Second Nature's $175M Acquisition, L Catterton Backs Remedy at $50M, and the Millie Pepper Founders | Unpackaged Goods

Second Nature's $175M Acquisition, L Catterton Backs Remedy at $50M, and the Millie Pepper Founders | Unpackaged Goods

Second Nature Brands just acquired Tillamook Country Smoker — $175M+ in sales, two manufacturing facilities, and fifty years of heritage. Nobody covered it. Nobody tweeted about it. And that's exactly why they're winning. Plus, we sit down with the co-founders of Millie Pepper, the brand revolutionizing a common spice into a premium experience through direct sourcing, freshness, and storytelling. This week on Unpackaged Goods: Since 2022: Voortman ($305M). Sahale ($34M). Brownie Brittle. Now Tillamook Country Smoker. Second Nature Brands is quietly building one of the largest independent snack platforms in America through disciplined M&A — and the CPG media hasn't written a single profile about them. In this episode, I break down: → Second Nature Brands' quiet snack empire — four acquisitions in four years spanning cookies, trail mix, brownie snacks, and now meat snacks with owned manufacturing → Why the boring platform builders keep producing the most defensible businesses in CPG → Smucker's stock is jumping 12% after beating estimates, three weeks after hiring Goldman Sachs. What happens to the Hostess review now? → Time as leverage in M&A — why the Q4 beat changes Smucker's negotiating position entirely → Remedy landing L Catterton at $50M expected in year two — March 2024 to a nine-figure trajectory in eighteen months → Dr. Muneeb Shah's social media audience as organic customer acquisition — the anti-ODDITY model → Stars + Honey raising $24M from VMG after 300% growth — building a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility → VMG's two protein-forward investments in one month (Brami $33M, Stars + Honey $24M) and what it signals about their category thesis → AG1 Pro — creatine-infused greens — and the platform expansion from single product to three consumer profiles under Kat Cole → Mammoth Brands publicly stating it wants more acquisitions after the $1B+ Coterie deal → Suja Q1 at $107M, up 22.5% with 50% gross margins → Smash Kitchen adding pasta sauce at Walmart — approaching $100M across five categories → The FDA approving the first new sunscreen ingredient since the 1990s INTERVIEW: Millie Pepper Co-Founders → The journey from kitchen curiosity to premium spice brand → Why freshness and origin matter more than most consumers realize → Direct sourcing and building real farm relationships → Branding strategies that elevate a commodity into a premium experience → Consumer education and product storytelling as growth levers → Distribution strategy: DTC and retail partnerships → The vision for Millie Pepper's future The thesis this week is layers. Second Nature is adding meat snacks to cookies and trail mix. AG1 adding creatine to greens. Smash Kitchen is adding pasta sauce to its condiment line. Stars + Honey is adding manufacturing to velocity. And Millie Pepper is adding premium storytelling to a commodity spice. Each layer compounds the one before it. The brands adding layers fastest are pulling ahead. Build your layer. Then add the next one. The compounding never stops. 🥣 Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ 🎙️ Unpackaged Goods podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYjORSb5XZ7LVu8b3f?si=6c656c85e78e487a 📸 @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok 🥒 Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #ConsumerGoods #SecondNatureBrands #Tillamook #Smucker #Hostess #Remedy #LCatterton #StarsAndHoney #VMGPartners #AG1 #AG1Pro #MilliePepper #Spices #DirectSourcing #MammothBrands #SujaLife #SmashKitchen #Target #Sephora #Kroger #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #Layers #BuildAccordingly

Three Dairy Giants All Buying Functional Nutrition, Salt & Straw's $200M Exit, and David's $90 Ice Cream | Unpackaged Goods

