Welcome to CPGD’s newsletter for investors.

We started this newsletter because hundreds of our existing 9,000+ subscribers expressed interest in investing in early stage CPG. So we started curating a Deal Flow Portal with vetted, early-access deals. As both our list of investors and deals grew, we decided to expand our offering into a totally separate newsletter.

Each newsletter will feature:

And to introduce myself: hi, 👋 I’m Lucy and I’ve been leading Partnerships at CPGD. I attended the University of Chicago and am currently an MBA student at Wharton.

Liked our spotlights? Check out our Deal Flow Portal (password = betterforyou) for a full list of vetted CPG startups currently raising! We refresh this portal every month with new brands.

Highlighting 4 amazing Founders who are raising right now…

All Golden

Pro-aging beauty brand

Raising: $1.5M Pre-seed on SAFE

All Golden was founded by Sarah Kugelman, a three-time serial beauty entrepreneur known for launching brands that define key moments in the industry: digital, wellness, and now aging/longevity. She founded gloss.com in the late ‘90s as the first beauty ECOM site selling 125 brands with an online magazine which was later acquired by Estée Lauder in 2000. In 2005, she launched skyn ICELAND, a clean skincare line targeting stress-induced skin issues with Icelandic ingredients. As one of the first wellness-focused beauty brands, it grew into Ulta, Blue Mercury, Amazon, and 22 international markets before being acquired by Impala SAS in 2022.

Sarah is now on a mission to redefine aging with All Golden, a skincare and haircare brand designed for women who want their outside to reflect how they feel on the inside - vibrant, sexy, and full of life. The patent-pending, clinically tested formulas are clean, vegan, and sustainable, transforming the way beauty serves this generation.

Use of Funds: Marketing - All Golden has achieved proof of concept and confirmation that consumers love their products, they are now looking to fuel growth

Raise Details & Brand Metrics:

HYDRA

Electrolyte freeze pops

Raising: $1M Seed at $5M Post

HYDRA was founded by CC Salzman. As a former runner, she grew frustrated with traditional hydration solutions—mixing powders and tablets was not ideal, and she craved a fun, easy-to-use format. She didn’t want to compromise on quality or settle for products loaded with dyes and artificial sweeteners. She wanted natural sugars needed for the optimal absorption of electrolytes, clean ingredients, and real flavor.

With a passion for consumer-packaged goods, particularly in the better-for-you segment, CC built a strong foundation in Emerging Channels and Brand Management at Kraft Heinz. While there, she drove innovation and growth, leading new channel and product development while witnessing the rising demand for functional, high-quality products that seamlessly fit into people’s lives.

CC left Kraft Heinz to pursue her MBA at Harvard, where she began working on Hydra with a clear goal: to fill a gap in the hydration category with products that are not only effective but also simple, authentic, and fun to use. Hydra’s proprietary formula embodies this vision, delivering hydration that performs while inspiring people to enjoy every moment. Freeze the Thirst, Not the Fun :)

Use of Funds: The funds will be allocated strategically to support key areas of Hydra's growth across inventory, operations, D2C expansion, retail growth, and marketing

Raise Details & Brand Metrics:

Pinsa Love

High-quality, Roman Style frozen pizza

Raising: $250K SAFE Note, $2M Cap

Pinsa Love was founded by Jordan Fainberg, a seasoned food service executive and entrepreneur with decades of experience developing and scaling businesses across domestic and international markets. His career highlights include serving as President of a joint venture with Texaco, where he successfully expanded quick-service restaurant (QSR) operations into LATAM.

A lifelong pizza enthusiast, Jordan discovered Roman-style pizza, Pinsa, on a pizza-making trip to Italy and was immediately captivated by its light, airy, and highly digestible crust. He spent weeks mastering the craft, learning how to create its signature long-fermented (72-hour), high-hydration dough. During the pandemic, he realized this unique crust was perfect for home kitchens, leading him to launch Pinsa Love, a brand dedicated to bringing authentic Roman-style Pinsas to consumers.

What started as a D2C business quickly gained traction, and Pinsa Love soon expanded into retail distribution. Today, Pinsa Love is redefining artisanal frozen pizza, offering high-quality, chef-crafted Pinsas in nearly 400 grocery stores. The mission is simple: to merge authentic Italian craftsmanship with modern convenience, setting a new standard for frozen pizza.

Use of Funds: Funds will be used for scaling production (Pinsa Love self manufactures) and supporting growth for the next 18 months

Raise Details & Brand Metrics:

Swarm

Bugspray

Raising: $1.5M Seed

Swarm was created by Ali Lee, a Northwestern senior with a proven track record in creating consumer brands. Before graduating high school, she bootstrapped a clothing company to $100k+ in sales, generating over 100M impressions and securing features from top influencers like Emma Chamberlain, James Charles, and David Dobrik, along with coverage in publications including Vox, The Today Show, and O-Magazine.

While studying abroad in Southeast Asia, Ali discovered a critical gap in the bug repellent industry. Bug sprays are gross, they smell terrible, and leave an uncomfortable sticky, greasy residue on your skin. However, insect-borne diseases such as Triple E, Malaria, Dengue fever, and Dengue fever are a growing global threat, dramatically accelerated by climate change. She created Swarm to re-imagine the bug spray category and disrupt the stagnant legacy brands that have dominated the shelves for decades. Swarm is creating effective products that people actually want to use, backed by a brand that consumers will obsess over.

Use of Funds: EPA certification, manufacturing, people, and marketing

Raise Details & Brand Metrics:

See You Next Time…

And if you’d like an intro to the founders, feel free to reach out ([email protected])!

-Lucy