Unpackaged Goods

Spilling the real stories behind CPG brands. Host Jonathan Deeter unpacks founder journeys, industry news, and what it really takes to build consumer brands. Presented by Deet's Eats Media, a Pickle Advisors company.

Unpackaged Goods is a business podcast hosted by Jonathan Deeter, with 27 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Jonathan Deeter hosts Unpackaged Goods, a business show with 27 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Unpackaged Goods

  Belle Robinson on Inventing the Functional Ice Cube + P&G Buys Thorne for $3.8B, Celsius Loses 17% on Record Revenue

  Aug 14, 202635 min

  Celsius posted record revenue last week and the stock fell 17%. The reason is in the breakdown. Plus: an interview with Belle Robinson, the London nutritionist who invented the functional ice cube. THIS WEEK IN CPG P&G agreed to buy Thorne for $3.8 billion. L Catterton took it private for $680 million in 2023. And roughly a quarter of Thorne's revenue reportedly comes from creatine, an ingredient that was still being sold as gym powder two years ago. Celsius set a record and lost 17%. Revenue hit $818 million. Alani Nu supplied $364 million of it. The core Celsius brand fell 11.7%. Monster reported the same week with its flagship segment up 21.6%, which is the whole contrast. 80 Acres Farms is winding down after raising more than $350 million and supplying 18,000 retail locations. Not a demand problem wearing a startup costume. An economics problem wearing a technology costume. Kraft Heinz took $7.4 billion in impairments and a $6.4 billion operating loss, while raising guidance that still projects a full-year decline. Plus: Axum takes control of Barcode, Sargento enters the deli case, The Farmer's Dog buys Woof, Bain agrees to acquire Gong cha, and WK Kellogg pulls artificial colors a year early. INTERVIEW: BELLE ROBINSON, ROXII SUPERCUBES Belle Robinson is a London-based nutritionist who got tired of her own wellness routine. Powders, tinctures, shots, pills, cupboards bursting at the seams. She was already adding ice to her drinks because most functional powders only taste good cold. So she asked what would happen if the ice cube was the supplement. Roxii launched with four SKUs, each stacking three functional ingredients plus six grams of fiber: Hydration, Immunity, Glow, and Chill, the last one built off the viral Sleepy Girl Mocktail. All under five grams of naturally occurring sugar. The brand skipped DTC entirely. Roxii went straight to retail, testing 30 stores in the Minneapolis market before launching nationwide at Sprouts and Wegmans two months later, backed by 90 in-store demos in the first three months. We covered: Why she built for habit stacking instead of adding another step to a wellness routine Going retail-first and what you give up by skipping the DTC feedback loop Creating a category versus creating a brand, and what retailers ask when you don't fit the existing set Why frozen stopped being a stale aisle, and where functional fits in the freezer Hyper-freezing, nutrient density, and why the format is a genuine USP Building a Gen Z brand ambassador program from London What the UK gets right that the US hasn't caught up to yet Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ ️ Unpackaged Goods on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYjORSb5XZ7LVu8b3f?si=6c656c85e78e487a @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #UnpackagedGoods #CPG #RoxySupercubes #FunctionalFood #Frozen #ProcterAndGamble #Thorne #Celsius #AlaniNu #MonsterEnergy #KraftHeinz #80AcresFarms #ConsumerBrands #FounderInterview #BrandBuilding #Wellness

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Unpackaged Goods

  Inside the Summer Fancy Food Show: What's Coming Next in CPG + Interview with Lucille Founder Jess Haghani

