Basemakers

Poppi shipped 32 pink vending machines to influencers before Super Bowl LIX. Olipop won the from the comment section. For $0. Here's the play-by-play (great technique for PR)👇 For 48 hours, the sentiment was perfect. Millions of views. Thousands of comments. Exactly what Poppi wanted. Then it turned. Consumers didn't hate influencer marketing. They hated who got the machines. "Times are tough. People can't afford Poppi. and we have to watch wealthy influencers flaunt this?" -actual TikTok comment that Went viral. The machines were the talking point. Just not the conversation Poppi planned. Then Olipop walked into the comments. No paid ads. No vending machines. Just perfectly timed drops: → "Those machines cost $25K each lol" → "32 × $25K… Yikes" → "$8M per 30 seconds + a 60-second ad sooo…" It wasn't fully accurate. Poppi's founder confirmed the $25K figure was "inflated by 60%." Didn't matter. The narrative locked in: Poppi = rich influencers. Olipop = the people's soda. Then Olipop shipped Super Bowl gifts to the fans who felt left out. Poppi fought back with facts. She was right. She was losing the perception battle. Key to brand attacks in public: The attacker controls the narrative with little downside. The defender plays defense, even when correct. Every fact-check kept the story alive. Five weeks later: PepsiCo acquired Poppi for $1.95B. The stunt didn't harm the Poppi in any major way. The category was worth a couple billion at that time. But Olipop owned the cultural moment around the a marketing event their top competitor paid for, getting millions of organic impressions. One comment at the right moment can hijack moment online. A smart strategy for CPG brands to leverage. Have your social teams listen to online sentiment and place your brand on the people's side when/where there's an authentic fit.

In July 2024, a wellness influencer in Venice, California launched her first energy drink. By Q4 2025, it was outselling Mountain Dew And Prime Energy. The Circana data is wild: → +937% dollar growth YoY → +615% unit growth → $56.7M in under 12 months → Now outselling Mountain Dew ($51.7M) + Prime ($42.8M) in the energy aisle The brand is Bloom Sparkling Energy. Here's what many miss: Mari Llewellyn didn't sell an energy drink in 2024. She sold an energy drink to 12+ billion existing views. For five years she'd been building Bloom Greens off her own health transformation. Real customers who trusted her enough to mix a powder every morning. By the time the can hit Target, her audience didn't have to discover it. They had been waiting for it. The rollout was just as deliberate: → Target exclusive first — to prove velocity no one could ignore → National expansion only after the data was undeniable → Nutrabolt poured in $200M+ for majority ownership → Keurig Dr Pepper (shareholder of Nutrabolt) quietly inherits the distribution upside with a full acquisition imminent And Big Energy is reacting fast: Celsius bought Alani Nu for $1.8B in Feb 25. Monster launched FLRT (its own female-focused brand) this year. Translation: one of the largest energy drink companies on earth is building a copycat from scratch because two creator-led brands just rewired the entire energy category in a few years. Both Bloom & Alani Nu successful developed creator-led, female-focused brands. They didn't build a brand and then find customers. They build a loyal following (customers) & then sell them a brand. The trade is real. It's expensive. It takes years of unpaid content. Most founders won't pay it. But the ones who find the whitespace and have authentic brand-creator alignment may get a $200M payday. The question: what is the next untapped category whitespace that has alignment with an authentic creator, a real point of view, and no product yet? That could be the next 9-10 figure brand.

The best deals at Sweets & Snacks don't always happen in the booths. They happen in chance encounters (sometimes with a drink in hand!) On Tuesday, May 19th, Basemakers & Confido are hosting a private rooftop happy hour for CPG sales leaders. Open bar. Light bites. A curated room of leaders from brands like Feastables, Our Home, Bitchin' Sauce. No booth rush or badge scans. Just the people you actually want to talk to when the booths close. 📍 Tuesday, May 19 | 5:30–9:00 PM Rooftop Terrace, SpringHill Suites Marriott LV Convention Center Capped guest list so RSVP here to ensure your on the list: 📩 https://lnkd.in/g4ssqFD4 Look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!

