Weekly Pickups: The real-life Willy Wonka and the future of coffee syrup
+ some upcoming events...
Happy Friday friends!
What a week in CPG. Unilever acquired Grüns for a reported $1.2 billion—less than 3 years after its first sale! We’ll be breaking that down and catching you up on everything else you missed this week in Monday’s edition, so make sure you’re subscribed (and pass it along to a friend who needs to be).
Very excited to share that Express Checkout is partnering yet again with The Lead Summit this year—one of the only events built specifically for brands!
It takes place in NYC, May 20-21st, and features over 3,000 attendees, 150+ speakers from brands like Columbia, Rhone, Harry's, Coterie, Goop, and L'Oreal.
The agenda covers everything from building brand identity in a trend-driven world to adapting to agentic AI to driving growth across new channels.
Brand and retail friends of Express Checkout can attend for FREE—just drop our name in the “how did you hear about us” field when you register. (Not a brand or retailer? Use this link for 25% off.)
P.S. Express Checkout is heading to Austin at the end of the month!! We’re planning on throwing a big ol’ CPG party (as we do) on April 28th. If you’re in Austin and want to meet up, or are interested in partnering on the event, reply to this email!
And with that, let’s get into this week’s pickups →
Nate’s Pickup:
Zac’s Sweet Shop (Specifically the new Dirty-O)
I have the biggest sweet tooth known to man. I know my candy. I know my sweet treats. If I could I’d have my way I’d live in the Willy Wonka Factory. Chocolate, candy, and cookies for breakfast lunch and dinner. I mean, in college I literally had a candy drawer. Who needs a sock drawer when you can have one filled with Starbursts? 🤷
And in today’s landscape, sweet treats—real sweet treats—can feel like a dying breed. Everything is low sugar, no sugar, high protein, adaptogenic…you name the function and there’s someone building for it. So it’s refreshing as hell to find a brand that’s unapologetically a decadent sweet treat, no asterisks.
And Zac, real life Willy Wonka, is doing just that with Zac’s Sweet Shop. I’ve got a few ride-or-die favorites from him–cake batter crunch puppy chow, the peanut butter chocolate covered oreos, and the s’mores bark. But my new obsession is his latest drop, The Dirty O, a modern, grab-and-go take on the pudding dirt cup we all inhaled (and often assembled ourselves) as kids.
Quick Facts: A Black-owned gourmet dessert brand founded by Zac Coughlin, handmade in small batches in LA. Zac’s whole thing is “reinventing the box of chocolates” with bite-sized, nostalgia-forward confections made with high-quality, fair-trade ingredients.
Reasons to love:
Just a sweet treat. I believe there will always be a place for low-sugar, better-for-you sweets, but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants—and the heart wants the real thing. That’s what Zac’s is serving up to us. It’s just elevated and genuinely crafted with real ingredients and real care. These are decadent delights that even Brad Reese would be proud of (see our deep dive on the Reese’s debacle).
Personality baked in. One of my favorite things about this brand is how much of Zac himself is in the product. You can taste it, you can see it in the packaging, you can feel it in the whole vibe. I think when you’re selling nostalgia, and especially when you’re selling a sweet treat, that personal touch is everything. Without it, decadent products like these just feel hollow. And these should be a freaking blast, everything from the wrapper to what’s inside. And Zac nails it.
Where to buy: Online at zacssweetshop.com
Jenna’s Pickup:
POCA - Vanilla Syrup
I, unfortunately, am the very special breed of Gen Z girlie who is addicted to coffee, but cannot, under any circumstances, drink it black. It is entirely possible that I am more addicted to caffeinated, flavored milk (business idea?) than actual coffee, though I will swear up and down that I can taste the “notes of chocolate and cherry” in some overpriced brew just to justify the spend.
I’ve been cursed with the undying need for some sweetness and flavor in my daily coffee. And because I try not to have too much added sugar, I’ve become somewhat of a stevia fiend (cue: half of you scrunching your noses in disgust) and often opt for that one sugar-free syrup at cafes that’s made with god-knows-what. There just hasn’t been a better option… until now.
Two former executives from the wellness behemoth Hims just launched a new way to sweeten your coffee, with flavor and without sugar. Meet POCA.
Quick facts: POCA is a zero-calorie squeeze-packet flavored syrup made with allulose, monk fruit, and inulin (a chicory root fiber), delivering 3g of fiber per serving.
Reasons to love:
The format. I love when a brand’s packaging is the pitch. A squeeze packet that lives in your bag is wholly a different product than a pump bottle that lives on your counter. It’s so handy to have this on-hand for coffee runs (so you don’t accidentally cave and order the flavored latte with 20g sugar…), and I can totally see POCA living next to sweetener packets on cafe condiment stations. These also are large sachets, and I can get at least two servings out of one—great for sharing with your coffee date :)
Entirely plant-based, nothing artificial. Though I personally am cool with a dose of sucralose, I know that isn’t everyone’s jam. And I also know that manyyy possess the “stevia ick.” POCA is made with only organic allulose, water, chicory root fiber, and monk fruit extract—not stevia—and no preservatives, so anyone with a sweet tooth can enjoy.
It doesn’t feel like a try-hard wellness brand. POCA’s whole thing is that sweetness should feel fun again—not like a supplement, not like a reward you have to earn. Though it offers fiber, it doesn’t aggressively boast the fiber content, and instead focuses on flavor and vibe. Isn’t that how fun flavored bevs should be?
Caveat: I’m going to be extra honest here: I see a ton of potential in this brand, and I’m genuinely so into the premise, but I’m not 100% sold on the taste of every flavor just yet. Because it’s still so new, I have a lot of faith in its evolution, and I’m excited to see future iterations!
Where to buy: Online at pickpoca.com
This week on The Curious Consumer, we sit down with Daniel Solomons, CEO of Update—the caffeine-free energy drink that caught Kim Kardashian’s eye organically before she became a full creative partner. We also cover every Kardashian-Jenner in CPG this week (yes, all of them), the Hershey reformulation saga, McCormick’s $45B acquisition of Unilever’s food business, and more. Check it out here →
Thanks for reading! Anything you think we should try for an upcoming edition of Express Checkout? Email us at hello@expresscheckout.co