Willpower Weekly: Issue No. 07
Chasing Loose Balls
For those of you who work in social, marketing, or are just chronically online, you’ve probably seen Zaria Parvez going viral on LinkedIn this month. This isn’t the first time her work has blown up, but usually it’s been behind the wide-eyed persona of the Duolingo owl. Zaria was the one who turned Duolingo into a case study for internet culture, building a casual, irreverent social voice that’s since become a blueprint for countless brands. Now she’s gone viral as herself, sharing the news that after years of shaping the brand, she’s leaving Duolingo.
In her farewell note, she framed her career as “chasing loose balls”, those unclaimed, unpredictable opportunities that no one else is paying attention to. For her, Duolingo was once that loose ball; now it’s a polished golden trophy with an all-star team behind it, proof that her theory works and that it’s time to chase the next.
That mindset hit home for us. At Willpower, we’ve spent this summer chasing our own loose balls, exploring the overlooked spaces where wellness, performance, and CPG collide, and working to carve out a lane that looks and feels different from anything else out there. We’re not trying to follow a playbook, we’re trying to write one, and every event, every newsletter, every new experiment is part of shaping this identity.
Most importantly, we know we couldn’t do this without the people who’ve been here along the way. Whether you’ve shown up to an event, sent us feedback, or just opened this newsletter every week, you’ve been part of building something that’s still very much in motion. We’re grateful for the support, the energy, and the curiosity, and we’re excited to keep pushing into what’s next.
From the Track to the Bar Cart
Unfortunately for all of you reading, we are on an absolute F1 kick lately, and October can’t come soon enough. If you’re in Austin and have driven down South Congress, you’ve probably seen the massive F1 billboard we keep passing. Let’s just say, the countdown is on.
Adding to the hype, last month Lewis Hamilton dropped a new non-alcoholic, mezcal-inspired spirit called Almave Humo. And for the Willpower crew, that one feels personal. If you’ve been with us since the early days, you know Willpower started as a mezcal brand, and with drinking mindfully at our core, a zero-proof mezcal feels like peak Willpower nostalgia.
So yes, we’re buzzing about F1, mezcal, and what’s ahead. Stay tuned, because for F1 week in Austin, we’re putting it all together with The Willpower World of Sports & Human Performance, bringing wellness, consumer brands, athletes, and pro sports into one epic community event. If you’re a partner, vendor, or attendee who wants in, reach out at bill@drinkwillpower.com.
From Invite-Only to First-Come, First-Served
If it feels like every weekend in Austin there’s a new brand activation popping up, you’re not imagining it. From pop-ups to sampling stations to full-blown build-outs, experiences have become the new flex. Just two weeks ago, Chomps rolled into downtown with its Protein Pit Stop, complete with valet car service, a snack zone, and plenty of swag to take home. Not exactly what you’d expect from a jerky brand, but that’s what makes it work.
What’s wild is how much this has shifted in just a few years. Pre-TikTok (and pre-Reels), brands mostly built these experiences for influencers, invite-only, polished photo ops, the kind of stuff you’d only see after it was already over. But now? Thanks to social virality, activations have gone from exclusive to “first come, first served.” If you’re willing to line up, you get in, and you get the same Instagrammable, snack-filled moment as everyone else.
It speaks to a bigger trend: experience is the new status symbol. The experience economy is projected to hit $12 trillion by 2025, and 78% of Gen Z says they’d rather have unforgettable experiences than own products. For brands, that means the real win isn’t just the swag bag, it’s creating a moment worth sharing.
Breakups Are Back
We’ve touched on this theme before, but the back-to-back news from Kraft Heinz and Keurig Dr Pepper drives it home: the era of the mega-conglomerate is losing steam. For years, food and beverage giants have tried to house every product under one roof — condiments, coffee, soda, snacks — but it’s becoming clear that too many SKUs and too much complexity can drag performance instead of fueling growth. Streamlining portfolios and sharpening focus is the new playbook.
Kraft Heinz
We’ve been covering the Kraft Heinz will-they-won’t-they for a few issues now, and the split is officially on. Call it a corporate divorce: Kraft Heinz is breaking up into two new entities. Global Taste Elevation Co. gets the saucy side of the relationship (Heinz ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Philadelphia), while North American Grocery Co. walks away with the lunchbox staples (Oscar Mayer, Lunchables, Maxwell House). The logic? Give each half the breathing room to grow in today’s rocky food landscape, where inflation, health trends, and shifting consumer tastes are making it harder than ever for big brands to play the one-size-fits-all game.
