The future of protein is... leaves?
Plus: OLIPOP's new look, Messi takes an L, and more...
Hello hello!
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News of the Week
Last week, I broke down the whey shortage from the inside. The reality of a demand spike—and subsequent supply struggle—that built a category almost docile in nature, reluctantly accepting a shortage and its staggering costs.
Without an impending whey supply savior, founders of whey-based products have been left with a dismal choice: absorb price increases, or attempt to move away from whey—the second which, to most, felt like a non-option. In 2026, plant proteins suffer a perception problem: pea = grainy and bad tasting, while soy = vaguely menacing (hormones! GMOs! despite being, by every actual nutritional measure, extremely comparable to whey).
Which brings us to this week’s exploration: what if there was a third option—a protein sub-category that didn’t suffer supply constraints or a poor reputation? I spoke with founders building brands on (commercially) new, non-whey protein sources, and discovered that this sub-category not only exists, but has the potential to entirely transform the future of protein… so long as funding can catch up to it.
Let’s get into it →
From whey dependent to peanut power. As the first ops hire at Magic Spoon, Liz Lane spent four years learning the intricacies of the whey supply chain—and easily could’ve predicted whey’s modern challenges. The protein cereal used a whey protein concentrate (WPC) that had to be from a certain supplier, and much of her time was spent trying to adjust formulas based on what the market was doing:
“If one of the massive food brands was sourcing a lot of WPC30, that would get much cheaper and WPC80 would get really expensive,” she told me. “So we were almost trying to create different formulations to go with the flow of the market.”
For a product like Magic Spoon, taste was the selling point—so this constant reformulation was critical, and taxing. Liz knew her next move would be far away from this supply chain.
“The second peanut isolate was being mass manufactured in a way consumers or brands could purchase, I knew right away it was 100% what I wanted to do. I knew I was never going to touch whey again.”
So, Liz built Scoops. Scoops is a protein powder made from peanut isolate—a first-to-market ingredient that delivers 27 grams of protein per 170-calorie serving with the versatility of peanut butter powder, designed to work as a straight protein shake, a PB2-style baking ingredient, or a peanut butter substitute.
Peanuts are legumes, which means they’re nitrogen-fixing (not reliant on nitrogen fertilizer), commonly rotated with cotton and corn to restore soil. The agricultural supply chain is mature, so the innovation lives at the isolate step, not the farming step—ensuring Scoops is betting on a farming system scaling fast enough to support it.
And, perhaps most importantly, peanut comes with built-in consumer affection. People have been eating peanut butter their entire lives, and already understand peanuts as a protein source. It’s the rare case where the ingredient has better brand equity than the category it’s entering.
“We’re not trying to be a compromise or a cheap alternative,” Liz told me. “Peanut protein is premium, scalable, and sustainable.”
And then there are those creating new protein sources entirely. If you really want to solve a massive supply challenge, you need to think outside of the box—or in this case, the cow. How do cows even produce whey in the first place?
Turns out, cows create whey protein by using specialized stomach bacteria to ferment and unlock the nutrients inside plants like alfalfa, which their bodies then synthesize into milk. This begs the question: what if you were able to extract the protein directly from the plant… and cut out the bovine middleman? 🐮
Companies like New Zealand-based Leaft Foods are doing exactly that, using mechanical technology to break open the plant’s tough cell walls and harvest the pure, abundant plant protein directly from the source: RuBisCO, the most abundant protein on Earth, which exists in literally every green leaf. Scientists have been trying to extract RuBisCO commercially since the 1940s, and Leaft finally cracked the code at scale.
The result is a protein with, frankly, absurd nutritional credentials. RuBisCO has the best essential amino acid profile of any commercially available protein, a PDCAAS of 1.0 (Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score—1.0 is best-possible!), and digests 5-6x faster than whey. Its sourcing is similarly impressive: alfalfa is a perennial legume, which means no annual cultivation, no fertilizer required (fixes its own nitrogen), and much less land required (~2,000 kg of Rubisco protein per hectare vs. ~500 kg of dairy protein per hectare).
Leaft launched a consumer product earlier this year—Blade, a 100ml frozen pre-workout shot with 18g of Rubisco protein and the full nutrient profile from the leaf itself. Over 100 professional athletes are currently using it.
But what’s really interesting is what Leaft is doing on the B2B side. Unlike pea or soy, Rubisco is a “gelling protein,” can act as an emulsifier (holding water and fat at the same time), and foams. That functional range opens up wide-ranging applications—including replacing eggs in baking—with the biggest opportunity is in dairy itself.
Dairy companies are quietly buying Rubisco to blend into yogurts and milks, pushing protein claims to 20-22g without the chalky graininess that makes most high-protein yogurts taste like wet sand. 🤷♀️ As co-founder Ross Milne told me:
“What we see in those applications is the ability to satisfy the consumer’s demand for more protein right now by blending Rubisco protein on top of a dairy company’s base, and at the same time, alleviate some of those supply chain constraints that they have further upstream.”
