Gen Z is rewriting alcohol's rules
CPG and retail news from the week of 9/8/25
Hello hello!
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Now, let’s get into the news of the week →
News from the week
Gallo—a legacy wine giant whose portfolio includes Barefoot, Andre, Black Box, and more—just acquired Gen Z-founded and -focused wine brand, Whiny Baby. And while this is a story of a small brand winning big, it’s equally a tale of a legacy brand in an out-of-touch category finding its spot at the cool kids’ lunch table. Let’s get into it →
Founded in 2020 by Jess Druey (who was 22 at the time), Whiny Baby explicitly targets people who find wine intimidating (AKA, youngins). The bottles have crown caps (like beer), conversation starters on labels, and names like "OMG!?!” Fizzy Rosé. After winning Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars and forming a joint venture with McBride Sisters Wine Company (my favorite-ever How I Built This episodes to-date - J), they're expanding from 4 to 39 states with 100% projected growth. So yea, not a bad bet.
Gallo is keeping Druey as brand head AND hired her to consult on "emerging consumer innovation" across their entire portfolio. They’re not just buying the brand—they're buying an in-house translator for an entire generation they don't fully understand.
And they desperately need it. Global wine sales just hit its lowest level since 1961. It’s easy to read that and blame the newly-legal for drinking less—Gen Z has largely been pinned the "sober curious generation," after all.
But, while that phrase may be a new addition to our vernacular (and is a way cooler way of saying “straight edge”), Gen Z’s drinking habits don’t look all that different than previous generations at the same age.
In fact, Gen Z legal drinking age consumption actually rose from 66% to 73% between 2023 and 2025. In the U.S.? It jumped from 46% to 70%.
So what's actually happening? They're not drinking less—they're drinking differently. Here’s what we mean:
They’re low key… broke. Rabobank research research found Gen Z actually spends the same percentage of income on alcohol as previous generations; they just have way less money to start with.
They're entering the workforce with record student debt while facing housing costs that have outpaced wage growth by 2.5x. This means that they’re opting for cheaper and more effective alc options when they do drink (see Buzzball)
Post-pandemic drink trends. Gen Z started turning 21 during COVID, when the ready-to-drink subcategory was exploding. In other words, they’re the guinea pigs for a slew of new alc categories, and they want to try ‘em all.
And RTDs are winning with 42.9% of Gen Z drinkers are choosing flavor-forward canned cocktails or RTDs. Gen Z is category-hopping (craft beer one night, canned cocktails the next) and somewhere along the way, wine just got… lost.
TL;DR: This generation with $200+ billion in spending power isn't rejecting alcohol—they're rejecting the old guard of inaccessibly priced, high-brow alcohol that made them feel like they were walking into their parents liquor cabinets, not purchasing for themselves and their lifestyles.
“…the industry is re-adjusting after ~50 straight years of growth and all-time highs during COVID, so any/all reported declines need to be calibrated accordingly. The industry may change and adapt as palates (and wallets) evolve, but the fundamental need for escapism, social connectivity, and entertainment that most of these vice categories enable is absolutely not going anywhere. In our view, the current reset actually represents one of the most exciting times to invest in the category in recent years. Don't bet against booze!" — Noah Sanborn Friedman, Top Shelf Ventures
Whiny Baby doesn't just look like it's for Gen Z (though the branding does scream Y2K nostalgia)—it gives Gen Z a custom-built door into wine. The conversation starters on lids, the peel-off labels for recording memories, the approachable flavor profiles—it's all designed to transform wine from an intimidating ritual into a social experience.
And this isn't wine dumbing itself down. It's wine finally speaking Gen Z's language: accessible over exclusive, experiential over educational, community over connoisseurship.
Gen Z isn't killing alcohol. They're forcing it to evolve.
CPG & Consumer Goods
Jerry scoops out. Ben & Jerry's Co-founder Jerry Greenfield steps down after nearly 50 years, citing Unilever's stifling of the brand's activism on key global and societal issues. Ben Cohen will stay to fight the good fight from within.
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: we can try to deny it all we want, but food IS political.
Caffeine with a protein punch. Wandering Bear launched Cold Brew Latte with 11g of protein and only 100 calories. Available exclusively at Whole Foods for now.
Name a more predictable trend than protein + coffee—we’ll wait. We’ve been loving Throne SPORT COFFEE’s protein-packed canned latte, and we’re excited to see Koia’s new ELITE protein shake (32g protein) in a coffee SKU. Super Coffee walked so these could run…
Moving beyond the jar. One Trick Pony, the peanut butter startup, launched caramel crunch peanut butter popcorn. We hope this mean peanut butter filled pretzels are next!
Frozen pizza has never been better. Katie’s frozen pizzas are now available in Target nationwide, thanks to a $20 million deal, bringing artisanal, handmade quality to the frozen aisle.
Katie's Pizza and Pasta started as a restaurant in St. Louis and over the years has expanded to consumer products like frozen pizza, sauces, and pasta!
This is one of my absolute FAVORITE frozen pizzas on the market. It’s been consistently my favorite bite at trade shows, I’m so excited to be able to buy it at Target! - Nate
Khloud snacks up with a new CEO. Jeff Rubenstein, formerly Chief Growth Officer of Poppi, steps in as CEO of Khloud to spearhead their expansion into Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and Ahold.