The three largest dairy companies in Europe are all acquiring functional nutrition brands in the same year. Over $2 billion in deals in two weeks. And David sold protein ice cream for $90 a six-pack and sold out in 28 minutes. This week on Unpackaged Goods: Nestlé is buying yfood at €450M — first acquisition under the new CEO. Lactalis acquired Protein Works at $75M in sales. Danone already bought Huel for $1.15B. Three dairy giants, three functional nutrition acquisitions, same year. Traditional dairy is flat. Functional nutrition is growing. They have the manufacturing and distribution. They don't have the brands. So they're buying them. All of them. At the same time. In this episode I break down: → Why three European dairy giants are all acquiring functional nutrition simultaneously — and what it means for every founder building in the category → Bridgepoint paying $460M for Obagi Medical and building a $1.8B dermatological skincare portfolio → Salt & Straw exploring a $200M exit while PE circles the entire ice cream category → Ryl Tea raising $20M after growing 157% while iced tea declined 1.8% — Purchase Capital running the OWYN playbook again → David protein ice cream selling out in 28 minutes at $90 per six-pack — the Supreme model applied to functional food → Smash Kitchen approaching $100M in year two — why Glen Powell's brand is working where other celebrity CPG fails → ODDITY collapsing 30% after CPA spiked 83% — the DTC warning every brand needs to hear → Helaina partnering with Nestlé for breast milk-identical infant nutrition proteins → Trek One Capital acquiring Good Karma Foods and No Cow to build a plant-based platform → California Naturals closing an 8-figure Series B with a former Glossier exec as new CEO → BERO Summer Shandy launching at Target — non-alc beer goes seasonal → Frosh kids juice boxes at Target from Ciara and Russell Wilson → Huel Lite Ramen and Magic Spoon Protein Oatmeal — functional formats keep expanding → AG1 launching Omega-3 at Walmart — expanding beyond the hero product → MAC Energy securing pre-launch cut-ins at Kroger and Albertsons before July 12th → Distribution: DryWater at 1,300 Target doors, Cure at 1,227 Target stores, Neuro and O Positiv at 235 Costco each, High Level Science at 1,000+ GNC, Ketone-IQ at Casey's, Plant People at Wegmans The feeding frenzy is here. The brands that built real velocity during the correction are now the most attractive targets in a decade. Cheaper than 2021. More proven than 2023. Growing faster than the acquirers' organic businesses. And ODDITY collapsing 30% when CPA spiked 83% is the warning: the market rewards repeat purchase and punishes bought growth. Build something real. The buyers are waiting. 🥣 Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ 🎙️ Unpackaged Goods podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYjORSb5XZ7LVu8b3f?si=6c656c85e78e487a 📸 @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok 🥒 Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #ConsumerGoods #Nestle #yfood #Lactalis #ProteinWorks #Danone #Huel #Bridgepoint #Obagi #SaltAndStraw #RylTea #DavidProtein #SmashKitchen #ODDITY #Helaina #BERO #Target #Costco #Walmart #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #FeedingFrenzy #FunctionalNutrition #BuildAccordingly

Puig-Estée Collapses, Jams Lands the NFL, and the Most Famous Athlete on Earth Couldn't Save His Brand

The $40 billion beauty mega merger is dead. Lionel Messi's hydration brand shuttered. And a PB&J brand with zero celebrity co-founders just became the official PB&J of the NFL. This week on Unpackaged Goods: Puig and Estée Lauder merger talks ended without a deal. We tracked this for over a month — exploratory talks to serious conversations to founding families at the table to nothing. Governance killed it. Both families wanted control. Neither would cede it. The biggest missed opportunity in beauty this decade. Mas+ by Messi is shutting down after two years. The most famous athlete who has ever lived plus Mark Anthony's distribution infrastructure. Still couldn't make a sports drink work. Celebrity gets you trial. Only the product gets you back. Jams landed an NFLPA licensing deal — the brand that beat Uncrustables at Target in six months is now the official PB&J of the NFL. JJ Watt and Caleb Williams are investors. NFL teams go through 3,600 PB&Js per week. Zero celebrity co-founders. Just a better product. In this episode I break down: → Why the Puig-Estée merger collapsed and what it means for beauty's largest companies → Governance as the deal killer — solving it before valuation is the lesson → Blackstone and CD&R circling the Magnum Ice Cream Company (Ben & Jerry's, Talenti, Yasso) at €8B+ → Jams landing the NFLPA and why the product always beats the celebrity → OLIPOP's packaging refresh — the most strategically important rebrand of the year → Why function gets you noticed but shelf appeal gets you paid → Mas+ by Messi shuttering — what the most dramatic celebrity CPG failure teaches every founder → The updated celebrity CPG graveyard: MOSS, PRIME, Allbirds, Keys Soulcare, and now Mas+ → Brami closing $33M from VMG Partners for the fastest-growing pasta brand in America → Danone finally exiting Lifeway after 27 years and two failed takeover attempts → BuzzBallz up 65% to $570M under Sazerac — the infrastructure thesis validated → Electrolit up 22.8% — growing five times faster than Gatorade → IM8 raising guidance to $190-210M after hitting $100M in 11 months → OLIPOP retail volume up 17.5% while reducing prices and walking away from Coca-Cola → Proper Wild raising $11M at $161M as energy shots pivot to gummies → Good Molecules backed by Aria Growth — profitable, north of $100M in masstige skincare → Stone & Skillet raising $5M for artisan English muffins at 3,000 doors → Banagua raising $5.5M for banana water at 3,500 doors → Sleep or Die $1M from True Beauty Ventures — sleep wellness enters the portfolio → E.L.F. handing Keys Soulcare back to Alicia Keys — focus over celebrity clutter → Gordon Ramsay launching Krude olive oil — a celebrity CPG fit that actually makes sense → David Protein cod 2.0 in golden tins — 18g protein, $40 per 4-pack → Bob's Red Mill packaging refresh by Turner Duckworth → Sam McBride (former RXBAR COO) taking the CEO chair at Kettle & Fire → Pabst discontinuing Schlitz after 177 years → Distribution: MOSH at 2,000 Target stores, Neuro at 3,000+ Walmart, Juni at 750+ Kroger, AG1 at Ulta, Crown Affair all-door Sephora, Jams nationwide on Gopuff The thesis this week is clarity. The brands and deals that succeed are the ones where the reason to believe is painfully obvious. Better PB&J. Protein pasta. Delicious soda. Two words or less. The brands that need a paragraph are the ones shuttering. The brands that explain themselves instantly are the ones getting funded, getting distribution, and getting the NFL. Clarity wins. Every time. 🥣 Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ 🎙️ Unpackaged Goods podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYjORSb5XZ7LVu8b3f?si=6c656c85e78e487a 📸 @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok 🥒 Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #ConsumerGoods #EsteeLauder #Puig #Messi #Jams #NFLPA #OLIPOP #Brami #VMGPartners #BuzzBallz #Sazerac #Blackstone #Lifeway #Danone #IM8 #Electrolit #CelebrityBrands #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #ClarityWins #BuildAccordingly

