Alex Matthews

We are so excited to be partnered with The Open Food Company and Harrys Famous Sauce! Thanks to the support of Gelson's Markets, Colin Thompson, Rich Gillmore, MS-FIL---Gelsons will be our first launch partner in Southern California! We were able to announce the new partnership on Good Morning America on Wednesday, August 13th! We also appreciate the partnership with GOURMET MERCHANTS INTERNATIONAL, who is moving quickly with us to get Harry's on store shelves! The CPG Collective is thrilled to partner with The Open Food Company, founded in 2024 by Emmy‑nominated actor Harry Hamlin and his classically trained chef niece and food industry veteran Renée Guilbault. They’ve launched what’s widely recognized as the first-ever open‑source packaged food company—and their flagship product, Harry’s Famous Sauce, sets a new standard for transparency and purpose ! What makes The Open Food Company unique? Radical transparency: Every ingredient, recipe, and cooking method is openly shared—scan a QR code and you’ve got the full recipe at your fingertips! Clean, accessible food: Sauces are crafted with simple, kitchen-found ingredients—no preservatives, no synthetics—delivering rich, restaurant-quality flavor in just minutes!  Impact built-in: Half of the net profits from Harry’s Famous go directly to hunger-relief organizations, including the LA Regional Food Bank, Project Angel Food, Food Bank for NYC, and The Open Door Food Pantry. To date, over $80K has been raised!  Ongoing innovation: From the beloved Rosemary Red Wine sauce to bold new flavors like Spicy Tarragon Vodka, Marinara No. 7, and Lemon Pepper Dill, the product line is rapidly evolving!  What truly stands out is how Harry and Renée have combined culinary expertise, mission-driven business, and radical openness to shift how we think about convenience foods. It’s refreshing, it’s purposeful—and it’s just the beginning....and we are so excited to be on the journey with this amazing team!

66

10 Comments

"The number one thing you need with any distributor partnership is for someone at that distributor to be in love with your brand, whether it's a one-man band or a thousand-person organization." Elwyn Gladstone of Biggar & Leith kindly shared this gem and more on the latest episode of Business of Drinks. Gladstone is a seasoned industry vet, having worked at William Grant & Sons and Pernod Ricard before building Malfy Gin (which was sold to Pernod Ricard in 2019). His latest venture, Shanky's Whip, is now selling 100,000 cases annually across 60+ countries with a team of less than 6 people. Three key insights from our discussion: 1. Your idea and packaging must be exceptional - good is not enough. Someone needs to be able to spot it and identify it from across the room. "New brands have to have a major point of difference... Their kind of differentiation freaks people out." 2. A small, passionate team can outperform large organizations. "I think you need really smart people, and you need people that love the brand, and you need to be highly organized and create systems that allow you to do it that way." 3. Don't waste time trying to fix markets that aren't working - go where the momentum is. 👉 For more, listen now: Link in comments #BusinessOfDrinks #SpiritsIndustry #BrandBuilding #DrinksBusiness #RTD #Whiskey #Gin #AlcoholMarketing #BeverageStartups Caroline Lamb Erica Duecy

92

8 Comments

APLOS RAISES $5M TO SCALE NON-ALC DRINKS Aplós, a pioneer in functional spirits brands, just announced it has raised $5M to accelerate growth in the fast-growing alcohol alternative space. The Miami based company was founded in 2020 and achieved triple-digit growth across wholesale and retail in 2025. Aplós has expanded to over 2,000+ retail points and appears on 1,000+ menus nationwide across luxury hotels and michelin-star restaurants. With young consumers quickly reducing their alcohol consumption, we are seeing more financing activity concentrating in - high-end brands - non-alcohol brands - RTD cocktails

18

Most beverage brands don’t fail on flavor. They stall in the middle. Welcome to DrinkUP Podcast weekend addition with Robert Cogan Right now, Cog's is seeing three partnerships quietly rewrite how brands go national 👇 • Darwin Fulfillment, cutting the cost and friction of nationwide delivery • Pacific Candy Wholesale, launching a health & wellness division that skips the usual retail gatekeepers • Sober Market. expanding straight into Walmart Canada locations Here’s the real insight most founders miss: Every beverage business lives or dies in three stages 1. Production 2. Distribution 3. Off-shelf sales Most brands get stuck in the catch 22: “You need distribution to sell… but you need sales to earn distribution.” These partnerships break that loop. They remove friction, shorten timelines, and let brands focus on velocity, not just placement. The future of scaling isn’t louder marketing. It’s smarter infrastructure. Thanks for the weekend insight Robert Cogan! Truthfully, Sam #beverageindustry #brandbuilding #distribution #founders #cpggrowth #nationaldistribution