In 2022, a guy from New Jersey was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He still wanted to eat pizza. So he started messing with a recipe TikTok wouldn’t stop showing him: Greek yogurt + flour. That’s it. Four years later, that idea is in nearly 2,000 Target stores. This is the Yough! story. One of the cleaner CPG case studies right now. Here’s what many miss: Frozen pizza is a $7.4B category. It’s basically flat. Nestlé entire frozen pizza portfolio, including DiGiorno, was down 3.5%. Caulipower frozen crusts/dough line, down ~8.7%. But inside that frozen aisle, better-for-you pizza velocities were up +9%. That’s the pocket Yough entered. The genius isn’t the yogurt. It’s the refusal. The first generation of “healthy” frozen pizza taught consumers to compromise: -Swap the carb. -Swap the gluten. -Swap the crust. Eat something that almost feels like pizza. Yough refused. It’s still wheat. Still bready. Still has real mozzarella. It just happens to deliver over 20g of protein on a 4-ingredient crust: Yogurt. Wheat. Yeast. Salt. Fewer ingredients than many protein bars. Then came the execution: 2022: founded by three childhood friends from New Jersey. 2023: DTC launch with frozen pizzas + dough. 2024: specialty credibility, including Erewhon. 2026: nationwide Target rollout + strategic investment from Founders Row. Roughly 32 months from “website with three pizzas” to national mass retail. That doesn’t happen by accident. It worked because the pieces fit: A founder solving a real problem. A TikTok recipe people already understood. A flat category with a hidden growth pocket. A product simple enough to explain in one sentence. Frozen pizza looked sleepy. Then Yough made it interesting again. The boring categories aren’t dead. They’re waiting for someone who us craving to eat the product. Keep you eyes on this brand!

Distribution is addition. Velocity is multiplication. Most CPG brands don't think through the difference. 𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 = 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜 × 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 × 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 × 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 Multiplication, not addition. If any variable is zero, velocity is zero. That's why "we got authorized!" so often becomes "why isn't it moving?" This photo is what multiplying all four looks like. A checkout endcap. Dozens of facings. Premium chocolate (HU is #1 selling bar in Whole Foods). The last thing shopper sees before they leave. → 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜: every shopper passes checkout. Most skip the candy aisle. → 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: this many facings turns the brand into a billboard. → 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: deeper stock kills out-of-stocks + signals high brand status → 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: chocolate is the low friction impulse buy in retail. Shopper already in buying mode, one arm's reach away. Main shelf captures demand that already exists. Checkout captures unplanned impulse demand. Great work by the Basemakers team!

138 facings of Dose on one endcap. Excellent example of the "Billboard Effect" Dose is a functional wellness shot brand built around simple daily rituals: Clear need state. Clear functionality Clear reason to buy. This endcap works because its highly visible in the shoppers line of sight. -108 large bottle facings make Core Liver the hero -30 small bottle facings make trial easy -Total MSRP of the entire endcap: ~$7k The product line addresses a few key need states: -For your Liver brings turmeric/curcumin, milk thistle, dandelion, ginger for liver support, detoxification + health -For Your Immunity adds a second need state with lemon, ginger, turmeric, black pepper + vitamin C -For Your Digestion expands the routine with ginger, apple cider vinegar + probiotics Big visual block. Simple product architecture. Multiple wellness entry points. Most brands fight to get on shelf. The best brands identify opportunities to drive awareness, trail & memorability In CPG, achieving Product-Market Fit is a must. Initial placement gets you in the game. Optimal Merchandising gets you in the basket (again & again) Great work by the Basemakers regional manager, Becky!

David Protein may be the clearest CPG case study of the GLP-1 era. But not for the reason most people think. David didn't win by stamping "GLP-1" on the package. The package doesn't mention it. David is building a product that solves the GLP-1 shopper's actual problem. The new mission has a new spec sheet (Acosta): → 74% want high-protein products → 73% want gut-health support → 55% are eating smaller portions → 53% are drinking more water Now look at David's product: Simple format. High protein. No sugar. Portable. Easy to understand in 3 seconds. David is eyeing $300M+ in '26 revenue (per AgFunder) It's product-market fit colliding with the GLP-1 tailwind. Most CPG brands trying to capture this shopper are doing the opposite. They're slapping "GLP-1 friendly" badges on existing SKUs + hoping the shelf does the rest. Acosta even found the explicit GLP-1 label can polarize shoppers. Because the GLP-1 shopper isn't shopping for a label. They're shopping for nutrition per bite. The brands that win this era will be ones the new shopper recognizes as already built for them. David figured that out faster than almost anyone else. What other brands do you see quietly doing the same thing?