She Started With $5K. Now It's Worth $600M. Plus BTS, BERO, and Why Quiet Compounding Builds Empires

A woman started a granola brand with $5,000. Seventeen years later it might sell for $600 million. In the same week, BTS launched 30 products at Walmart on day one. Two playbooks. Both might work. But only one was built to last regardless of whether the founder stays famous. This week on Unpackaged Goods: Purely Elizabeth exploring a $600M sale — founded in 2009 with $5K in savings by holistic nutrition counselor Elizabeth Stein. Over $200M in revenue across 100,000+ doors. No VC at the start. No celebrity. No viral moment. The anti-velocity story in a market obsessed with speed. BTS launched ARIH at Walmart with nearly 30 SKUs across noodles, energy drinks, and probiotic sodas. The most ambitious celebrity CPG launch in history. Backed by Korean food giants Paldo and Hy. ARMY will deliver a massive day one. The question is month two. BERO launched at Kroger, Publix, AND Walmart in one week — full national grocery coverage in under two years. The Casamigos alumni hire paying dividends. Celsius plus Alani Nu volume up 26.3%. Alani specifically up 94% with prices rising. Pricing power plus demand growth simultaneously — the holy grail of brand economics. The $1.8B acquisition looks like one of the best deals in CPG history. Amy's Kitchen quietly approaching $1 billion in frozen. 57,000+ stores. No hype. Decades of compounding. Also covered: Celleste Bio producing cell-cultured chocolate bars for Mondelēz. Westman Atelier raising $15M approaching $100M. Hero Group acquiring The Gut Stuff in the UK. Frozen One closing $2M seed ahead of nationwide Target. Nomio closing $4M from Collab Fund for Tour de France-endorsed recovery supplements. Run The Jewels raising $2M for RTD cocktails. Laird acquiring Terrasoul for $48M. Tivoli Brewing becoming 18th largest craft brewer. Happy Dad YTD up 35.1%. Pure Genius hitting $1M in first month at Target. GLP-1 adoption doubling in the UK. TRUFF aioli launch. Capri Sun goes functional for kids. Distribution wins across Kroger, Walmart, Target, Publix, and H-E-B. The quiet compounders and the rockets are both winning. The losers are the brands in the middle — too slow for velocity, too unfocused for compounding. Pick your lane. Commit. Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/p/the-deeter-digest-2c1 Follow @deetseatsnyc: https://www.instagram.com/deetseatsnyc/ Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #PurelyElizabeth #BTS #BERO #Celsius #AlaniNu #AmysKitchen #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #Entrepreneurship #QuietCompounding

Unilever's $1.2B War Chest Deploys, David's Lawsuit Dropped, and $1M in 5 Minutes

Two weeks ago I said every beauty and wellness founder should have their deal room ready. This week Unilever spent $1.2 billion on a supplement brand that didn't exist three years ago. Called it. This week on Unpackaged Goods: Unilever acquired Grüns for $1.2 billion — its first acquisition since merging food with McCormick and pocketing $15.7 billion in cash. Founded in 2023, Grüns scaled to $300M ARR in under three years, ships 10 million gummies daily, and has 95% repeat usage at 4-6x per week. Unilever didn't buy a supplement brand. They bought a daily habit. And they still have $14.5 billion left to spend. In the same week, David Protein's class action lawsuit was dropped — the Mean Girls comparisons, the bomb calorimetry debate, Peter Rahal's "no one is getting Regina Georged" — it's all over. The science won. The social media outrage lost. David immediately launched at Costco across five states. But co-founder and former President Zach Ranen quietly left in February to start something new. The lawsuit is over. The Costco expansion is on. And the co-founder departure opens a chapter worth watching closely. In this episode I break down: → Unilever's $1.2B Grüns acquisition — why the 95% repeat usage stat made Unilever write a billion-dollar check → The Unilever wellness portfolio map: OLLY, SmartyPants, Liquid I.V., Nutrafol, Grüns — each filling a specific daily habit slot → $14.5B still in the war chest — sleep, gut health, longevity, and women's health are the obvious next targets → The Puig x Estée Lauder $40B merger update — founding families meeting this week to finalize terms → David Protein's biggest week — lawsuit dropped, Costco launch across five states, co-founder exits. What Zach Ranen builds next might matter more than the Costco expansion → Reale Actives doing $1M in sales in under 5 minutes — the creator-to-brand pipeline produces launch velocity tradit