Weekly Pickups: Open-source sauce, overnight oats, and more...
Ft. Jess Cervellon
Welcome back to Weekly Pickups!
We’ve got an exciting upcoming week: the Express Checkout team (AKA Nate + Jenna) will be at BevNET Live in NYC next Wednesday and Thursday!! We can’t wait to see some familiar faces and meet some new bev-obsessed folks :)
Want to join us? Use this LINK for $100 off your ticket.
This week, we’ve been thinking about…
I really want to see Chai become the next matcha. I feel like there are some amazing producers of chai out there like Kimbala and Kolkata that infused authenticity with absolute incredible taste. And I hope to see more of that as the next big flavor out there. - Nate
Afternoon caffeine. This week, I’ve been adding a second coffee to my daily routine (thanks, jet lag)—but I almost never finish it. Meanwhile, my partner gets an energy drink almost daily and only drinks ~1/3 of it. Where are all the low-caff ready-to-drink options capitalizing on the afternoon slump? - Jenna
And now, onto our weekly pickups… →
Nate’s Pickups
Harry's Famous
If you're a Bravo fan like me, hearing "Harry" and "tomato sauce" in one sentence means one thing: Harry Hamlin. But Harry isn't alone in building Harry’s Famous—he's teaming up with his niece Renee Guilbault who's held leadership roles at Pret A Manger and Compass Group—plus she's Le Cordon Bleu-trained. She’s the real deal.
Quick Facts: Restaurant-quality tomato sauce made with simple, whole ingredients and zero preservatives or additives. The cool part: Harry’s Famous is calling themselves the first open-source food company, meaning they literally give you the recipe and show you how to make it at home.
Reasons to love:
Complete transparency. I'm obsessed with their open-source approach. They put everything out there—ingredients, recipes, methods—because they believe everyone should know what's in their food. That's some real confidence in your product.
Family-run with purpose. This is a family business with a mission to make real food more accessible to everyone. I actually had the pleasure of hosting Harry and Renee in my home to try some upcoming flavors, and I love the way they think about building their brand and the meaning behind food.
Where to buy: Online at HarrysFamous.com
One Trick Pony Peanut Butter
This is by far my favorite peanut butter on the planet. So good, that I decided to invest in it! They just dropped new packaging (quite literally flipping the traditional PB on its head) with the same deliciously simple peanut butter inside.
It comes in both silky smooth (it’s real smooth) and crunchy! They also have this limited edition maple crunch which is SO addicting. If you can find a jar buy it immediately.
Quick Facts: This super simple peanut butter is made with premium Argentinian peanuts and a touch of Patagonian sea salt. That's it. No additives, no BS.
Reasons to love:
Ingredient story that matters. Peanuts are indigenous to South America, so I love that they're highlighting the region where these nuts are actually grown. You can really taste and see the difference too, there's something magical about that simplicity that I haven't found in other products.
The perfect balance. It's sweet, but not Skippy-sweet. With just enough natural sweetness with that tinge of nostalgia that makes you remember why you fell in love with peanut butter in the first place.
Where to buy: Online and Select Retailers
Jenna’s Pickups
Trace’s Oats - Maple Vanilla Walnut
Quick facts: TikTok's oatmeal king Trace finally packaged his viral breakfast magic into ready-to-eat overnight oats that check every breakfast box.
Reasons to love:
A+ nutrition label. Each base contains oats (sustainably sourced!), chia seeds, pea protein, dates, and monk fruit. It’s a simple ingredient list that packs in 15g of plant-based protein and only 5g total sugar (0g added) at 250 calories.