  Jul 7, 202649 min

  I just spent three days at the Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center. Then I sat down with Jess Haghani, founder of Lucille Health, the senior nutrition brand building for a consumer most CPG brands completely ignore. Then I break down Danone spending $2.55 billion on functional nutrition in a single quarter, and three companies bidding $4 billion for Thorne. This week on Unpackaged Goods: SUMMER FANCY FOOD SHOW RECAP I walked the floor at Javits and came back with four patterns every founder and investor should be watching: → Protein is everywhere — protein soda, protein candy, protein oatmeal, protein ice cream. If your product doesn't have a protein story, you're starting the shelf conversation at a disadvantage. It's the new baseline. → Founder quality has gone up dramatically — serial founders with nine-figure exits are back for round two. The caliber entering CPG right now is higher than I've ever seen. → Packaging has leveled up across the board — the days of ugly packaging getting a pass are over. Turner Duckworth, LAND, Interact Brands. The design investment is real. → International brands are coming for U.S. retail — Korean beauty through Olive Young, French fragrance through Fascent, UK matcha through PerfectTed. They're not waiting to be found. They're coming directly. INTERVIEW: Jess Haghani, Founder & CEO of Lucille Health → Building a better-for-you nutrition company specifically for older adults → Why 20% of the population gets less than 1% of food and beverage innovation → The aha moment with her grandmother Lucille's hospital experience → From KKR to HBS to launching a senior nutrition brand → How they worked with Harvard Chan School of Public Health on formulation → Out of 10 core ingredients, Lucille only overlaps with Ensure on water and salt → Taste as the North Star — sweetness level, texture, aftertaste, chalky finish → Pull-tab straw packaging designed for accessibility — inspired by her fiancé's grandmother Mary Lou → Sales strategy: e-commerce, Amazon, senior living communities, and McKesson partnership → The vision to transform the entire adult nutrition category, not just replace Ensure → 95% of older men and 83% of older women are chronically under-hydrated — and nobody is building for them → The brand name, cursive handwriting, and flower on the logo all come from grandmother Lucille WEEKLY BREAKDOWN: → Danone acquires MADE Group for a reported $1.4B — Cocobella, Rokeby, Impressed across Australia, NZ, and Southeast Asia. Three months after buying Huel for $1.15B. That's $2.55B on functional nutrition in one quarter. → European food giants scorecard: Danone ($2.55B), Nestlé (€450M for yfood), Lactalis (Protein Works), Unilever ($1.2B for Grüns). Over $4.25B in disclosed functional nutrition acquisitions in six months. Thorne at $4B would nearly double it. → Thorne bidding war: P&G and Haleon join Unilever at $4B. Revenue pacing for $650M. Three bidders means L Catterton has leverage. Could be the largest supplement acquisition in history. → Sazerac launches three RTD brands from scratch — Endless Afternoon, Buckhorn, Lovebug. Stops just acquiring, starts building brands it owns 100%. → Bacardi takes full ownership of Teeling Irish Whiskey — nine years from minority to full control. Patient capital playbook. → Coconut Cult $12.5M for a 300,000-square-foot factory — the largest emerging brand manufacturing investment this year. Equipment financing, not equity. → Pat McAfee invests in Jams — media empire becomes a distribution channel. The Pat McAfee jams effect is already viral. → L Catterton invests in RŌZ haircare — deploying across skincare (Remedy), supplements (Thorne), athletes (CHAMP), and now haircare. → Los Sundays lands investment from NÜTRL founders (sold to AB InBev) — helping launch in Canada. → Maxine's Heavenly raises $3M — tripling revenue, acquiring manufacturing. → Fascent raises $1.5M for French fragrance in the U.S. → Myota closes $4.5M for UK gut health — supplying Joe & The Juice. → McCormick Q2 net sales up 16.7%. → k2o by sprinter: $4.3M since pivoting to beauty supplements in April. → Distribution: Stars + Honey at Target, Cuso's at 216 Sam's Club, DryWater at Vitamin Shoppe, Smearcase at Safeway, 'ndulge at five major chains day one. Every story this week is about control. Danone is buying full ownership. Bacardi is taking full control. Sazerac building brands it owns outright. Coconut Cult is building a factory that it will completely control. Minority positions are stepping stones. Full ownership is the destination. Build what you own. Own what you build. 🥣 Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ 🎙️ Unpackaged Goods podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYjORSb5XZ7LVu8b3f?si=6c656c85e78e487a 📸 @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok 🥒 Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #ConsumerGoods #FancyFoodShow #Javits #LucilleHealth #SeniorNutrition #Danone #MADEGroup #Huel #Thorne #Unilever #PG #Haleon #Sazerac #RTD #Bacardi #Teeling #CoconutCult #PatMcAfee #Jams #LCatterton #ROZ #Protein #FunctionalNutrition #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #BuildAccordingly

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #26

  Second Nature's $175M Acquisition, L Catterton Backs Remedy at $50M, and the Milly Pepper Founders | Unpackaged Goods

