Bel Group Buys Brainiac, MOSH Closes $13M Round 🧠

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CPG WIRE
May 07, 2026

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

  • Jesse & Ben’s grabs $10M 🍟

  • Marchon backs Forti 🍦

  • Equip collabs with MASA 😋 

  • BERO bets on bottles 🍺

  • MDS expands in Quebec 📈

Starting next week, the newsletter will be published on Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Bel Group acquired the Brainiac and Little Brainiac brands from Ingenuity Foods. Founded in 2019 by Jonathan Wolfson and Mark Brooks, Brainiac debuted in 2019 to solve a major problem: children aged 4 to 18 aren’t getting crucial nutrients to support brain development. Brainiac was backed by Lerer Hippeau, Bloom8, Good Friends, and others. GlobeNewswire

  • Squirrel Sisters, a London-based better-for-you nutrition bar brand, has sold a controlling interest to Altura. Two sisters, Gracie & Sophie Tyrrell, launched the business in 2015 and it now retails at Boots, Tesco, Co-op, and Amazon. Altura is a full service growth agency. LinkedIn

Fundraising

  • MOSH, the brain health nutrition brand founded by Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger, just secured $13M in Series A funding. Main Street Advisors led the round while Morrison Seger, Great Circle Ventures, Tonic Ventures, and PCG followed on. MOSH is now in 2,000+ doors and is gearing up for a nationwide launch at Target later this month. Instagram

  • Jesse & Ben’s, a fast-growing purveyor of restaurant-quality and seed oil-free french fries, closed a $10M funding round led by Greycroft. Several existing investors and Rich Products Ventures also participated in the round alongside strategic angels like Andrew Abraham, Carter Comstock, and Allison & Stephen Ellsworth of Poppi. Jesse & Ben’s also added CPG legend Eric Ryan to its BoD and hired Audrey Burger as Founding President. Nosh

  • Waterdrop, a Vienna-based producer of functional water enhancers, raised an additional €100M in equity funding from Atlantic Grupa, a Croatian FMCG firm, and Aspeya, a subsidiary of Philip Morris International. Waterdrop launched in 2016 and has grown into a global hydration brand with €150M of revenue and a presence across Europe, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Previous backers include Temasek and Novak Djokovic. LinkedIn

  • Forti, a UK-based high-protein gelato brand, closed a pre-seed funding round led by Ollie Marchon. Marchon is a British entrepreneur and the founder of MARCHON, a global fitness brand. Twitter

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • PLAYR is a new youth-focused performance nutrition company. PLAYR debuted earlier this year and is designed specifically for athletes aged 8 to 18. The company is focused on clean, science-backed formulations, targeting parents looking for safer, more intentional options for their athletes. PLAYR was founded by Dustin Vann with backing from Comer Companies and several strategic angel investors. PLAYR

  • Vital Proteins just dropped an Advanced Collagen Peptides + Creatine line. Each serving delivers 10g of collagen peptides and 5g of creatine monohydrate. Two varieties are currently available: Unflavored and Strawberry Lemon. Twitter

  • Equip and MASA Chips collaborated on a limited-edition protein powder: Chocolate Churro Prime Protein. The new flavor is available while supplies last. Instagram

  • Country singer Carrie Underwood launched a wellness brand called HiNote. The Daily Nutrition Drink Mix contains 20g of protein, 5g of fiber, and 13 fruits and vegetables. Three flavors are currently available on their website. HiNote is led by Kerrigan Behrens who previously founded Sagely Naturals, an omnichannel wellness brand with 25,000+ points of distribution. HiNote

  • Huda Beauty is back in the fragrance biz after spinning off KAYALI into a standalone company earlier this year. Huda just unveiled its first-ever fragrance, Easy Bake Intense, which will debut on May 28th for $79. Hypebae

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Bloom expanded its energy drink portfolio with 7.5 oz mini cans. Each can contains a moderate 100mg of caffeine and only 5 calories. 12-packs featuring the mini cans are available now at Walmart and Target. Instagram

  • Luxury tequila producer Clase Azul unveiled its 50-acre distillery and visitor’s center in Jalisco. Dubbed La Hacienda, the stunning space also features a restaurant, OYA, where dishes inspired by distinct eras of Mexican cuisine are offered. They also offer a ceramics workshop to show how Clase Azul’s iconic decanters are produced. The Spirits Business

  • Mooski expanded beyond refrigerated oat bars with its latest innovation: Overnight Oats Bites. Each box contains six individually wrapped oat bites and two flavors are available: Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough. The new line is available at Target in 25 states. Nosh

  • Fast-growing non-alc beer brand BERO is moving into glass bottles soon. When their glass bottles debut, BERO will be the only craft non-alcoholic beer in the U.S. available in glass. LinkedIn

  • Une Femme Wines announced a strategic partnership with iHeartMedia to accelerate growth. The multi-year partnership will connect Une Femme Wines with millions of radio and podcast listeners. PR Newswire

  • GoNanas released a ready-to-eat Mini Banana Bread Muffin range. Three flavors are available nationwide at Target. Instagram

  • Slice Soda is shaking up the BFY soda space with an RTD “Dirty Soda” range. Two flavors are available: Dirty Orange and Dirty Strawberry. The new line is available exclusively at Target. PR Newswire

Data 🖥️

  • Celsius Holdings reported record Q1 revenue of $783M, up from $329M in Q1 2025. Celsius also now commands 20.9% dollar share of the U.S. energy drink category. Celsius Holdings

  • Jams is on a roll at Target six months after launching at the retailer. A few weeks ago, Jams Strawberry 4-Packs topped Uncrustables in same item sales. Instagram

Distribution News 🚚