July Edition: A Perfect Summer Lineup
Hi everyone! 👋
This email is on the longer side, so we recommend opening it on desktop!
Welcome back to the July edition of the CPGD investor newsletter! We have some amazing brands this month ranging from pre-launch to preparing for a nation-wide launch in Target! Be sure to check out our deal flow portal, where we are featuring and additional 40 new deals!!
In order to respect these amazing founder’s time, please only reach out for serious inquiries only.
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
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!
Oh So Easy!
Brand Description: Oh So Easy is a dessert brand bringing global flavors to your kitchen conveniently and deliciously. The brand is backed by Christina Tosi, Founder + CEO of Milk Bar, with the goal of disrupting the baking and sweet snacks aisles with globally inspired desserts.
Brand Description:
Ava Lichauco (Haverford College '16, Math Major) is a former investment banker turned startup operator who has been working with CPG brands for the majority of her career in finance and supply chain operations roles.
She was formerly the Chief of Staff at Experiment Beauty, where she helped raise their $3mm seed round from Greycroft and helped get the brand in Sephora by June 2025.
She launched Oh So Easy in November 2025 on a bootstrapped budget and is now projected to be in 100+ doors by EOY 2026.
Financial Highlights:
Breakout early traction: Strong DTC performance + viral social/PR moments driving meaningful revenue early on ($50k+ in revenue all driven organically aka $0 paid media spend to date). The brand is projected to earn the following in top-line revenue: $200k FY26, $800k FY27, and $3mm FY28.
Proven repeat + conversion: Customers don’t just try or baking mixes once; our online repeat purchase rate is sitting at 35% (this is above industry average not just for a baking mix brand, but also for a 6-month old brand!). We also consistently sell out at in-store demos with multiple $1,000+ days!
Retail momentum: Multiple high-quality regional and national accounts are currently in the pipeline, setting us up for rapid expansion, including Whole Foods (mid-2027 Mid-Atlantic regional rollout to start) and Target (Aug 2027 national rollout).
Strategic firepower: Recently signed THE Christina Tosi (Founder & CEO of Milk Bar and celebrity chef) as an investor and strategic advisor! As we expand nationally, we'll be leveraging her expertise through PR and retail initiatives to help drive awareness and excitement around the brand.
Deal Terms: Raising a $1mm pre-seed round under a standard YC SAFE with a $6mm cap
Current Commitments: About 15% committed with a strong investor pipeline, including Ford Ventures and talent represented by WME.
CPGD Insights: Ava is a rockstar founder with an impressive background in the beauty industry. With a recent celebrity investment from Christina Tosi, Oh So Easy! is well positioned to make waves in major grocery chains. At a premium price point, their unique flavors put them at the forefront of boxed baked good innovation, a strong differentiator for securing shelf space. A great fit for angels looking to support female and POC founders, who have a passion for baking, or who believe in the expansion of global flavors into the dessert space.
Benny
Brand Description: The $21B energy drink category is split between high-caffeine drinks consumers feel conflicted about and functional wellness beverages that don't actually deliver a lift, and no brand owns the space in between. Benny fills that gap: a lightly sparkling, adaptogen-powered energy drink with 80mg of clean tea-based caffeine, no jitters, no crash, and no questionable ingredients, designed to be the daily wellness ritual for the caffeine-conscious consumer who wants to feel focused without the aftermath.
Founder Background:
Julie Letizia and Paige Cey met at the University of Victoria and went on to become two of Canada's most decorated young founders, co-founding Benny together
Julie is a former varsity athlete, recipe formulator, and food and beverage veteran who worked at top CPG brands before Benny - bringing the technical and industry acumen to build a product that genuinely delivers on its promise
Paige is an award-winning podcaster and early Girlboss team member who brings deep brand-building, community, and media expertise to the business
Together, they have been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, BC 30 Under 30, GLORY Under 30, and RBC Women of Influence - a reflection of both the brand's momentum and the founders' standing in the broader entrepreneurial community
Financial & Brand Highlights
$4M TTM revenue - 900% growth YoY on $200k in funding
Strong repeat purchase rate - 65% of surveyed purchasers purchase every 2 weeks
47% gross margins
#40 out of 240 brands in Energy and Sports Drinks across Total US MULO, with a Dollars per TDP that outpaces most newer entrants.
