Candy is having a moment

CPG and Retail news from the week of 6/2/25

Nate Rosen

and

Jenna Movsowitz

Jun 09, 2025

Hello hello!

We’ll be attending BevNET Live this week in NYC! We will be wandering around, sipping on beverages, meeting old and new friends, and learning about the best the beverage world has to offer!!

Our friends at BevNET have also provided a discount link for our members! Save $100 per ticket with this discount link: https://bit.ly/459fRET

Let’s get into it —>

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News From the Week

This week, the lower-sugar candy brand Joyride raised a whopping $30 million. They’ve been climbing the ranks since it relaunched and brought on viral YouTuber Ryan Trahan as Chief Creative Officer in 2024, and is now approaching the #1 selling spot at Target. But Joyride's success isn't happening in isolation.

Across the board, candy brands are seeing explosive growth and serious investor interest. ⬇️

Hershey’s acquired Sour Strips (another YouTube creator brand) for $75.5 Million
Final Boss Sour recently raised $4 million in a Seed 2 round
Nerds Gummy Clusters (now owned by a Ferrero subsidiary, Ferrara) have become a phenomenon, generating nearly $1 billion in annual sales
Swedish candy retailers Lil Sweet Treat and BonBon are taking over the Northeast and your TikTok feed

This whole candy narrative certainly doesn’t seem to fit with the current American wellness rhetoric (*cough* MAHA *cough*), which demonizes ultra-processed foods and artificial ingredients. And yet, the numbers don’t lie.

So, what's driving this sugar rush?

Creator partnerships. Unlike many celebrity-backed brands whose talent is a silent partner, Ryan Trahan is the Joyride brand. This has helped propel what was once Project 7 (launched in 2008) into a candy powerhouse under its new identity.

Other creator-backed successes include FaZe Clan's 1UP Candy and Sour Strips (before its Hershey's acquisition).
TikTok has become a candy innovation lab. When you think about it, TikTok is candy—quick hits of sugary content that offers a scrolling high and a subsequent crash. So it’s no surprise that candy itself thrives on the platform—and when something goes viral on TikTok, manufacturers are quick to hop on board.

Freeze-dried candies (like Kanpai) and peelable gummies, for example, have gone from vertical video to mass market—with startups and major brands developing their own versions, and retailers like Walgreens and Target launching private-label alternatives to meet demand.

The better-for-you boom. Following Smart Sweets' massive growth, a new generation of brands is tackling the category with lower-sugar and functional benefits. Think: Rotten, Blobs, BEHAVE, Better Sour, and of course, Joyride.

The bottom line: We're witnessing a perfect storm of creator influence, social media virality, and consumer desire for both nostalgia and innovation. With funding flowing freely and major acquisitions happening regularly, candy's sweet moment shows no signs of slowing down.