And then there’s the truly wild stuff: molecular farming. This is the process of creating genetically modified (dirty word, I know) plants that produce actual dairy proteins—like casein, the protein that gives cheese its stretchy, melty quality. Brands like Mozza Foods (California) are engineering soybeans to produce casein directly in the seed, structurally identical to what comes from a cow, targeting a late 2028 launch.
The industry is heading toward a real, structural protein supply solution.
We have a wave of brands building alternatives to the alternatives—with nutritional and textural parity to their dairy counterparts, and none of the perception problems of the OG class of alts. And we have a slew of new consumers who are ready for the next protein wave. As Liz told me:
“Consumers are becoming more educated and intentional about where their protein comes from, whether that’s driven by sustainability, allergies, digestion, taste, or supply chain concerns. Over time, the winners will be proteins that can combine strong nutrition with great taste, scalable economics, and sustainable sourcing. That opens the door for a much broader set of protein formats.”
These new formats include the possibility of blended protein: RuBisCO quietly hitting protein targets in your Greek yogurt, peanut isolate in unexpected formats, molecular-farmed casein licensed to dairy giants who need supply security…. you get the gist. It’s the whey equivalent of the “balanced protein” trend in meat.
The problem is, this is all happening just as funders are moving away from plant-based anything. The plant-based meat boom cooled, exits stalled, and VC money moved on (to anything that sounds remotely like AI…). Meanwhile, the brands building what dairy is going to need three years from now are scrapping for Series A extensions and pilot facility funding.
“It’s a really interesting world we live in,” Ross told me. “If you think about the development of technology and AI, and the potential benefit that this brings to society, that’s accelerating and growing flat out. And at the same time, we are bound by these physical constraints, like food. And we haven’t really had any technology unlocks in the last 30 plus years to alleviate that.”
The whey shortage isn’t going away, which means the dairy industry is going to need these innovations more than ever. And now, the question isn’t whether the innovation is there—because clearly, it is.
The question is whether the brands can stay solvent long enough to still be there when the rest of the industry finally figures out it needs them. - Jenna
CPG & Consumer Goods
From the locker room to store shelves. JAMS, the high-protein, crustless frozen PB&J brand, announced a partnership with NFL Players Inc. to create the first PB&J developed directly with active NFL players, set to launch nationwide at Walmart and Target this summer.
The fact that Uncrustables hasn’t done this yet is…short sighted. Back in 2024 it was reported that NFL teams go through at least 80,000 Uncrustables a year. The Denver Broncos went through 700 a week alone!
The second coming…of cod? David launched yet another product, tinned cod at $39 for a four-pack, the portability follow-up to last summer’s viral frozen cod stunt.
Both last year’s and this year’s cod stunt are really just elaborate marketing campaigns. They’re trying to show that David bars have the best protein-to-calorie ratio—second only to cod, which has, for a filet, around 23 grams per 100 calories, whereas a David bar has 28 grams of protein per 150 calories.
It’s a clever and expensive stunt, but a marketing one nonetheless. And whether you like it or not, it’s getting eyeballs and reinforcing their brand message.
No treat is safe from protein. Novus Foods, Which owns brands like Noosa yogurt, launched Winky Protein Pudding, a refrigerated snack with 10g protein, no added sugar, and 80–90 calories per cup. It will be rolling out at Kroger and H-E-B first, with Target and Walmart later this year.
Messi can’t win at everything 🤷. The Mark Anthony Group discontinued Más+, the hydration brand it co-launched with Lionel Messi nearly two years ago. CEO Phil Rosse said the company fell short of “all objectives” without disclosing any specifics.
There are a few reasons this just… didn’t land. For one, the product is a near brand copy of Prime, the hydration beverage founded by internet personalities KSI and Logan Paul. And Prime, of course, caught onto that quickly, posting on socials that the brands look similar and ultimately suing Más+ for being a hydration brand associated with a celebrity.
Prime brought the core issue to light: Messi was presented with the product by the Mark Anthony Group, rather than being a real “founder” of the brand. The beverage company then licensed his name, image and likeness for the product—which, Prime claimed, was misleading and ultimately harmed its retail presence across the US.
Beyond being a threat to Prime, this is also exactly why the brand couldn’t make it. It was a “celeb brand” but wholly lacked involvement from the talent. Unlike other celeb-founded hydration brands (of which there are MANY, from Unwell by Alex Cooper to the newest k2o by Kylie), Mas+ never benefitted from Messi’s authentic promotion of the brand. We dove into what makes a good celebrity CPG brand a few weeks ago here.