The people want more dairy. Lifeway Foods is investing millions to double production capacity at its Wisconsin kefir factory by Q3 2026, responding to a 20% sales surge.
Meanwhile, Danone officially dropped its acquisition bid for Lifeway, citing doubts about collaboration potential—after Lifeway said Danone undervalued the company (looks like it just might have…)
If you missed last week’s news, Lifeway is also launched Muscle Mates, an RTD with creatine and protein. It just may be a sleeper brand.
Private-label goes protein crazy. Kroger just launched its Simple Truth Protein line with over 80 products, ranging from protein waffles to crackers and salmon burgers (which we assume haven’t actually been reformulated with more protein… they just got a new look that explicitly calls out protein content).
This is just about the least surprising development (grocers realized people like protein and a good deal! shocker!) but the sheer number of SKUs in this line is… impressive. To all the new protein-laden innovations out there, this is your warning: If private-label me-toos can do it and do it cheaper, you’re going to need to stand out for another reason than “Look!! We added 10g of protein!” - Jenna
I just think it’s insane they added peanut butter to this lineup….like it wasn’t already a protein product… - Nate
We’re going deep on all things protein in our next episode of The Curious Consumer. Subscribe so you don’t miss our next drop :)
eCommerce
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. In a significant expansion of its third-party logistics services, Amazon now enables merchants to fulfill orders from SHEIN, Shopify, and Walmart using their Multi-Channel Fulfillment network.
Another link to add to bio. Sephora's new My Sephora Storefront lets influencers create customizable, shoppable storefronts, offering year-round commission opportunities.
Building an affiliate storefront like this directly into the Sephora ecosystem—as opposed to a third-party site like LikeMy—creates a more seamless shopping experience, likely increasing AOV (average order value). I’d guess we’re going to be seeing a lot more retailers build their own creator storefronts to reap these benefits. - Jenna
Shoe shopping gets a lift. DSW teams up with Uber Eats for on-demand delivery from nearly 500 stores.
After launching Sephora on Uber Eats last week, it’s clear that the app 1) needs a new name and 2) is betting big on retail as a whole, not just grocery or foodservice.
Retail
Instant gratification or bust. Target is expanding next-day delivery to 35 major U.S. metros by October, free for orders over $35.
Funding news
A new wave of funding for clean beauty. OSEA Malibu secured a undisclosed strategic growth investment from General Atlantic, positioning the seaweed-infused skincare brand for global expansion and innovation after nearly 30 years in the market.
Today I learned that OSEA is as old as me… - Nate
Making taxes even easier. Numeral, the AI-powered sales tax platform, just secured $35M in Series B funding led by Mayfield, enabling hassle-free compliance for e-commerce and SaaS brands amid ever-changing regulations.
Pattern plants its flag with a $2.5B IPO. The Amazon reseller raised $300M in its initial public offering, boosting its valuation to $2.5 billion and highlighting its dominance in eCommerce where 94% of 2024 revenue came from Amazon sales alone.
Dickies gets a new home. VF Corporation is selling the iconic Dickies® brand to Bluestar Alliance for $600 million.
This acquisition makes so much sense. Heartland Food Products Group, maker of SPLENDA, acquired the SLIMFAST® US brand from Glanbia PLC, as it aims to tackle weight management and sugar reduction.
Apparently, functional mushrooms are still hot. Alice Mushrooms, a functional mushroom-infused premium chocolate brand, secures $8M in oversubscribed Series A funding led by NewBound, with participation from Unilever Ventures, L Catterton, and DJ Tiësto (sick). The brand plans major retail expansion to 1,300 new doors.
Alice also recently launched Party Trick, which is meant to be a “non-alcoholic social lubricant” containing cordyceps, kanna, mucuna pruriens, gotu kola, l-taurine, caffeine and guayusa.
Shaking up the protein market. Slate Milk, an RTD protein-boosted milk company, just raised $23 million in Series B funding led by Foundership Ventures (the new fund by Yasso frozen greek yogurt cofounder) to expand its reach to 100,000 distribution points by year-end, capitalizing on the growing demand for high-protein drinks.
Vegan jerky takes a big bite. Louisville Vegan Jerky, a Render Capital Fund 1 portfolio company and top-selling jerky brand in Whole Foods nationwide, has been acquired by Louisville Brands.
Boosting financial ops for CPG. Iris Finance, the AI-native FP&A platform built for companies selling physical products, raised $6.2M in seed funding led by Glasswing Ventures, with participation from Founder Collective, Hyde Park Angels, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Barrel Ventures, and Rosecliff Ventures. The platform helps CPG brands automate financial decision-making and address cash flow challenges.
We all get an FBI agent and now a Shopping agent. Phia raises $8M seed round led by Kleiner Perkins with notable investors including Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner. The AI shopping agent, co-founded by Phoebe Gates (Bill’s daughter) and Sophia Kianni, compares prices across 40,000+ sites and has amassed 500,000 users since launching in April 2025.
This week we sat down with the wonderful Natalie Sportelli! A leader in CPG and consumer investor at Bullish.
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That One Trick Pony popcorn has my name written all over it! ♡