Trace himself! This founder story is as authentic as it gets. As a young athlete, Trace was always looking for better ways to fuel. He started experimenting with fun ways to make and eat oats, which he then documented on social. I personally found Trace during the pandemic and have been following his journey since! Launching this brand just makes sense—something we don’t always see in CPG.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserSo delicious. The Maple Vanilla Walnut flavor is so nostalgically delicious—it reminds me of Quaker Oats Maple Brown Sugar or Dinosaur Eggs Oatmeal (someone please tell me they remember this), but without the artificial everything or sugar crash. It’s cinnamony, cozy, sweet, and texturally satisfying with real walnuts for an added crunch.
Where to buy: Online!
Saturday Skin Yuzu Vitamin C Eye Cream
I’m certainly no skincare expert, but I do know great skincare great when I try it. I’ve been using this eye cream since I received it in FabFitFun’s Summer Box ~3 weeks ago, and it’s officially earned a coveted spot in my toiletry bag.
Quick facts: Light, buttery, unscented K-beauty eye cream packed with Vitamin C (thanks to yuzu, a Japanese citrus).
Reasons to love:
Texture/consistency. So many eye creams either feel like water (useless) or cement (deeply unpleasant). This one hits that sweet spot—creamy enough to feel luxurious, yet absorbs instantly into the skin.
Ingredients and effectiveness. The superstar ingredient list includes: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid (a stable form of vitamin C that won't oxidize in your medicine cabinet), niacinamide for brightness, caffeine to depuff, and six peptides to smooth fine lines.
In all honesty, I don’t know what all of this means. But I do know that this stuff works so well, one reviewer called it “better than concealer” (and I may have to agree…).
This even passed the post-flight test! My skin can get so dry while traveling, but this cream offered an instant undereye glow that combatted the gnarly recycled air + no sleep + dehydrated combo.
Where to buy: On the Saturday Skin site, Amazon, or Nordstrom.com.
✨ Special Guest ✨ Jess Cervellon, founder of Open Late Collective
We're excited to welcome Jess Cervellon to this week's Weekly Pickups! Jess is a brand strategist and customer experience expert with 15+ years of experience helping companies build meaningful customer connections. She's the founder of Open Late Collective, a brand strategy and CX consultancy, and previously helped build Feastables by MrBeast from the ground up. Jess also specializes in turning great products into unforgettable customer experiences that drive lasting loyalty.
Let’s dive in! →
What was your favorite pickup this week? I actually grabbed three things that I'm obsessed with: Fillo's Walking Tamales (Latin American-inspired tamales in these genius shelf-stable pouches), A Dozen Cousins beans and rice (Creole, Caribbean, and Latin American vibes), and LonoLife portable bone broth sticks.
What about these products intrigued you? Honestly, Fillo's and A Dozen Cousins had me at the packaging. Both have this bold, unapologetic visual identity that screams heritage and culture. They're what I call "shelf-aware," meaning they know exactly how to win in that split second when you're scanning the aisle.
But it wasn't just the pretty packaging that got me. The storytelling and cultural authenticity sealed the deal. I make it a point to support POC-owned brands, and these two absolutely nailed that sweet spot of story, product, and presentation.
LonoLife was different—it solved an actual problem I have. I'm a broth girl and a travel girl, and I was tired of having to choose between the two.
Where did you purchase them, and why that channel? Got Fillo's and A Dozen Cousins at Whole Foods, which is honestly one of the few places I actually enjoy browsing. (Editor’s note: same girl) I love seeing what's new and which brands are showing up strong on shelf.
LonoLife I ordered straight from their site because I wanted specific flavors and those perfect travel-size packs.
Why do you love them? If I were texting my best friend about these:
Fillo's: "Flavor that travels, no microwave, no mess, just heat and go. A-plus, would absolutely recommend."
A Dozen Cousins: "These are full-on comfort meals in a pouch. You can literally taste the roots—it's soul food done smart."
LonoLife: "I travel constantly, and this is how I keep my broth obsession alive without lugging around a thermos. Clean, functional, easy to love."
If you want to share a brand you’re loving for us to review, or if you have the perfect special guest in mind, email us: nate@expresscheckout.co and jenna@expresscheckout.co :)