis stigmas through creator collaborations. We also dive into PepsiCo’s big bet on fiber and protein, the r...

Welcome to the first episode of our interview series, Brand’s Biggest Fan—featuring Ben Goodwin, CEO, Co-founder, and formulator of one of our favorite brands of all time: OLIPOP! The premise: We sit down with a self-proclaimed “biggest fan” of some of our favorite buzzy CPG brands—not influencers or famous ambassadors, just regular people who happen to be a little obsessed with a brand. Then, we...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! Today we are joined by the wonderful Sarela Herrada , co-founder of SIMPLi foods , to talk about regenerative organic agriculture and building authentic supply chains. We also dive into function-washing, the creator-led candy revolution, and why Kraft Heinz just hit pause on their big split. Let's get into it! The Breakdown: 00:00 Interview...

This week, we're diving into the Super Bowl ads (CPG trend version), what Once Upon a Farm’s IPO tells us, how BigCo brands are getting squeezed by private label, and more. Check out our most recent newsletter: The Breakdown: 00:00 What Super Bowl ads tell us about CPG trends 12:45 Once Upon a Farm’s IPO and the better-for-you kids space23:19 PepsiCo's price cuts and squeezing the middle26:45 Disc...

Welcome back! Today we have our very first guest, the one and only rachel mansfield . Rachel is a recipe creator, and influencer with over 1M followers on Instagram, she pens a Substack called more, please by rachel mansfield , and most recently co-founded Cadootz Snacks , a new organic kids' protein snack brand. In this episode we also go into the wonderful world of gummy supplements, discuss how...

Welcome back! This week, we're sharing our favorite products of the week (and yes, Nate's is packed with protein...), some of the unique challenges of building a celebrity brand, the inside scoop on the new Non-Ultraprocessed Food Verification, the weirdly big business of hand sanitizer, and more! The breakdown: 00:00 Favorite bites of the week04:56 Building the "perfect" celeb CPG brand12:32 The...

Welcome back to The Curious Consumer! This week, we've got another roundup of protein launches ( shocking !)—but this time from some unlikely sources. Plus, we're exploring how Target became the new go-to retailer for emerging brands, actually exciting innovation from a food tech company, and the future of THC bevs. The breakdown: 00:00 Intro02:07 Starbucks and Dunkin take protein04:15 Beyond Meat...

Another week of countless protein launches—this time, positioned for women—plus Target’s wellness expansion, the latest THC retailer launch, how Good Culture won the unsexiest category, and more. The breakdown: 00:00 Intro 00:20 Food + bev trade show highlights 01:45 The next big flavor of 2026: PB&J 07:24 David protein sent what to who ? 13:02 GORGIE launched protein + energy 14:14 The clear prot...

Welcome to our first episode of The Curious Consumer in 2026!! We're excited to be back and sharing some of the latest stories in consumer brands, from how the frozen aisle is changing to the next big format in protein (hint: it's weirdly.... juvenile). The breakdown: 00:00 Intro + snacking resolutions03:25 The future of the frozen aisle13:37 Trader Joe's challenges Olipop and Poppi17:38 Canned pr...

Welcome to our final podcast of 2025! We’re walking through some of the biggest themes and headlines from the year, from redefining “function” (with protein, THC, and caffeine) to the new target demographics for skincare + fragrance and the future of retail. Thank you for being a listener this year—we are so grateful, and can’t wait to continue providing more for you in 2026. If there’s anything e...

This week, we’re chatting about the sneaky strategy behind lip balms, the future of female-focused energy drinks, Rao’s rise to success, why Oreo and Instacart are getting heat, and so much more. Our latest newsletter gets into more details on all of the above. Read it here: https://expresscheckout.co/p/how-brands-are-winning-with-lip-balm The Rundown 00:00 Intro 00:45 The “lipification” of beauty...