Willpower Weekly: Issue No. 10
🧘 The New Corner Store Era
NYC’s newest “healthy bodega,” The Goods Mart, is proving the corner store doesn’t have to mean Flamin’ Hots + a Celsius. It’s the same quick-grab moment, just stocked with Poppi, Magic Spoon, and the brands that have become front of mind in the wellness era.
Austin’s no stranger to this shift: Foxtrot, Royal Blue, Tiny Grocer. The casual snack run has turned into its own micro wellness habit. What does it mean? Convenience and health are finally meeting in the middle. People want to feel good even when life is rushed. The corner store isn’t evolving because it’s trendy. It’s evolving because our everyday defaults are.
🍾 Kin Euphorics Joins Southern Glazer’s
Kin Euphorics just partnered with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest alcohol distributor in the U.S. For a legacy distributor to bring on a non-alcoholic brand isn’t a coincidence. There is real, growing demand for ways to socialize that don’t revolve around drinking, and the numbers are starting to back that up.
This milestone also hits close to home. At our Innovation Playbook panel in April, founder Jen Batchelor talked about building a category before the market was ready. Now, the market isn’t just here, it’s accelerating. Kin is even projected to reach profitability in 2026, which is a big deal in the current beverage environment.
The takeaway:
This isn’t about “going NA.” It’s about people wanting celebration, connection, and ceremony, without feeling weighed down after. The ritual stays. The hangover doesn’t.
🌶️ Bitchin’ Sauce x Yellowbird: The Collab We Didn’t Know We Needed
Bitchin’ Sauce and Yellowbird just launched a plant-based spicy crema. If we had to call it early, this might be the next Graza × Ithaca situation, the kind of collab that is flying off shelves because people already love both brands on their own.
And this one hits close for us. Yellowbird started in Austin and has been a part of the Willpower community for quite some time. Watching them go from local go-to → national favorite → doing collabs like this feels a little like watching a friend level up in real time.
Zooming out:
We’re back in an era where brands are allowed to have personality again. We lived through the beige, minimal, “quiet packaging” phase, and now people want flavor, color, and things that feel like someone made them. This collab fits that moment exactly.
💸 Funding & Market Signals
Recess raises $30M
The functional beverage wave isn’t just a phase, it’s maturing. Recess was one of the first brands to make how you feel part of the drink experience, and this raise shows continued belief in mood-forward CPG that feels lifestyle-first, not supplement-first.
And at this point, Recess isn’t a “try-it-once” brand anymore. It’s become an actual third option alongside cocktails and sparkling water, something you see in bars, restaurants, hotels, and everyday fridges. That speaks louder than any trend report.
HUNDY raises $350K
On the other end of the spectrum: small, scrappy, early-stage consumer brands are still getting funded, but the bets are tighter. Investors are looking for cult product love and clean distribution, not hype. HUNDY’s organic frozen fruit pops are a good example of that, simple, craveable, and easy to get into people’s hands.
Stockeld Dreamery shuts down despite >$20M raised & Whole Foods placement
A reminder that retail presence ≠ demand. The plant-based cheese category has lost momentum, and even strong branding couldn’t overcome it. Stockeld CEO Sorosh Tavakoli put it plainly:
“In a category that’s so tired, where no one’s investing… we really felt we could be the breath of fresh air. [But] we concluded we’re not enough, and I would even question anyone being able to achieve that right now.”
Plant-based isn’t gone. It’s just in a moment where taste, loyalty, and repeat purchase matter more than ever. The days of “plant-based because plant-based” are behind us.
Keurig Dr Pepper × JDE Peet’s — $18B deal via private capital
Keurig Dr Pepper is buying JDE Peet’s and will split the combined business into two companies: one focused on coffee and one focused on beverages. It’s a structural move meant to run leaner and operate with more focus in each category.
Chobani raises $650M for growth & innovation
Chobani isn’t slowing down. The raise is going toward expanding their footprint beyond yogurt, into beverages, creamers, and functional snacks, and scaling manufacturing behind it. Innovation isn’t just coming from challengers anymore. It’s coming from the brands that already won their aisle.
The message: if you’re standing still, you’re already behind.
SweatPals raises $12M
SweatPals is tapping into a real shift: people are meeting each other through movement, not nightlife. The new funding will go toward expanding into more cities and building tools that let instructors and studios actually earn from the communities they’re already bringing together.
This one also hits close to home for us. Willpower got its start hosting wellness events through SweatPals, where a run club or volleyball tournament wasn’t the product, it was the excuse for people to find each other. Salar (Founder & CEO) puts it simply in their announcement video: “It’s not about reps or calories. It’s about people.”
And that’s the point.
It’s less about the workout itself and more about having someone to show up with.
If you want to see where this is headed, their raise announcement is worth a watch.
Blueprint raises $60M
Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint, the longevity protocol turned consumer business, just raised $60M to scale its meal program, supplement stack, and biomarker-based lifestyle system. Blueprint isn’t selling products as much as it’s selling a full routine: eat this, take this, sleep like this, test often, repeat.
The raise will go toward expanding meal production, growing Blueprint’s data + personalization layer, and pushing the protocol from niche internet fascination into something repeatable for paying customers.
Love him or hate him: Blueprint is proving that wellness isn’t just about products, it’s about systems people can follow.
🎯 TikTok x Instacart
TikTok and Instacart are now connecting what you scroll with what you actually buy.
Brands can target ads based on real purchase history, not demographics, not vibes, real carts.
So if you’ve been buying oat milk, protein shakes, or hydration packets, your FYP is about to start reflecting that. It’s not suggestion, it’s reinforcement.
What this means:
Product discovery and checkout are collapsing into the same moment.
Where you see a brand and where you buy it are becoming one place.
🍫Trick-or-Treat… But Make It Inflation
Candy is getting more expensive this Halloween. Cocoa prices are at record highs, and it’s showing up on shelf. So instead of pulling back, brands are adjusting: smaller pack sizes, limited seasonal drops, and a noticeable shift toward fruit-based candy (gummies, chews, sour belts) where ingredient costs are less volatile.
At the same time, you’re seeing more better-for-you swaps land in trick-or-treat bowls: Mid-Day Squares, SkinnyDipped, Honey Mamas, etc.
The real question isn’t whether people will buy candy, they will.
It’s which brands still feel worth it when the price goes up.
