Week 4 Roundup

Gummies that are good for you, Unilever snatching up another big brand name, and a hint of chocolate.

Sweet Sweet Supplements

Who says being healthy can’t be fun? We are all too familiar with old pill boxes filled with dozens of supplements we heard about from a friend or on a podcast somewhere. Well now there are a few companies changing the way we supplement. Powdered by a new wave of Gen Z consumers entering young adulthood with a renewed focus on health and wellness and a propensity towards fun, unique products, companies are now aiming to revamp supplementation. From gummies, to lollipops, to chocolate bars, taking your “medicine” has never been more enjoyable. Whether or not these alternatives are as effective given the bioavailability of the ingredients is still up for debate, but what is for certain is that the market for these supplements is massive and growing.

First launched onto the scene in 2022, Create Wellness found a white space in the creatine market, creating the first ever creatine gummy. Gruns followed suit shortly thereafter with the first greens gummy reaching an over $500M valuation in 2 years with their flagship product. Popular holistic health brand Beekeeper’s Naturals just launched their prebiotic fiber lollipops. With thousands and thousands of brands to choose from for supplements, brands are trying to find new ways to reach consumers and create the stickiness needed to succeed in this space. Good Day Chocolate makes a range of supplements in M&M-like form from kids multivitamins to melatonin for sleep to immunity aids. By offering a fun, tasty alternative to typical forms, these brands are reaching broader audiences and redefining supplementation. Sometimes the best brands aren’t built off innovative new products but by redefining the form of existing products to meet the desires of a new generation of consumers.

Recipe of the Week

Protein Chocolate Cake Bars

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1/3 cup of coconut sugar

• 1/4 cup of smooth almond butter

• 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder

• 1/4 cup of coconut oil

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/3 cup of cocoa powder

• 1/4 cup of maple syrup

• 1 tsp of vanilla

• 1/2 tsp of baking soda

• 1/2 tsp of baking powder

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 1/4 cup of chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together and then whisk in wet ingredients. Spread in a pan lined with parchment or coated with coconut oil. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake at 355° for 15-20 min.

Notable and Newsworthy

• Unilever to acquire men’s personal care brand Dr. Squatch for $1.5B

• Jennifer Garner’s baby food company, Once Upon a Farm, has confidentially filed for IPO at around a $1B valuation

• Metabolic health company Veracity, known for its popular GLP-1 dupe, scooped up another $6M in funding to help expand operations and distribution

• DUDE Wipes brings in TSG Consumer as a strategic investor to help accelerate growth

• Condiment brand Ayoh co-founded Molly Baz and David McCormick, raised $4.5M from Imaginary Ventures with participated from Lerer Hippeau and others

• Momofuku raises almost $30M months after bringing in new CEO Paddy Spence

• Bloom sells 35 million cans of their popular sparkling energy drink in less than a year

• J.M Smucker to remove artificial dyes from products by end of 2027