Happy New Year 🥳🍾 and 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. I’ve been leading Partnerships at CPGD and will be curating these founder stories. I attended the University of Chicago and am currently an MBA student at Wharton.

Please take 5 min to answer this very short survey on consumer investing going into 2024. Data is collected anonymously and we will publish and share results with the community so the more we collect the better!

Highlighting 3 amazing Founders who are raising right now…

Wellness In A Nutshell: Daily Crunch🥜🥜

Award-winning sprouted nut snacks that taste as good as they make you feel

Series A: Raising $4M

Founder background: Laurel Orley is the founder of Daily Crunch. After a career in media and marketing working on brands like the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, LiptonTea, Baileys, Suave and Hellman’s, she co-launched Daily Crunch Snacks in 2020 with her Aunt Diane Orley and 2nd time founder Dan Stephenson.

What was the inspiration behind Daily Crunch? My Aunt Diane discovered the sprouting process in India over 18 years ago and made small batches for friends & family back in the US over the years. Diane's sprouted nuts were different from raw or roasted almonds...they were lighter, airier and crunchier. After a career in CPG at Unilever, I saw a market gap for healthy, sprouted nut snacks and Daily Crunch launched in 2020. Dan and Diane are my fellow co-founders, where Dan is a second time CPG founder and the COO.

What does your company do or what problem does it aim to solve? Daily Crunch is a women-owned and mission driven company that makes uniquely crunching sprouted nut snacks that taste as good as they make you feel. There is little innovation in a relatively unhealthy trusty but dusty nut snack category, but our innovative, patent pending process creates snacks that are nutrient dense, easily digestible, and crunches like chips, offering a satisfying solution for your cravings.

Anything you’d like our readers to know? So many things! To name a few: We just launched our Dill Pickle Sprouted Almonds + Pepitas. We also launched a new 0.5 size pack that will help us in non-retail distribution channels like food service, airlines and offices. We recently launched into a second co-packer that will quadruple output capacity to support our growth and help drive efficiencies with automation and centralized location. In 2024, we are launching into a massive new retailer in April, starting with 500 locations and growing from there (their current door count is 5,000).

We are also in the midst of a study proving that sprouted nuts and seeds contain higher protein, fiber and lower fat. And for the upcoming year, we are working towards profitability by end of 2024, depending on how quickly we’d like to grow!

Glow All Day With 4AM SKIN 💄💅🏽

Research-backed skincare solutions

Seed: Raising $1.5M

Founder background: Sabrina Sade and Jade Beguelin are co-founders of 4AM SKIN.

Sabrina Sade is a beauty and lifestyle influencer with over 80k+ followers and an ex-med student at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Combining her academic focus on dermatology research with over 7 years in the influencer space, Sabrina is one of the top Gen Z voices in skincare.

Jade Beguelin is a data-driven growth marketer who began her career as a derivatives trader at JP Morgan before spending over 3 years at Ampush (named the McKinsey of growth marketing by Techcrunch). Her experience spans managing 7-figure marketing budgets for top DTC brands to tactical strategic consulting for early stealth ventures. She has also amassed over 135k+ followers on TikTok where she discusses all things 4AM and living in New York City.

What was the inspiration behind 4AM? 4AM started when we realized that despite living very different lives, we were still searching for the same when it came to skincare. Sabrina, a beauty influencer and medical school student, had shelves worth of product, but spent hours researching ingredients lists in order to find a routine that actually worked. And when she did, the number of products would barely fit in her carry-on. Meanwhile, I [Jade Bequelin] was working on Wall Street and tired of being sold multi-step routines that weren't compatible with my long hours and hectic lifestyle. On top of it all, we were tired of overly perfectionist skincare brands telling us what we wanted rather than listening to what we needed.

What does your company do or what problem does it aim to solve? We're making easy skincare cool. 4AM SKIN is disrupting the $450B wellness market with a bold promise: keep your bad habits and still have good skin. Our research-backed solutions reduce the impact of modern stressors like alcohol, sugar, disrupted sleep, and air pollution.

Anything you’d like our readers to know? We were named one of Hypebae's Best Emerging Brands for 2023, our serums were named a Vogue Editor's Pick (for the second year in a row), and a Cosmopolitan Best Hydrating Serum Duo. Our biggest challenge over the last 4-5 months has been keeping product in stock and we are excited for new inventory to land in order to take advantage of our growing customer base. We have also been in conversations with several big beauty retailers and are excited for customers to be able to shop 4AM IRL in 2024!

Tribini’s Ready-To-Drink Espresso Martinis Will Have You Buzzed With Excitement ☕🍸

Ready-to-drink, mixologist-quality espresso martinis

Pre-Seed: Raising $1M

Founder background: Taylor Grant is Co-Founder & CEO of Tribini. He has over a decade of experience in asset management and finance and eight years as an investor in early stage CPG start-ups. Taylor has a B.S. in Finance as well as an MBA from Bentley University.

What was the inspiration behind Tribini? My co-founder, Dan Weidel, and I have been huge fans of espresso martinis for years and saw a major opportunity in 2020 when the RTD Cocktail category began to emerge. I felt that this category was going to grow beyond the basics of vodka sodas and rum and cokes and knew there was going to be a white space for complex cocktails like the espresso martini. After an extensive development cycle, Tribini launched in October 2022.

What does your company do or what problem does it aim to solve? Espresso martinis require multiple ingredients, are a pain to make in quantity, and are indulgent and tend to be inconsistent in quality. Tribini offers premium ready-to-drink espresso martinis made with high quality ingredients like 6x distilled vodka, real espresso, and all natural ingredients. Tribini solves speed of service issues and convenience by having two cocktails in every can and nitro, so any consumer or bartender just needs to shake a can of Tribini in a cocktail shaker with ice and pour two perfect espresso martinis. In addition, Tribini cuts the calories, sugar and fat content that is typically seen in espresso martinis.