Where’s Bob? Bob’s Red Mill announced a full brand and packaging redesign, developed with Turner Duckworth, rolling out across core flour products in September 2026 and additional categories through 2027.
While this rebrand is aesthetically pleasing, I think it removes so much life from the brand. The old branding, featured Bob himself front and center, gaving it a sense of legacy and credibility. The current branding, it looks like any new brand or even private label brand that just launched. The character has been taken out of this brand. - Nate
And in other rebrand news… OLIPOP unveiled its first major rebrand since launching in 2018, fully leaning into its “feel good soda” positioning. The new look brings bolder colors, more flavor-forward packaging, and a unified system across SKUs. The gut health messaging is also taking a back seat, with OLIPOP positioning itself more as a new soda rather than a wellness product.
Overall, I’m a fan of this new packaging. It feels bold and unified and much more cohesive branding across all their SKUs. It’s all much easier to read and see the flavors at a quick glance. Something else they did that was really smart, was they removed a lot of the up front health claims. While many people want to drink “healthier soda,” I think more people want simply better soda, and they’re leaning into that idea. On the front, where it used to say “supports digestive health” Now it says “store anywhere. chill to enjoy”. - Nate
Is this the new skinny marg? Spritz Society, a ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand focused on wine-based spritzes, launched the Skinny Spritz, a low calorie and low sugar take on the iconic Aperol spritz.
Global candy enters TikTok Shop. Bazooka Brands launched Go Wandr™, a new sub-brand focused on global candy brand debuting with Mini Mochi Gummy. It hits TikTok Shop in fall 2026 and major U.S. retailers in early 2027.
Launching on TikTok Shop is no mistake: The platform is quickly becoming a major channel for both brands and consumers do business. TikTok Shop exceeded $14 billion in US sales in 2025 (larger than Wayfair, Etsy, and eBay combined), and generated $6.75 billion in US sales from January through April 2026 alone, nearly double the same period a year prior.
Beauty and personal care is its biggest category at roughly $2.7 billion in 2025, but food and beverage is also growing fast, with Frito-Lay, Mars, and Coca-Cola all selling directly to consumers on the platform.
Despite this momentum, TikTok Shop still represents only about 1% of overall retail sales and 3% of e-commerce sales, leaving significant headroom—especially since roughly 67% of American consumers go there specifically to discover new products and brands.
Dairy-free is still making its rounds. OATRAGEOUS, Misunderstood Brands’ dairy-free espresso oat milk liqueur, announced a partnership with JetBlue, making it the first and only dairy-free cream liqueur available on any airline as of May 1.
Bitter → sweet. ANGOSTURA launched two premium cocktail syrups—a Demerara Sugar Syrup and a Spicy Honey Syrup—extending the 200-year-old bitters brand beyond bitters into a broader cocktail ingredient category.
Ending the drama. Danone is reportedly set to exit its ~22.7% stake in Lifeway Foods, the kefir brand the French dairy giant has held a stake in for years amid a prolonged and public boardroom dispute.
After being a Lifeway shareholder for over 20 years, Danone attempted to buy the remaining outstanding shares in late 2024 with offers of $25 and $27 per share. Lifeway’s board, led by CEO Julie Smolyansky, rejected the bids, stating they undervalued the company.
This is all coming off an extremely successful first quarter for Lifeway, which posted a 36.7% increase in net sales to $63m. Operating income surged from $1.57m to $6.32m, while net income rose 32% to $4.6m.
Retail
K-Beauty is about to explode in the US. Olive Young, the South Korean #1 health and beauty store operating 1,380+ stores, is opening its first American store—an 8,647-square-foot flagship in Pasadena, Calif.—on May 29, alongside a nationwide e-commerce push.
K-beauty’s grip on US beauty has been building for years and it’s about to hit light speed.
The 26-year-old retailer has become South Korea’s top beauty shopping destination operating 1,380+ stores across Korea, crushing all competition including Sephora, which pulled out of the country back in 2024. Their entrance to the U.S. market is coming at the perfect time. Interest in the category is at an all-time high with no signs of stopping: K-beauty sales in the U.S. hit $2 billion in 2025, up 37% year-over-year.
Across TikTok, Instagram, and Google, K-beauty averages 81.3 million monthly interactions growing 25% year-over-year (Spate.nyc). TikTok Shop U.S. beauty sales hit $928.5 million in Q1 2026, a 96% jump year-over-year, with K-beauty brands leading the platform with Dr. Melaxin ($46.3M) and Medicube ($44.3M) at the top of the charts.
Funding
Lupini is the new darling of protein. Brami has raised a $33 million Series B led by VMG Partners, with the San Diego lupini-bean-fortified pasta brand projecting ~400% year-over-year growth by end of 2026.
Brami is an example of the aforementioned “blended” future, balancing real durum wheat semolina with lupini beans—a naturally high-protein bean. This allows for a taste and texture that mimics high-quality, real wheat pastas, while offering the nutritional boost of alternative pasta brands.