20

5 Comments

A brand we’re excited to spotlight 👇 Here’s a look behind the scenes at HB Protein Smoothies featured on The Franchise Insiders. As demand for convenient, protein-forward QSR concepts continues to grow, HB Protein Smoothies is emerging as a brand to watch—built on repeat customers, a simple operating model, and strong unit-level economics. Watch the full interview via The Franchise Insiders Learn more about franchising with HB at https://hubs.ly/Q042tZ9t0 #Franchising #FranchiseDevelopment #QSR #MultiUnitOwnership #EmergingBrands #FoodAndBeverage #Entrepreneurship

32

3 Comments

Harps Food Stores, Inc. Inc. has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire James Super Save Foods, an independent grocery store in Mena, Arkansas, with an expected closing and reopening as Harps later this summer.  James Womble, owner of James Super Save Foods, recently informed his employees that the store’s operations, employment and day-to-day functions will continue with minimal changes or interruptions. While the exact timeline for the completion of the acquisition is still pending, both parties expect the transaction to be finalized by late summer.  “This is an exciting opportunity for our team and the community we’ve served for so many years,” Womble said. “I believe that under Harps’ ownership, the store will continue to thrive while maintaining the same level of dedication to our customers. I’m confident that our associates and customers will benefit from this transition.”  Kim Eskew, chairman and CEO of Harps Food Stores, welcomed James Super Save Foods into the Harps family. “This acquisition reflects our commitment to expanding our footprint and providing excellent service in communities across the region,” he said. 

17

1 Comment

On this week's CPG Vibes we featured HiTouch Libations DSD and the executive team: Czar Daniolco, James Boyer, and Matthew Antonacci. In this clip from the show, James talks about how they are distributing fast moving products and what consumers are looking for on a daily basis

18

3 Comments

The future of retail is evolving—It’s digital, inclusive, and value-driven.💄 Ulta’s move to launch its online marketplace signals a major shift in how beauty brands will connect with consumers. The convergence of retail and e-commerce isn’t just about convenience—it’s about creating meaningful access, storytelling, and visibility for emerging and mission-driven brands. This is such a smart move for both retailers and founders to test how well your brand performs before entering physical retail. I love this idea because It gives brands the opportunity to build data, community, and credibility while aligning with the right retail partners. ✨ The beauty landscape is changing, and I’m here for it. 🤔What are your thoughts on how digital marketplaces like Ulta’s are reshaping the future of beauty retail? #UltaBeauty #UltaBeautymarketplace #RetailInnovation #Ecommerce #CleanBeauty

24

5 Comments

NextFoods, Inc. ,Parents of GoodBelly+ Cheribundi just raised $10M led by ECP Growth If you build in functional CPG, this is a great mini case study in how growth actually gets funded and what operators should pay attention to. 1) Doors matter… but turns are the business They’re reportedly sitting at 24,000+ points of distribution nationwide and grew footprint about 10% in the last two months. That’s solid. But here’s the real lesson: door growth only works if velocity shows up. 2) A brand refresh can be a revenue lever (when it creates clarity) GoodBelly’s recent packaging/brand refresh was tied to a reported 40%+ lift in retail velocities. “Brand” isn’t colors and fonts it’s speed of understanding at shelf. If a shopper gets it faster, conversion goes up. Period. 3) The shot category is crowded so specificity wins GoodBelly reformulated its 2oz Wellness Shots and launched them nationally at Whole Foods. The formula callout that jumped out to me: 3g of prebiotic fiber. The lesson: in crowded formats, you can’t be “general wellness.” You need to own a job (gut, sleep, recovery) and build your product + messaging around that single outcome. 4) Innovation + retail expansion is the 1–2 punch They’re aiming that capital at innovation across gut health, recovery, and sleep, while also pushing deeper into national retail. And there’s more in the pipeline: they’ve previewed a quart-sized GoodBelly item with 11g plant-based protein targeted for Q1 2026. My founder takeaway: capital doesn’t fix a business it amplifies it. If your positioning is crisp and your product delivers, funding helps you scale faster. If not, it just helps you burn faster. If you were deploying $10M in functional CPG heading into 2026, what’s first: velocity, innovation, or sharper positioning? #CPG #FunctionalBeverages #Wellness #TrevorHague

27

2 Comments

More movement in Chicago-based brands with Kraft Heinz splitting as other brands are looking to consolidation. The food industry is moving faster than retail now. Growth is fueling all of this and how brands choose to grow.

8

2 Comments

LibDib and The Beverage Blueprint Partner to Support California Makers with Merchandising and Chain Services - LibDib, the leading web-based wholesale alcohol distributor, today announced a new partnership with The Beverage Blueprint to support wine, spirits, no- and low-alcohol brands seeking distribution in California. This partnership offers full-service merchandising and chain retail support for Makers with existing business, as well as a tailored “à la carte” solution for brands transitioning from traditional distributors. https://bit.ly/4k00NNo

17

1 Comment