Investor Newsletter Kickoff: Asian Flavors, Alcohol, and Protein Ice Cream
This email is on the longer side, so we recommend opening it on desktop!
We have an awesome lineup of founders this month: Woon, Talkhouse, Natty, Wild Mannered, and DIME. There's definitely an alcohol and Asian food theme here, but I'm not complaining!
In case you missed it last week, please share your investor details so we have the most up-to-date info on our subscribers!
What you’ll get
Each newsletter will feature:
Founder deep dives of 1-5 brands we’re especially excited about
The latest full list of brands raising that we've curated, with pitch decks
About the writer
And to introduce myself: hi, 👋 I’m Ali Lee! I’ve been leading Partnerships at CPGD and will be curating these founder stories. I graduated from Northwestern University last June, raised a pre-seed round for my bug repellent brand, Swarm (in development), and joined CPGD in the fall.
I’m looking to gain more operating experience at a CPG company in national retail, so if you have a portfolio company who is looking for extra hands, please let me know!
Deal Flow Portal
Looking for even more deals? We’re reopening our password protected Deal Flow Portal for a full list of vetted CPG startups currently raising, with pitch decks! We’ll refresh this portal every month with new brands. Password at the end of this email!
Woon
Brand Description: Woon is a Homestyle Chinese food restaurant and consumer packaged goods brand based in Los Angeles, CA. Woon Homestyle Goods strives to share the same nostalgic Chinese flavors from Mama Fong’s recipes to home kitchens nationwide - complex and traditional Chinese ingredients made simple with clean ingredients so that everyone can experience the same comfort of being cared for.
Founder Background: Keegan’s marketing background lead him to launch Woon as a brick & mortar restaurant in 2019. He felt a desire to combine the skills and best practices from large companies with a personal passion for sharing his mother’s story through food. Keegan’s expansive experience with new-to-market strategy, digital marketing, content creation, photo/ video production, and event production shapes Woon’s idiosyncratic approach to marketing in the food and beverage industry.
Financial Highlights:
Fully organic growth (no dedicated sales team or outreach) to 150+ accounts in 2023-2024, entirely bootstrapped
350+ accounts on Faire and 200+ Grocery doors by onboarding UNFI (Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres, Frazier Farms) and Chex (170 doors with The Fresh Market, Westside Market)
Currently just under $500k in annual revenue
Deal Terms: $1M Seed round on Pre-Money SAFE, Valuation Cap: $6M w/ 20% discount
Current commitments: $100k from Friends & Family
CPGD Insights: Did you wish you'd invested in Momofuku, Fly by Jing, or Omsom? Woon is a great second chance to get in on a similar deal. Supported by their two restaurants in LA, Woon already has credibility and it’s showing in maket.
TalkHouse Encore
Brand Description: ‘Better-for-you’ vodka & tequila seltzers inspired by the iconic Stephen Talkhouse in the Hamptons. Designed for the next generation of drinkers.
Founder Background:
Robert Minucci: 13+ years of operating experience, focused on food & beverage, Worked across companies from pre-revenue startups to $100M+ brands. Former Head Of Operations of Hungryroot, CEO of Pupums, and COO of TYME Food. Deep experience in manufacturing, sales, distribution, co-packing, 3PL, product commercialization, and R&D
Ruby Honerkamp: Born and raised in a legendary dive bar (The Stephen Talkhouse) – deeply rooted in bar culture and hospitality. 10+ years of brand-building and marketing experience across CPG and DTC startups in New York City. Combines hands-on startup scaling experience with the Talkhouse legacy to drive the next phase of growth
Financial Highlights:
$1M ARR-2025, $2M since launch
750+ accounts, sell through of 15.6 4-packs per week (Top 100)
60% YOY Growth, 60% reorder rate, 50% tasting conversion
Deal Terms: $1.25M Pre-seed
Current commitments: $300k
CPGD Insights: I met an investor who said he missed out on Long Drink, and it made me think he should get in here. Talkhouse Encore is well-positioned to be the "Carbone of seltzers"—built around an iconic bar venue in the Hamptons. If you're open to alcohol investments and believe there's still room in the seltzer category, take a closer look at this deal.
Natty Ice Cream
Brand Description: Natty makes clean-label, healthy ice cream that is truly indulgent. A full pint packs in 35 grams of protein and high fiber, with low fat, low added sugar, and less than 500 calories.
Founder's Background:
Tyrel is a 3X founder, brand designer with 10+ yrs exp, and a seasoned growth leader.