Per new NielsenIQ data, the only pasta made with alternative grains that is seeing an increase in year over year sales over the past year is ‘Grain and Legume’–a segment which has more than doubled in the past three years. Meanwhile, Chickpea, Whole Wheat and Brown Rice are all seeing declines, while only Durum Semolina is experiencing significant declines–nearly 25%.
Banza, the brand that essentially made chickpea pasta a “thing,” recently made a similar move. The brand officially pivoted away from its fully-bean roots and launched a high-protein wheat pasta, which still features chickpeas but is also combined with semolina.
After an era defined by wheat alternatives, it’s looking like the future of pasta, among so many other aisles, is blended—a combination of the ingredient we were once moving away from (in this case, gluten) and its alternative. - Jenna
Artisan English muffins, Series A money. Stone & Skillet raised a $5 million Series A led by BFG Partners, with Beliade Consumer Partners and Supernatural Fund participating. The Boston-based brand, in 3,000+ doors including Whole Foods and Publix, will use the funds for national retail expansion.
We LOVE Stone & Skillet!!! This brand is a great example of how innovation doesn’t always mean reinventing the wheel—it’s about looking at a sleep category and finding small tweaks that can seriously uplevel the product and reintroduce it to a new audience. English muffins felt like grandma food until Stone & Skillet got their hands on them, with sleek branding, fun flavors, and high-quality, clean ingredients.
Kardashian name + protein hype = $15M. Khloe Kardashian’s Khloud Foods, known for its protein popcorn, raised $15M in a new round, bringing total funding to over $27M since launching last April, with backers including Serena Ventures, K5 Global, and William Morris Endeavor.
The Starbucks placement was the tell: kettle corn hit the snack case in January, Amazon sales of the flavor nearly doubled the following month, and Target performance picked up too—a retail halo effect that most brands spend years trying to manufacture.
The bigger question hanging over every celebrity brand isn’t whether the name moves product at launch (it does)—it’s whether the product earns its own repeat purchase rate once the novelty wears off. Khloud is less than 14 months old. That answer is still TBD.
Banana water goes national. Banagua raised $5.5 million from Hingham Growth Partners to accelerate U.S. retail expansion. The organic banana water brand is already in 3,500+ doors—Sprouts, Kroger, Albertsons, and Erewhon among them.
“We believe banana water is where coconut water was twenty years ago, but with an even easier path to adoption because consumers already love the flavor profile and familiarity of bananas,” said Rob Smithson, Co-Founder of Banagua.
Banana is having a moment, more broadly. Banana is one of the fastest growing trends in coffee, and more CPG brands are trialing the flavor in their products—from Barebells’ new Banana Bread protein bar to beauty brands like Rhode, Sand and Fog, and more launching banana-scented products (for, as WWD calls it, a “banana girl summer.”)
Influencer wellness meets OTCQB hustle. Healthy Extracts acquired Sommer Ray’s Imaraïs Beauty, a beauty-focused supplement company, for ~$20 million, projecting $55M+ in 2027 revenue. The deal adds CVS distribution (4,400+ locations) and Ray’s 23M Instagram followers to Healthy Extracts’ manufacturing platform. Imaraïs makes “ingestible wellness products” (AKA, gummies) with function-led branding.
Healthy Extracts currently trades on the OTCQB, a marketplace for developing companies, and has been expanding its supplement manufacturing capabilities through acquisitions.
Sommer is having a good few weeks, first she launched a Dirty Shirley Temple RTD and then sells her business? Solid work.
The future of supplements is… strips? True Beauty Ventures has invested $1 million in Sleep or Die for its angel round. The fund—which backs Crown Affair and Dieux—is betting early on founder Lauren Sudeyko’s tongue-strip sleep brand, launched in 2025.
Over the past few years, gummies have dominated the supplement space, so it makes sense a new format was bound to break through. Patches are everywhere (see Kind Patches and Barrière), but strips—the Listerine kind—haven’t really taken the spotlight.
The branding is genius too. The whole sleep category has been color-coded the same way for years. Pale blue, lavender, navy, crescent moons, wispy clouds. Every sleep brand bleeds into the next. Sleep or Die went in the opposite direction, they’re making sleep sexy again.
Science-backed skincare keeps winning. Good Molecules received an investment from Aria Growth Partners—which has backed skincare brands like The Inkey List and Ultra Violette—as the firm doubles down on masstige, ingredient-led skincare. Industry sources estimate Good Molecules is profitable with ~$100 million in annual sales.
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brb taking a deep dive on Rubisco
crazy for investors to view plant based protein similarly to plant based meat. one is a functional ingredient whose current incarnation isn't that appetizing. the other is an ongoing staple for all of human history that is viewed as higher quality with the less required preparation.