  Jun 17, 202650 min

  Second Nature Brands just acquired Tillamook Country Smoker — $175M+ in sales, two manufacturing facilities, and fifty years of heritage. Nobody covered it. Nobody tweeted about it. And that's exactly why they're winning. Plus, we sit down with the co-founders of Milly Pepper, the brand revolutionizing a common spice into a premium experience through direct sourcing, freshness, and storytelling. This week on Unpackaged Goods: Since 2022: Voortman ($305M). Sahale ($34M). Brownie Brittle. Now Tillamook Country Smoker. Second Nature Brands is quietly building one of the largest independent snack platforms in America through disciplined M&A — and the CPG media hasn't written a single profile about them. In this episode, I break down: → Second Nature Brands' quiet snack empire — four acquisitions in four years spanning cookies, trail mix, brownie snacks, and now meat snacks with owned manufacturing → Why the boring platform builders keep producing the most defensible businesses in CPG → Smucker's stock is jumping 12% after beating estimates, three weeks after hiring Goldman Sachs. What happens to the Hostess review now? → Time as leverage in M&A — why the Q4 beat changes Smucker's negotiating position entirely → Remedy landing L Catterton at $50M expected in year two — March 2024 to a nine-figure trajectory in eighteen months → Dr. Muneeb Shah's social media audience as organic customer acquisition — the anti-ODDITY model → Stars + Honey raising $24M from VMG after 300% growth — building a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility → VMG's two protein-forward investments in one month (Brami $33M, Stars + Honey $24M) and what it signals about their category thesis → AG1 Pro — creatine-infused greens — and the platform expansion from single product to three consumer profiles under Kat Cole → Mammoth Brands publicly stating it wants more acquisitions after the $1B+ Coterie deal → Suja Q1 at $107M, up 22.5% with 50% gross margins → Smash Kitchen adding pasta sauce at Walmart — approaching $100M across five categories → The FDA approving the first new sunscreen ingredient since the 1990s INTERVIEW: Millie Pepper Co-Founders → The journey from kitchen curiosity to premium spice brand → Why freshness and origin matter more than most consumers realize → Direct sourcing and building real farm relationships → Branding strategies that elevate a commodity into a premium experience → Consumer education and product storytelling as growth levers → Distribution strategy: DTC and retail partnerships → The vision for Millie Pepper's future The thesis this week is layers. Second Nature is adding meat snacks to cookies and trail mix. AG1 adding creatine to greens. Smash Kitchen is adding pasta sauce to its condiment line. Stars + Honey is adding manufacturing to velocity. And Millie Pepper is adding premium storytelling to a commodity spice. Each layer compounds the one before it. The brands adding layers fastest are pulling ahead. Build your layer. Then add the next one. The compounding never stops. 🥣 Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ 🎙️ Unpackaged Goods podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYjORSb5XZ7LVu8b3f?si=6c656c85e78e487a 📸 @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok 🥒 Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #ConsumerGoods #SecondNatureBrands #Tillamook #Smucker #Hostess #Remedy #LCatterton #StarsAndHoney #VMGPartners #AG1 #AG1Pro #MilliePepper #Spices #DirectSourcing #MammothBrands #SujaLife #SmashKitchen #Target #Sephora #Kroger #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #Layers #BuildAccordingly

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #25

  Three Dairy Giants All Buying Functional Nutrition, Salt & Straw's $200M Exit, and David's $90 Ice Cream | Unpackaged Goods

  Jun 9, 202624 minS0

  <p>The three largest dairy companies in Europe are all acquiring functional nutrition brands in the same year. Over $2 billion in deals in two weeks. And David sold protein ice cream for $90 a six-pack and sold out in 28 minutes.<br/><br/>This week on Unpackaged Goods:<br/><br/>Nestlé is buying yfood at €450M — first acquisition under the new CEO. Lactalis acquired Protein Works at $75M in sales. Danone already bought Huel for $1.15B. Three dairy giants, three functional nutrition acquisitions, same year. Traditional dairy is flat. Functional nutrition is growing. They have the manufacturing and distribution. They don't have the b...

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #24

  Puig-Estée Collapses, Jams Lands the NFL, and the Most Famous Athlete on Earth Couldn't Save His Brand

  May 28, 202615 minS0

  <p>The $40 billion beauty mega merger is dead. Lionel Messi's hydration brand shuttered. And a PB&J brand with zero celebrity co-founders just became the official PB&J of the NFL.<br/><br/>This week on Unpackaged Goods:<br/><br/>Puig and Estée Lauder merger talks ended without a deal. We tracked this for over a month — exploratory talks to serious conversations to founding families at the table to nothing. Governance killed it. Both families wanted control. Neither would cede it. The biggest missed opportunity in beauty this decade.<br/><br/>Mas+ by Messi is shutting down after two yea...

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Unpackaged Goods. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.