The Curious Consumer

This week, we have a very special interview episode with none other than Allison Ellsworth, co-founder of Poppi (acquired by PepsiCo for $1.9 billion in 2025). We're catching Allison one day after formally launching her new brand, Jetty —a "literally everyday" hydration brand, AKA a lighter, women-centric version of traditional electrolyte beverages for non-athletes. There's already been A TON of...

This week on the pod, we’re digging into one of the biggest controversies in CPG right now: what it means for a brand to be acquired. But first, we’re sharing the three headlines that piqued our interest this week: Atkins’ new rebrand as a “weight maintenance” brand (NOT a diet brand, apparently), the Lakers’ interesting new hydration partner, and Mondelez’s acquisition of Undercover Snacks (plus,...

Happy almost-Halloween! ‘Tis the season for sweets, and we’re celebrating the best way we know how: by overanalyzing how brands are playing into indulgence. First, we’re sharing news about a fascinating innovation in sweetener science from Oobli and the latest from a forgotten friend in the modern soda aisle, Zevia (and why building a brand around a specific sweetener is risky behavior). Then, we’...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week, we're back after a little hiatus (news alert: we got acquired by Morning Brew !), and we've got an extra fun episode for you in our fancy new studio. We're kicking things off with Coke and Pepsi's latest functional soda wars and the booming "hard sports drink" category. Then, we're diving into the Whole Foods 2027 Trends R...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week, we’re sitting down with wildly impressive Tristan Walker, who built and sold Walker & Company (the parent company behind Bevel ) to Procter & Gamble. He also sits on the board of Shake Shack and recently joined Collaborative Fund to help launch Collab Holdings —a private equity arm built for consumer brands that don’t fit...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week, we're sitting down with Aaron Butterworth, Senior Specialist in Product Development at Häagen-Dazs, who's been developing flavors for the brand for over 20 years! She walks us through the entire journey of making ice cream for a massive brand, from brief to shelf—including the "ice cream charcuterie" brainstorming process...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week, we’re catching up on a bunch of launches from the past few weeks, from David Protein’s new ready-to-drink milkshake, to the Liquid Death’s founder’s new brand and Beyond Meat’s latest (bizarre) attempt to regain relevancy. Plus, we’re getting into what “peak function” looks like, why “supplements for your supplements” migh...

This week on the pod, we’re thrilled to be joined by Adam Terry , CEO and co-founder of Cantrip and On the Brightside —and absolute WEALTH of knowledge on all things THC regulation and functional beverages. Adam walks us through his journey in the cannabis beverage industry and pivot into a new kind of functional drink. He explains why the low-dose THC hypothesis didn’t pan out, the science behind...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week, we’re sitting down with Arthur Leopold , CEO and co-founder of Agentio , the buying platform for creator media . We dive into how creator marketing has evolved beyond the old influencer model and why most digital attention now lives with creator content (yet there’s still a spend gap). We also get into the non-obvious crea...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week, we’re talking about AG1’s entrance in the greens gummy space, the decaf coffee movement, and why Alex Cooper’s beverage brand couldn’t make it. Plus, we’re getting into the headlines on Liquid Death’s weirdest new collabs, Goldfish going gluten-free, Purely Elizabeth’s acquisition and so much more. Stick around to the end...

Welcome back to another episode of The Express Checkout Podcast! This week we’re exploring sexual wellness's leap into mainstream beauty retail with plusOne launching at Ulta, and how it differs from Sephora’s wellness strategy. Check out our full deep dive on sexual wellness here ! Then, we dig into the laundry care category's unexpected glow-up, K-beauty's big Sephora takeover via Olive Young, t...

Welcome back to another episode of Express Checkout (surprise! new name)!! This week, we sit down with Troy Bonde, Co-Founder of Sauz, the brand that's rewriting the rules of the $10 billion tomato sauce category. Troy takes us through his wild journey—from a COVID-era hand sanitizer dropshipping hustle to building Sauz into a nationwide brand at Target and Sprouts, backed by $22 million in fundin...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we dive into coconut water's surprising resurgence—why a 2010 darling is suddenly back in the spotlight and what brands are doing to capitalize on it. Check out our full deep dive on coconut water here ! Then, we dig into how the PB&J wars are heating up, a new squeezy peanut butter, Smash Foods’ fresh $18M raise, and the truth abo...

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're excited to kick off this week's show with an interview with Kristina Garrido , Director of Emerging Categories at Whatnot . Whatnot is the fastest-growing livestream shopping platform in the U.S currently valued at nearly $12 billion. The app has processed 1 billion orders since its founding, across collectibles, beauty, and now food....

Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! We're excited to share a fascinating full-episode interview with Jake Bullock, the Co-Founder and CEO of Cann—the pioneer of the microdose THC beverage category. Jake breaks down the whole hemp-derived THC beverage landscape, from how it came to be (and Cann’s role in that) to the regulatory threat it now faces with the impending November ba...

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...