$6.4M to Speedrun Soda, New Brands Enter Whole Foods, DTC Ops Lunch + Learn

[IMPORTANT] Don’t read if hungry...

This last stretch of the year is a prime time for food brands, new recipes, and launches. And we’re seeing it.

And more launches and products mean more complexity inside the business. Hopefully this edition will help with that.

Let’s get to it:

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Mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 7.

We’re hosting a virtual Lunch & Learn covering Ops & Logistics for DTC operators. Lunch via Uber Eats gift cards (on us).

Why we’re doing this:

Most ops problems are usually discovered too late. You realize your unit economics are broken after the PO is placed, or your 3PL is eating your margin after peak season has killed your cash flow.

That’s why we’re hosting a session to help reverse this.

We’ll start with the numbers, then work backwards to the inventory and fulfillment decisions. FlowFi will cover finance, and Doss will handle ops and inventory.

Me (Zach), 1800DTC, and the DTC experts will unpack landed cost, inventory planning, 3PL selection, freight, and the reporting layers that tell you the truth before BFCM.

This event is capped at 50 people, so make sure to RSVP soon.

Wednesday, October 7, 1 PM - 2 PM EDT.

And if that’s not enough…

Last week we announced we’re giving away an Eight Sleep Pod 5. Well, on September 23rd, Eight Sleep Official Website has transitioned away from the Pod 5 following the official launch of the new Pod 6 lineup.

If you’re a brand founder or operator, you can win one. 1800DTC has nominated the top technology companies and service partners helping DTC brands operate and scale.

The final rankings rely on your insights. Take 5 minutes to share your experience. And to say thanks, we’ll enter you to win an Eight Sleep Pod 6.

[ in the news ]

Something & Nothing Raises $6.4 Million to Speedrun Growth

Something & Nothing, the premium soda brand inspired by travel, has raised $6.4M in equity funding led by Venrex (also an early backer of Charlotte Tilbury and Revolut).

They now generate more than 65% of their global revenue in the U.S., built by a team of just three with minimal marketing spend.

The brand is currently the third-fastest-growing in modern soda per SPINS and is sold in 17,000 doors globally, including Whole Foods, H-E-B, The Fresh Market and Erewhon, as well as Amazon and DTC.

How this helps you get ahead:

Rather than relying on large national campaigns, the team built the brand market through scrappy, hyperlocal activations. In Miami, that approach helped turn what had been its slowest-growing Whole Foods market into its fastest-growing one.

All Things Lands in U.S Whole Foods Market

All Things launched 3 new SKUs in Whole Foods Markets around the US.

And they’ve got some good momentum with co-founder Thomas Straker’s social audience driving millions of views around butter.

They’re seeing first-hand how impactful a social audience can be for a brand in the food space.

Along with this launch, they also announced investments from Spacestation Investments, fueling their growth.

How this helps you get ahead:

An engaged social audience, nurtured over time, can be a massive lift for future expansions for your brand. Decide now to start so you can win later.

Loonen Also Enters Whole Foods Market

Spring-sourced in glass bottles, Loonen steps into the Whole Foods Market game.

They’re taking the premium take on water while fighting against microplastics in traditional bottles.

They’re “setting the standard for bottled water”.

We’re seeing just how important it is to be where your customers hang out.

Need more mission-driven brands like this in the DTC space.

[ brands we’re watching ]

Our Place

Our Place is designed to give home cooks more room, versatility, and high-performance cooking capabilities, with 2 new products:

The Dual Handle Always Pan (launched September 22):

A wider, double-handled evolution of the beloved Always Pan. Designed for bigger meals, stovetop and oven braising, stir-fries, and recipes that need a little extra space.

The Titanium Braiser Pro (launching September 29):

The newest addition to Our Place’s bestselling Titanium Pro collection. This wide-format pan is built for generous searing, slow braises, reducing sauces, and simmering one-pan meals.

The Titanium Braiser Pro also marks a collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef and author J. Kenji López-Alt.

Zahav

Zahav Foods has a loaded roster:

A CPG brand co-founded by five-time James Beard Award-winning hospitality entrepreneurs Chef Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook of the Michelin-Recommended Zahav and Laser Wolf in Philadelphia.

And now they’ve launched two new hummus flavors:

1. Zahav Hummus Matbucha
2. Zahav Hummus Harissa

The hummus flavors are now available at 185 Whole Foods Market locations in 20 states across the U.S.

Zahav Foods is currently the No. 6-ranked hummus brand of 129 reported brands in NielsenIQ’s latest 13-week ranking, positioning the company for growth as it expands into new hummus flavors.

Zenwise

Zenwise just launched Beauty, bringing its gut-first approach to a new category.

Beauty is a collagen-powered stick pack designed to support healthy-looking skin by nourishing the gut-skin connection. The launch marks the brand’s expansion beyond digestive wellness and into the beauty category through its gut-first approach.

“Beauty is a natural evolution of our gut-first philosophy,” said Sal Aziz, CEO of Zenwise.

“We wanted to create something that goes beyond traditional collagen and looks at beauty through a whole-body lens. Beauty allows us to bring our approach to gut health into an entirely new category.”

Pistakio

Pistakio’s original packaging was a great starting point for two founders coming out of college.

But as the brand has grown, it became clear that the packaging needed to do more of the selling. Customers often had questions like:

• “What is it?”
• “What’s the difference between the two?”
• “What do I do with it?”

Questions that were easy to answer when the founders were there in person, but harder to address at retail or online.

Now, as Pistakio prepares to grow nationwide, the rebrand is designed to make the product instantly understandable, more recognizable on shelf, and better aligned with the fun, playful “Pistakio World” the brand has built online.

[ quick hits ]

Jordan Brand x Nike Strength → combining forces for new gym designs

Coros → Drops new Titanium running watch

Costco → Winning young shoppers with same-day delivery

Magna → Founder of Everlane is building the next $1B supplement brand

See you Thursday,

Zach and 1800DTC Team 1800DTC.com

P.S

If your DTC brand has exciting updates like an upcoming product launch, expanding into retail, or funding news and wants to get in touch with our team here at 1800DTC, add nick@1800dtc. com to your contact list.