Terms of Raise: Raising a $2M seed
Current Commitments: ~500k+ in angel investor commitments, looking for a strong lead
CPGD Insights: Benny has made buzzy headlines in the energy drink category. They have expanded throughout all of Canada with consistent velocity and traction, and are now working towards U.S. expansion. Already with a placement in Target, Benny has impressively gone head to head with other energy drink brands supported by huge fundraising rounds and celebrity endorsements, all while maintaining a strong and loyal following and driving national retail expansion. This team has proven they can make impressive headway with lean operations in a highly competitive category.
Alleyoop
Brand Description: Alleyoop is transforming the beauty industry for time-pressed consumers with groundbreaking multifunctional products.
By merging multiple steps into singular essentials, this pioneering brand co-founded by a CPG innovator and serial entrepreneur is capitalizing on the fastest-growing segment in beauty: multifunctional color cosmetics.
Founder Background:
Leila Kashani Manshoory, Co-Founder & CEO
15+ years in brand strategy, marketing and product innovation - with stops at Nike, Red Bull, Cult Gaia, MeUndies and MGA Entertainment.
UC San Diego, BA Communications, Minor in Psychology
David Manshoory, Co-Founder & COO
20+ year Founder w/ 3 exits and $150M+ raised
Driving marketing, ops and finance at Alleyoop
USC, BA Entrepreneurship and Master of Real Estate Development
Financial & Brand Highlights
Alleyoop is entering mass retail with a national launch in 600+ Target stores this August
The business is hitting $9-10M in revenue this year (DTC, amazon & retail) and profitable in Q4, aiming towards $25M+ in the next 24 months.
The vision is to reach $100M+ in revenue for an exit within the next 5 years.
Alleyoop has high gross margins (74%) with omni-channel distribution across DTC, Amazon and retail
The Co-Founders have personally invested $1M+ alongside shareholders
Terms of Raise: $2M to support the upcoming Target launch, which also drives the business to profitability in Q4.
Current Commitments: Current investors include Relevance Ventures, IgniteXL Ventures, CTK and strategic angels.
CPGD Insights: Alleyoop is at a pivotal moment with their a nation-wide launch in 600+ Target stores this August. By merging multiple steps into singular essentials, they're capitalizing on the fastest-growing segment in beauty: multifunctional products. The team brings two experienced founders with a strong network and a track record of success behind them, which shows in how thoughtfully they've built the brand to this point. A great investment for those looking to go deeper into the beauty space with a founder-led brand that has the team and retail momentum to back it up.
Hyper Blast
Description of brand: Hyper Blast is bringing back the alcoholic energy drink inspired by Four Lokos original recipe but reformulated for how Gen Z drinks now: natural caffeine from Yerba Mate, low-calorie, real charred fruit, sweetened with monk fruit, 12% ABV. Full chaos in a can.
Founder Background: Mike Perry is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of TAVERN, a Brooklyn-based creative agency specializing in food, beverage, hospitality, and sports brands. With more than 15 years of experience across both brand and agency roles, Mike has led work for brands including Sizzler, Beam Suntory, Gallo, Burger King, Diageo, and NYCFC. His approach, which he calls “Modern Heritage,” focuses on helping brands uncover and modernize the most meaningful parts of their history to build timeless relevance and cultural impact.
Financial Highlights:
Pre-revenue business
Deal Terms: Hyper Blast is raising a $2M pre-seed SAFE round at a $10M valuation cap
CPGD Insights: Hyper Blast caught my attention immediately with one of the most well-executed decks I've seen this year. Created by Tavern, an agency with deep roots in alcohol and beverage, this is a seasoned team that knows how to bring a new gen drink to market. Hyper Blast positions itself as a next-generation Four Loko, caffeine-spiked with Yerba Mate, but without the alarming health baggage and with flavor profiles that actually deliver. A compelling entry for angels who believe the better-for-you alcohol moment is just getting started.
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 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!