$7M Sunshine Buns Raise, Martha Stewart Is The New CTO, and Backflip Jumps To #2 At Target

Welcome back DTC fam,

Target is exploding with new brands, and others are climbing the ranks. We also got some limited-edition holiday drops coming in.

And if you want to see the entire suite of tech, tools, and agencies powering these brands, check out 1800dtc.com.

Let’s get straight to it:

We’ve recommended Patrol more than once for any Shopify brand prioritizing ADA compliance. A lot of users voted them the best tool for Legal & Incorporation in our end-of-year DTC Wrapped awards (results to be announced soon).

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Loré is an experiential marketing agency helping tech companies, agencies, and DTC brands bring their communities together IRL. Think:

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[ in the news ]

Backflip Cereal Makes the Jump to #2 at Target

Backflip jumped in front of major cereal brands like Frosted Flakes and Lucky Charms, and is coming in hot right behind Honey Nut Cheerios in the cereal aisle.

Why parents flippin love Backflip:

• less sugar
• 6g of protein
• no synthetic dyes or seed oils
• crazy fun collectables

And while most brands are focused on minor branding moves, Backflip is creating an entire “universe” around their cereal.

How this helps you get ahead:

The cereal aisle is a hard one to crack, but learning from the players who are climbing the ranks can help you get there. Create your “world”, own your strategy, and stand out on the shelf.

Martha Stewart is the new CTO - Chief Taste Officer

Stars + Honey has officially named Martha Stewart as its first-ever Chief Taste Officer.

And today they’ll debut their campaign starring Martha, called “Taste Has a New Boss.” Stars + Honey’s has seen rapid growth from DTC into an omnichannel business and is on track to hit approximately $50M in revenue this year.

As the new “CTO”, Martha will work directly with Stars + Honey’s in-house culinary team to expand the brand’s portfolio of more than 18 flavors and hold protein to a higher standard.

How this helps you get ahead:

The right partnerships can build quality hype, drive massive attention, and become a long-term initiative for your brand. Choose the right ones as you’re planning for success in 2027.

Sunshine Buns Raises A Sweet $7M

After getting into 1,000 Target stores, Sunshine Buns is raising $7M.

The simple “heat and eat” buns are making their mark, and this raise is a major play for them. And they’re crushing it on the founder + team content side too.

Check them out here →

How this helps you get ahead:

It’s one thing to push out founder-led content in DTC, but when you get your entire team on board? The momentum gets wild.

[ brands we’re watching ]

LL’s Kitchen

LL’s Kitchen just brought back its fan-favorite Pumpkin Pie Spice Granola (yes please).

The soft-baked, snackable granola combines pumpkin pie spice, dark chocolate chunks + golden raisins, as well as LL Kitchen’s signature infused olive oil (made without refined sugars or seed oils).

Founder Lindsey Mifsud says, “What excites me the most about our Pumpkin Pie Spice granola is the consumer’s reaction to it. This was our first-ever limited edition flavor back in 2020 and every year, launch day gets bigger and bigger…”.

LL’s Kitchen is available in 500+ stores nationwide, including more than 487 Sprouts Farmers Market locations.

And you can grab this limited-edition flavor online now, while supplies last.

Javvy Coffee

Last year, this top community-requested flavor sold through their entire holiday allocation in two weeks:

The Peppermint Mocha.

And this years launch is already outpacing last year.

The seasonal lineup just kicked off with the debut of Peppermint Mocha Protein Creamer, followed by the return of Peppermint Mocha Protein Coffee. The Protein Coffee will expand to more than 4,000 retail doors, including Target, Kroger, Rouses, Hy-Vee, and Wegmans beginning in November, marking Javvy’s first seasonal retail drop.

Little Spoon

Little Spoon is expanding into H-E-B, Wegmans and Harris Teeter this month, following a strong retail debut at Target.

The move will add roughly 570 stores across Texas, the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with each retailer carrying between 21 and 32 products.

Rather than chasing maximum door count, Little Spoon is betting on broader assortments with trusted regional grocers in markets where there’s strong demand.

Check out our breakdown of the expansion here →

ROSE

Henry Ellis, former co-founder, COO, CPO, and founding partner at Ghia, has teamed up with his college best friend (Eli Bronner) to launch ROSE, an exposure-health company starting with at-home water testing.

After reconnecting in New York, both became parents and began asking a simple question:

Do we actually know what’s in the water we drink and give our kids every day?

That was the original question behind ROSE’s first product, a $399 at-home water test that screens for 100 analytes, including PFAS, pesticides, VOCs, and disinfection byproducts.

Keeping a close eye on this one.

[ quick hits ]

Gratsi → Is olive oil becoming the new electrolyte?

DTC Newsletter → The next big marketing trend…

Ritual → CEO Kat Schneider shares full launch strategy

Whole Foods → Must-read 2027 food and beverage trend report

MossCode → a new advancement for endurance athletes

See you Thursday,

Zach and 1800DTC Team 1800DTC.com

P.S Want to see what tools the best DTC brands are using? (for free?) Click here to check it out →