Two D1 athletes built a hydration brand for non-athletes. Last Thursday, Gatorade announced the exact same pivot. Here's the 4-year arc few (including myself) saw coming: 2021. Alex and Steve Michaelsen launch a 4,567-token NFT community before a single can ships. Most of CPG laughs. 2022. Alex quits his job at 22. Zero income. Credit card debt. He's calling it a career move. His bank account is isn't happy but now he's 100% focused. The first cans hit one Erewhon on the west side of LA. Steve is still at Nike, running digital strategy for North America Running. April 2023: Steve walks away from a 7-year Nike career. Both brothers, all in. 2023 to 2025: -400% Y1 to Y2 revenue. ~1,300% over two years (company-reported). #1 dollar velocity in enhanced water (SPINS, Natural Channel, company-cited). 7.7 units per SKU per store per week at regional Whole Foods. 12.1 at promo peak (Dry Atlas). National Whole Foods. Costco. Chase airport lounges. Meta & Google office fridges. Alex named to Forbes 30 Under 30. April 2026. Gatorade announces a rebrand for non-athletes. April 2026. Leisure closes an oversubscribed Series A led by Midnight Venture Partners, who doubled down from seed. Strategic checks from Doss Cunningham (Nutrabolt / C4), Greg LaVecchia (Bloom Nutrition), Asahi, Brian Goldberg (Asto, SkinnyPop, Waterloo), Mike LaVitola (Foxtrot), Jordan Brown (Hu Chocolate), Döhler, + Chef Bae. Six days apart. The lesson isn't that Gatorade followed them. Category wedges stay invisible until the incumbent admits they're real. By the time that happens, the brand that saw it four years earlier has already put four straight years of >100% YoY on the board. A UCLA long snapper & a Wake Forest school-record shot putter looked at a 34-gram-of-sugar, neon-dye, athlete-coded bottle. They realized it no longer fit their own lives. So they built what they wanted to drink. Then they built the retail ladder behind it. Got to write a small angel check into their previous round. The Basemakers team has loved partnering with them at shelf - incredible team + brand. Congrats Alex, Steve, Trevor and the Leisure crew!

They got into medical school. Instead, they spent nights hand-capping wellness shots in a friend's shoe shop. Had a call with Lumen cofounder Kristofer Taylor last week & heard their story firsthand. The part I keep thinking about: Lumen did not break through because the founders nailed it on day one. They broke through because they kept letting the wrong version of the business die. Kris + Yasir have known each other for 20 years. They met when Yasir first moved to the U.S. in middle school. Both got into medical school. Both said no. Before Lumen, they had already lost everything once. They built a CBD venture in Texas aimed at helping epilepsy patients, ranked in the top tier of license applicants, then watched the economics collapse when the state pushed the license fee from roughly $6,000 to $250,000. They returned investor money. And started over. That restart looked kind of insane. A one-way ticket west. A $6,000 cold-press juicer. A residency on a regenerative farm in Oregon. They slept during the day. Kris in a hammock, Yasir in a tent. They worked at night. Hand-filling shots in a friend's shoe shop after the crew went home. At the end of a run, they'd flip a coin. Loser drove first to the HPP plant in Sacramento. Winner slept in the passenger seat. They couldn't run Facebook ads either. Hemp kept getting flagged as illegal drug content, so they printed cards at Kinkos and went door-to-door at yoga studios, gyms, and meditation spaces around Lake Merritt. That hustle drove roughly $32K in Indiegogo pre-sales. Then Erewhon. Then Lazy Acres. Self-delivered in a Jeep. Coffee and donuts for the store staff. And then for about two years, they couldn't crack $10k a month. That matters. Because most people only like founder stories once the pain has been edited out. Then California regulators forced another reset. Lumen reformulated, kept moving, and eventually broke into Whole Foods. Later, they quietly acquired Monfefo out of Brooklyn and rebranded it as the world's first Regenerative Organic Certified wellness shot line. Then they kept evolving. Hemp shots. Hemp seed oil shots. Clear collagen protein lemonade. Sparkling protein. This February, they won the UNFI UpNext Pitch Slam with a sparkling protein SKU that had not even launched yet. A bit later, Taste Tomorrow Ventures invested. Not with version one. With the version they suffered their way into. That's the founder lesson for me. Most people think great founders defend the original idea to the death. I think it's the opposite. Great founders stay obsessed with the problem. Not the first format. Not the first packaging. Not the first version that made them feel smart. Thats founder discipline. Kris sent me samples of Lumen's sparkling protein line and I can confidently say they have the best tasting plant-based protein line on the market! Congrats to these cofounder besties on sticking with it to create something special!

Most emerging CPG founders are spending money in the wrong place... They pour budget into Sponsoring Events like Coachella, influencers with lots of followers but little conversion, and giving out pallets of product. I'm all for optimized event campaigns, but investing heavy into these before saturated distribution is a sure-fire way to burn through budgets. Securing pegboard displays like this HU one is going to drive the sales lift and build awareness at the point of purchase. 1. Interrupts autopilot Shoppers grab the same ~20 items every week. Displays break the loop. 2. Drives trial → repeat That first impulse grab is how a brand becomes a household habit. 3. Backed by hard data A feature paired with even a small display lifts unit sales by 129% (Circana). This one? A 2-3xer Aligning your budget closest to the shelf (demos in top stores, retail execution, optimized promo pricing) is the key for emerging brand success. Brand building events make a lot more sense once consumers can easily find the product. Love seeing these types of wins come through by the Basemakers team!