Keurig Dr Pepper
Seven years after merging coffee and soda under one umbrella, Keurig Dr Pepper is also going its separate ways. The company is shelling out $18B to acquire JDE Peet’s, then splitting into two businesses: a Global Coffee Co. (Keurig, Peet’s, Douwe Egberts, Jacobs) with ~$16B in annual sales, and a Beverage Co. (Dr Pepper, Snapple, water, energy, hydration) with ~$11B. The move signals that the original merger didn’t deliver the synergies promised, and that coffee and soda each need dedicated focus to thrive in today’s fractured, competitive market.
Trends That Could Define the Rest of 2025
The food and beverage industry is in a bit of a pressure cooker right now. On one side, consumers are pulling back thanks to inflation, depressing sales across the board. On the other, companies are getting slammed with rising costs, new tariffs, and added scrutiny from regulators (goodbye, artificial dyes 👋). To make things even trickier, shoppers aren’t compromising on what they do buy, they want more functional benefits, which forces brands to spend up on premium ingredients. The result? A whole lot of push-and-pull. To stay afloat, companies are tinkering with their playbooks: restructuring ops, laying off staff, selling off assets, and dipping into smaller M&A moves to scoop up trendy, functional niches.
Most players are mixing and matching these strategies in search of that elusive sweet spot that keeps them on shelves, and keeps consumers coming back for more.
Amazon Wants to Own Your Grocery Run
Amazon is back in the grocery aisle, and it’s not playing small. Whole Foods corporate employees are being folded into Amazon’s centralized pay, benefits, and job structure as part of its new “One Grocery” strategy, rolling Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and Amazon Go into one mega-machine by 2026. At the same time, Amazon quietly doubled its delivery reach, now zipping same-day groceries to 1,000+ U.S. cities (with 2,300 on deck by year-end) and offering free delivery for Prime members on orders over $25. Why it matters: Amazon has a knack for yanking the rug out from under rivals just when they’re starting to get comfortable, and this move reminds Walmart and Instacart that the grocery game still runs on convenience, and Amazon owns the playbook.
Erewhon at Kith: The Velvet Rope of Wellness
Wellness culture just hit a new level of exclusivity. Ronnie Fieg, founder of Kith, the streetwear brand that’s exploded into a full lifestyle destination, recently shared blueprints for his upcoming Kith Ivy project in Manhattan’s West Village. Tucked into the plans was a section labeled “Erewhon.” Yes, LA’s cult grocer known for $23 smoothies looks set to open in New York, but access would be reserved for members of the club, who are paying a $36,000 initiation fee plus $7,000 annually.
What private country clubs once were with scotch and cigars, today’s exclusive spaces have become wellness-centered with green juices and recovery lounges. It’s part of a broader shift: from Alo’s sleek, invite-only gyms for influencers and celebrities to Othership’s immersive sauna and breathwork rituals, wellness is being packaged less as a universal pursuit and more as an exclusive experience reserved for those who can afford to access it.
To get a clearer picture of this shift, we mapped out some of the key players on a spectrum of Barrier to Entry/Exclusivity (horizontal) and Level of Immersion in Wellness (vertical):
Brand of the Week: OCA Foods
Big news for a familiar face in our community: Renato Raposo, founder of OCA Foods, has been named a finalist in H-E-B’s 12th annual Quest for Texas Best competition. From more than 370 entries across the state, OCA landed in the top 10, putting Renato one step closer to a share of $100,000 in prizes and a spot on H-E-B shelves.
Inspired by paçoca [pah-SOK-ah], a beloved Brazilian peanut treat he used to share with his father, Renato left his tech career to bring a clean, simple version of this nostalgic snack to life. In just a year, OCA has gone from idea to growth-stage brand, and now, to the brink of statewide recognition.
We’re proud to see a Willpower community member like Renato take center stage in this competition. Wish him luck as he heads to San Antonio on September 25 to pitch OCA Foods in front of H-E-B’s judges.
Infinite Machine: Redefining the Ride
Infinite Machine, born in NYC and designed for the world, is building the best non-car vehicles on earth. For them, travel is about the journey, not just the destination. With products that fuse striking industrial design, breakthrough performance, and real-world utility, from theft-proof security systems to modular customization, every detail is engineered for the urban rider who refuses to compromise on style, speed, or functionality. Infinite Machine is putting that philosophy into motion with the launch of its latest vehicle, Olto, which will begin shipping to customers across the U.S. this fall.