Anything you’d like our readers to know? In our first year of business, Tribini has already expanded to 175 wholesale accounts in three markets (New York, New Jersey, and Florida) and onboarded with Allied Beverage Group. Tribini’s key accounts include Total Wine & More, Stew Leonard’s, Joe Canal’s, BuyRite, Four Seasons, Showboat Resort & Casino, Golden Nugget Casino and many more. In addition, the brand has received some amazing media exposure from outlets such as Delish, Travel & Leisure, The Spirits Business, The Food Network, and was named a top 10 selling RTD on Drizly in 2023! In 2024, Tribini will be expanding into select new markets on the east coast, building relationships with new distribution partners, and expanding its retail footprint.

Fuel Your Day With VivaStix On The Go 🫘😋

Instant energy mix delivered in a portable tube

Seed: Raising $500k via SAFEs

Founder background: Stephen Kincheloe is the founder of VivaStix. He grew up in Austin, TX, playing nearly every sport possible as a kid. After college, he moved to New York City to work in investment banking, covering financial institutions. After 4 years of banking, he got his MBA from Yale School of Management, where he found his passion for entrepreneurship and CPG, even starting a Greek yogurt brand while in school. Since then, he’s worked in several finance and operations roles, including at two early stage startups as their VP of Finance: one in Sports Marketing and one in Functional Ingredient Manufacturing.

What was the inspiration behind VivaStix? Over the past 10 years, I’ve tinkered with my own mixes of dietary supplements, and when I started getting a lot of positive feedback, I decided to start VivaStix with two amazing individuals – a design/branding expert and a marketing expert. Our functional and clean ingredients are combined with less waste (no paper stick packets) and more enjoyable and premium containers that you WANT to keep on your counter or put in your pocket.

What does your company do or what problem does it aim to solve? We launched a 50mg caffeine energy product ("Instant Energy"), which is delivered in a tube, and designed to be both poured directly into the mouth like a pixy stick (differentiator #1), OR mixed with a beverage, whichever the consumer prefers. We also don't use sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives. The idea came about because we noticed people pouring zip fizz directly into their mouths, and we tried it, and it was NOT a very pleasant experience. They do this to get energy without needing to drink water, which is helpful before intense exercises (e.g. kickboxing) or during long runs, where a stomach full of water isn't ideal.

Anything you’d like our readers to know? We are a self-funded Delaware C Corp. After doing a soft launch in early 2023, we are ready to go full speed with our latest formula (“Day Boost”) and our updated branding.

Some brands reached out to give an update on how they’re doing. Keep an eye out for these founders starting to raise in 2024!

Wellious Vegan Protein Powders

“Wellious is blowing up. Our re-order rate is DOUBLE industry averages. 80% gross margin, individual customers spending $2,300/yr. We’re one of the fastest growing vegan protein powders on Amazon and TikTok Shop. We have had product requests from celebs like the Kardashians. Influencers with millions of followers post about us organically b/c they’re obsessed with the product. We have deals signed or in pipeline with Vitamin Shoppe, Whole Foods, Central Market. Continuous viral content and collabs with massive wellness brands like BALA.

We’ve grown fast in the last year while bootstrapping profitably. I am looking to build relationships with investors to raise our first bit of capital in 2024. There is a clear path to build a monster business quickly and profitably. Most importantly, our unique farm-to-bag 4 ingredient protein powder is garnering obsessive customers because it is genuinely making people feel better. Customers say it is the only protein powder that exists that doesn’t cause them bloating, cramps, other gastrointestinal issues, acne, and even headaches. We have all of the ingredients to be the next iconic food/wellness brand.” - Sean Hall, founder

Joydays Cookies

“Joydays is focused on the mission of having products cross over into healthcare and grocery that solves for specific medical concerns but is made for everyone. We have leaned into the Food as Medicine space, and this year, we will be leaning into natural ways to increase your GLP-1. 

Our cookies we were developed with top diabetes dietitians and doctors, giving us a lot of credibility. This has allowed us to launch into the Walmart Diabetes aisle recently, pioneering a snack area in 2,000+ Walmarts across the country.

Currently, we have 52% gross margins on our products, we’re targeting $3M revenue in 2024, and we will be starting to raise in Q2 2024.” - Amy Cohn, founder

Congratulations to Springdale Ventures Closing $40M Fund II

We got in touch with Genevieve Gilbreath co-founder and general partner at Springdale Ventures on their latest raise

What factors do you think contributed to Springdale's success in closing? I think part of our success is that we have a strong track record from fund I with brands like Beatbox, Goodles, Caraway, Literati and more! We also have a great group of both new and returning LPs with whom we have communicated regularly and cultivated authentic relationships with, we love our partners! The other thing I would say is, just like in raising for a brand, you have to wildly persistent and communicate clearly and regularly.

What is Springdale looking for in its next fund? We are maintaining the same thesis as fund one, investing in early stage consumer brands that are founder led and doing something transformational in their space. We are most interested in brands that can show strong product market fit through early traction, consumer stickiness and strong business fundamentals. In terms of categories we have particular interest in, we are looking for strong brands in pet, wellness, beauty, food, bev, and we also continue to believe that there are increasingly interesting ways to reach and influence consumers whether it’s through creator led brands or partnerships and we will be keeping our eyes open for the right brands in that space.

Anything else you’d like to highlight? We are thrilled to be able to continue to partner alongside incredible founders that are building the next-gen of household brands!

Liked the spotlights above? 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.

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

-Lucy Huang