Vol. 15: Smoothie Kits, Smash Oils & the A2 Dairy Boom
Erewhon found a way to ship its most viral smoothie, Glen Powell is apparently coming for Graza, and Alec’s Ice Cream just raised $11M to push A2 dairy into the mainstream.
We’ve also got hydration drops, retail expansions, and a few moves that say a lot about where the category’s headed.
Let’s jump in…
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📅 Date: October 23, 2025
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Unwrapped: Nicole Glabman W/ She’s the Sauce
What Inspired Me to Start She’s the Sauce
Like most kids, I grew up with ketchup on everything. I’ve always been a condiment girl, I can’t enjoy a meal without sauce. But as I got older and started facing my own health issues, especially PCOS, I had to take a hard look at what I was eating. Nutritionists would tell me, “sauces are empty calories. If you have to use them, keep them on the side.”
That didn’t work for me.
I wanted to prove that sauce could do something for you. So I started asking: What if the more you eat, the more benefits you get? I wanted to make sauces that not only taste as good as the ones you already love but also deliver real nutritional value: higher protein, more fiber, and no “empty calories.” That’s how She’s the Sauce was born.
How It All Started
At first, I was literally in my kitchen throwing stuff in a pot, testing recipes with store-bought sauces, trying to see what worked. I quickly realized that wasn’t going to cut it.
I started looking for R&D specialists and food scientists in New York who could help me bring the idea to life.
We spent nearly two years developing the formula, proving it was possible to infuse meaningful protein levels without sacrificing taste or texture. It took much longer than I expected, but it was worth it.
Building the Brand
Even while we were deep in R&D, I was already thinking about branding. That part has always been my sweet spot. I knew I wanted to make sauce sexy. I wanted people to feel something when they interacted with the brand, to look at sauce differently.
Before I even had the final product, I was building Pinterest boards, working with a designer, doing a photo shoot. People thought I was crazy. But I wanted to create that connection, that energy.
And honestly, in today’s food world, branding matters. There are so many new products coming out every day, you have to make people stop and look. Whether they love it or think it’s “too much,” you’ve already won if they’re talking about you.
What Makes She’s the Sauce Stand Out
It comes down to three things:
Functionality: we make sauces that taste like the ones you already love (ranch, honey mustard) but with actual benefits.
Health perspective: the brand is rooted in my own experience with PCOS and hormonal health, which so many women relate to.
Community: I’ve found this incredible group of women who share their stories with me from PCOS to GLP-1 journeys to fitness and nutrition and that connection has become one of our biggest strengths.
It’s wild how many people message me just to say, “I get it.” Those DMs aren’t scalable, but they matter. That’s how real community gets built.
Biggest Challenges
Manufacturing. Hands down.
Working with manufacturers, scaling up, testing batches, it’s a completely different world. I came from a creative and retail background, so diving into the technical side of food production has been humbling.
I’ve spent hours on calls with people explaining how kettles and shear mixers work. It’s a grind. But every challenge has taught me something new.
Early Growth & What’s Next
We launched pre-orders and sold nearly 1,000 bottles in the first week. All organic, no paid ads. After that, I intentionally paused sales to gather feedback and refine the process.
The next few months are all about finalizing manufacturing, fulfilling those first orders, and finding retail partners here in New York.
Everything so far has been organic: TikTok, Instagram, word of mouth. I work in growth at Uber, so I’ve played around with ads just to test, but the plan is to keep building through intentional brand partnerships and authentic community growth.
Where We’ll Be a Year From Now
One year from now, I want She’s the Sauce to be on more tables. Period.
Whether it’s in people’s homes, gyms, cafes, or retail shelves, I want sauce lovers to feel good about what they’re eating. I want the brand to become synonymous with functional flavor.
We’re just getting started. People think launch is the finish line, but it’s really the starting line.
Advice for Future Founders
You don’t have to quit your day job to build something great. I’ve built She’s the Sauce while working full-time, and it’s possible if you manage your time and validate your idea before jumping all in.
Everyone’s timeline is different, you’ll know when it’s right to make the leap.
For now, keep building, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to start small.
News:
Alec’s Ice Cream bets big on A2 dairy.
The regenerative ice cream brand just raised a reported $11M Series A led by Imaginary Ventures, the early backers of Glossier, BÉIS, Cann, and Cerebelly. Founded in 2020 by Alec Jaffe, the company has become a standout in the frozen aisle for using A2 dairy — milk made from cows that produce only the A2 protein, believed to be easier on digestion — and for being the first regenerative organic certified ice cream in the U.S.
Available at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Wegmans, Alec’s represents a new chapter for the A2 movement, which has quietly expanded beyond milk into yogurt, protein drinks, and now indulgent desserts. It’s a savvy positioning play: take something nostalgic, make it gut-friendly, wrap it in sustainability, and suddenly you’ve built a “better-for-you” ice cream that still feels like a treat.