Garrett is 3X technical founder, experienced chef, web developer with 10+ yrs exp, and highly skilled in product development.
We built our own ice cream manufacturing facility in Scottsdale and developed 300+ formulations in-house, and supplied product in our first 35 doors.
Prior to Natty, we worked together for 10+ years as a design/dev duo and have shipped 50+ websites / brands in that timeframe.
Financial Highlights:
Strong margins of 40%+
Averaging 4.5 U/S/S/W over last 26 weeks
Raised <$550K to date
Launching in 36 new doors (New Seasons and EarthFare) in March, reaching $250K ARR
Terms of Raise: Raising a $1M pre-seed, with a $6M post-money cap, on a SAFE
Current Commitments: $300,000 committed. $200k in IOIs.
CPGD Insights: Are you ready for Halo Top 2.0? Natty might be the strategic investment. Made with only clean ingredients, low added sugar, and 35 grams of protein, Natty's thoughtful branding has resonated well in the market.
Wild Mannered
Brand Description: Wild Mannered is an occasion-first alcohol brand crafting premium, ready-to-serve bottled cocktails for modern hosting and gathering moments. Our first line includes three flavors of all-natural cocktails made with a soju and wine base.
Founder background:
Founders Michael Gu and Perry Ya are childhood best friends that grew up together and started the company after seeing no products that served the occasions they loved.
Michael most recently worked at Meta in product operations, with prior experience in growth strategy (at ro.co). He graduated from Penn in 2017
Perry has experience as a product manager at Ableto with previous experience in VC (Anthos Capital) and tech. He graduated from NYU's Stern School of Business in 2018
Financial Highlights:
130% YoY revenue growth - company first launched as Neat Beverages, with Wild Mannered rebrand in May 2025
Strong wholesale margins of 40%+
75+ accounts currently with 98% repeat purchase rate among accounts
Highest shelf velocities in the ready-to-serve cocktail competitive set in accounts.
Terms of raise: Raising a $750K pre-seed round at $5M valuation cap (via SAFE)
Current commitments: We have some early commitments in the new round but have allocations remaining on a first come first serve basis.
CPGD Insights: Wild Mannered makes the perfect casual drink for any occasion. These all-natural, ready-to-serve cocktails are crafted with soju and wine—ideal for a dinner party or a casual drink with friends.
DIME
Brand Description: DIME is an everyday MSG seasoning brand built on a mission to rewrite the narrative around MSG. We launched mid-2025 with three flavors, The OG, Korean Chili, and Yuzu Lemon Pepper, designed to make cooking with MSG approachable, versatile, and fun.
Founder Background: Jenn is the Co-Founder of DIME and has a background in media, brand building, and program management across the tech and CPG industries. Inspired by growing up with stigma around MSG, she brings a personal understanding of the cultural gap in the category. She applies her experience in storytelling and brand strategy to building a modern seasoning brand redefining food, flavor, and health.
Financial Highlights:
Growth rate: averaging 32% MoM over the last six months
Gross margin: 65%
63% wholesale reorder rate
4.8-star rating with 100+ reviews on Amazon
Velocity: Top retailer 8.1 units sold per week
Deal Terms: $250K Angel or Pre-seed round
Current Commitments: None formally committed / early soft interest
CPGD Insights: Dime is getting ahead of the MSG trend and helping challenge the stigma. These everyday seasonings make dinner prep easier and add new flavors to your meals.
Portco’s Looking for a Second-Chance?
Our friends at Palm Venture Studio are focused on second-chance capital for mission-driven companies, including consumer brands and tech-enabled services ($5M-$50M+ revenue).
Their model is designed to preserve and restore value for founders, investors, and lenders when a company’s growth becomes constrained by capital structure, operational complexity, or prior financing decisions.
Backed by a family investment office, Palm deploys patient equity capital alongside hands-on operational support focused on stabilizing cash flow, restructuring debt, resetting go-to-market strategy, and/or rebuilding fundamentals.
Consumer investments include MyxFitness (acq. by Beach Body), VidaFuel, Goode Health, Three Day Rule, EVRYMAN, Farmhouse, Juice Beauty, and more.
They welcome warm introductions to consumer founders or portfolio companies that would benefit from our unique approach. They’re also hiring for CEO of Goode Health! Refer us to the leaders you trust (referral bonus available!).
Deal Flow Portal Password
You’ve found me! Thank you for reading till the end :) Deal Flow Portal (password = betterforyou) for a full list of vetted CPG startups currently raising, with pitch decks!