CPG & Consumer Goods

Acquisition or anti-innovation? Last week, David protein acquired its ingredient supplier Epogee—and pondered what would happen to the other brands using it. Now we know…and it’s not looking pretty:
- A number of brands have sued David Protein and its cofounder Peter Rahal, alleging they monopolized Epogee's fat replacer, EPG, by securing all its supply and excluding competitors.
- Plaintiffs claim this conduct violates antitrust laws and caused significant operational disruptions for others reliant on EPG. They’re seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent David from denying access to EPG.
The two biggest summer trends: Pistachios and Graza collabs. Alec's Ice Cream’s new partnership with Graza combines both with a pistachio butter ice cream infused with extra virgin olive oil, candied pistachios, and dark chocolate flakes available exclusively at Whole Foods Market (holy yum).
- Graza has been on a collab tear, partnering with brands like Aura Bora, Ithaca Hummus, Firehook Crackers, Fishwife, Little Spoon, and Rind Snacks.
Bye-bye (plant-based) Baby(bel). The Bel Group (owner of Babybel) is discontinuing its plant-based cheese brand Nurishh by the end of 2025 due to profitability challenges, despite significant investments. The brand has only captured 1% of the plant-based cheese market, while a major competitor (Violife) holds 22%.
- As someone who is constantly looking for good plant-based cheese alts, I can safely say that I saw this one coming. This product never quite hit the mark for me (read: it tasted like crayons) and contained no protein. It shouldn’t be a surprise that an “alternative” that doesn’t serve the same nutritional benefits or taste profile won’t make it—but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope for plant-based cheese at all. - J
That’s a whole lotta pickles. Grillo's Pickles plans to construct a 155,000-square-foot, $54 million manufacturing facility in Indiana, employing up to 150 workers.
- Pickles are big business: The global pickle market is valued at nearly $15 billion globally with no signs of stopping. Grillo’s has been making waves with their wild collabs like with Two Robbers, V8, Hippeas, and even PopUp Bagel, while brands like Good Girl Snacks have made pickles a viral “hot girl” moment.
Sticking to soap and manifestos. Dr. Bronner’s exited the chocolate business by transferring ownership of its chocolate bar line to Magic Chocolate Inc., a new entity formed by long-term partners. This decision comes amid rising cacao costs and the effects of tariffs.
Convenience is king. South Korean food manufacturer, Samyang Foods, is bringing its Tangle instant noodle line to the U.S., featuring four varieties: garlic oil, creamy mushrooms, chunky tomato, and Bulgogi alfredo.
Leaning into fragrance. Glossier is expanding its body care line with the launch of new body mists, set to debut on June 17.
- As a longtime wearer of Glossier You, I’m excited about this launch! To me, it feels geared towards a younger consumer—an elevated, modernized version of Bath & Body Works or Pink by Victoria’s Secret body mists (which consistently clouded my middle school halls)—and echoes the recent success of brands like DAISE. - J

eCommerce

Surprised this didn’t come sooner. Peloton launched a beta version of a peer-to-peer resale platform powered, Peloton Repowered, available in Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. metro areas.
- How it works: Certified sellers can list their unwanted Peloton gear and receive 70% of the sale price, plus a discount on new Peloton workout equipment.
- This launch comes after a disappointing third-quarter earnings report, which showed a 13% year-over-year revenue drop.

Retail

Look! Up in the sky! Walmart is expanding its drone delivery program with Wing to five new cities across the south aiming to reach millions of new customers.
- They’ll offer deliveries within 30 minutes from 100 Walmart locations and builds on Walmart's experience of over 150,000 drone deliveries since 2021.
The everything delivery app? Five Below partnered with Uber Eats to offer delivery from over 1,500 stores, providing a variety of products including toys, games, and snacks. This partnership is part of Uber Eats' broader strategy to expand beyond food delivery in 2025.
- With strong competitors like DoorDash and GrubHub, Uber Eats is clearly seeking new ways to stand out. It’s already leaned into grocery and convenience—but evidently, that wasn’t enough to stand out. With this new partnership, is Uber Eats better differentiating…or just creating value prop confusion? - J

Funding news

Big beverage moves:
- Lucky Energy Drinks secured a six-figure investment from InvestBev. Just last month, the company announced as $14 million oversubscribed Series A1 round.
- Functional beverage brand Rowdy Mermaid has been acquired by Next in Natural, the same company that acquired Aura Bora back in March.
  - Jamba’s LinkedIn post shares the reality of this acquisition. The company nearly closed its doors before taking a brand-saving route—streamlining the product lineup, limiting expenses, and narrowing focus. Definitely worth the read! - J
This just makes sense. Misfits Market acquired The Rounds, a startup focused on restocking recurring essentials using reusable packaging.
Post Holdings, Inc. acquired 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, a company that focuses on private-label consumer brands, for approximately $880 million.

Weekly Pickups

This week we spoke to friend of the newsletter, Jess Cervellon! Jess is the founder of Open Late Collective, a brand strategy and CX consultancy, and previously helped build Feastables by MrBeast from the ground up. Read it here 👇