With the broader dairy category seeing renewed interest in functional claims and regenerative sourcing, Alec’s could be the brand that pushes A2 into the mainstream. And if investor attention is any sign, this might just be the start of an A2 arms race across the frozen aisle.
Erewhon takes its viral Haley Bieber Smoothie DTC.
One year in the making, the Erewhon Strawberry Glaze Smoothie Kit is officially here — and it’s every bit as wild as it sounds.
This is the smoothie that broke the internet — Hailey Bieber’s $20 Strawberry Glaze, arguably the most famous menu item in Erewhon history. Now, for the first time, the brand found a way to bring it home: four pre-portioned smoothies, branded cups, and that same collagen-infused, skin-glow formula shipped straight to your door.
I’ve said this before — this project is the black belt of DTC. Translating a high-touch, in-store experience into a direct-to-consumer product is nearly impossible. From ingredient sourcing to shipping logistics, this kind of rollout takes serious operational muscle.
And personally? I love this smoothie. I’ve ordered it more times than I’d like to admit, and the fact that Erewhon actually pulled this off feels like a massive feat. They didn’t just launch a product — they bottled an experience.
Whether this becomes a full-time SKU or stays a limited drop, it’s a masterclass in turning a cultural moment into a shippable brand.
Ballerina Farm enters the wellness game.
The Utah-based farm brand just expanded into hydration with the launch of Farmer Hydrate, available in Raspberry Lemonade and Berry.
Each bag blends electrolytes, real fruit powders, coconut water, and sea moss — a formula that mirrors the brand’s “hydrate like a farmer” ethos while delivering a clean, functional mix with no added sugar and 3g of fiber per serving.
At $39 for 25 servings, this drop marks a big move for Ballerina Farm as it builds beyond its roots in meat, sourdough, and protein powder into a broader wellness ecosystem. It’s a natural evolution — the brand already owns the aspirational “farm life” narrative, and now it’s turning that into repeatable daily rituals.
If executed well, Farmer Hydrate could help position Ballerina Farm not just as a lifestyle brand, but as a real player in the modern wellness space.
Smash Kitchen takes on the oil aisle.
The clean condiment brand co-founded by Glen Powell just expanded into cooking oils, launching nine SKUs — including extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and spray formats — now available nationwide at Walmart.
Built around the idea that “every meal starts with oil,” the line focuses on single-sourced, cold-pressed oils with no fillers or propellants, extending Smash Kitchen’s clean-ingredient ethos beyond ketchup and mayo into everyday cooking.
It’s a bold move into a space dominated by brands like Graza, but where most premium players have focused on direct-to-consumer or boutique retail, Smash is betting on accessibility — clean, high-quality oils for the Walmart shopper.
If the condiments were proof of concept, this new line is a statement of intent: Smash isn’t just building a condiment brand; they’re building a full pantry platform — one that could redefine what “better-for-you” looks like on mainstream shelves.
Melitas Ventures invests in Hanni.
The investment firm just backed Hanni, the elevated body care brand founded by Leslie Tessler, a former marketing executive at Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare.
Launched in 2020, Hanni has quickly become one of the most interesting players in modern body care — blending luxury design with approachable functionality. The brand’s hero products, like its spray-on moisturizer and in-shower body salve, have helped position Hanni as a go-to for “face-level skincare” made for the rest of the body.
Hanni’s growth has been impressive, now available across DTC, Amazon, and all Sephora U.S. doors, and projected to hit $5–8M in revenue by 2025.
For Melitas Ventures, the move signals growing conviction in the next wave of better-for-you and feel-good consumer brands — joining their recent investments in Love Corn, Final Boss Sour, Harken Sweets, and Jupiter.
Body care is having its moment, and Hanni is proving that clean, elevated routines aren’t just for your face anymore.
Create goes omnichannel.
The functional supplement brand just announced nationwide launches at Sprouts Farmers Market and Target, marking its biggest retail expansion to date.
After building strong momentum online and through direct-to-consumer channels, Create is now positioning itself for scale — bringing its performance-driven, daily creatine blends to mainstream shelves.
The move places Create alongside the growing wave of wellness brands bridging gym culture and grocery, joining an increasingly competitive aisle that includes hydration, energy, and recovery players.
By securing placements in both Sprouts and Target, Create is officially out of the niche and into the national spotlight — a major step toward becoming the go-to brand for functional, everyday creatine.
That’s a wrap for this week.
Whether you’re launching your first SKU, landing that Whole Foods deal, or just trying to keep up with what’s next in CPG, we’ve got you.
Catch you next week ✌️
— Zach
P.S. If you liked this one, pass it along to a friend, teammate, or founder who’d appreciate it. And hit reply anytime, I read every note.