Cal-Maine Acquires Van's, Rogue Secures $2.5M 💪

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CPG WIRE
May 13, 2026

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

  • J.M. Smucker reviews portfolio 👀

  • CAVU backs 4AM 🕰️

  • Olivia Jade launches brand 💄

  • Better Sour expands offering 🏝️

  • OFRM goes big in Q1 📈

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • J.M. Smucker tapped Goldman Sachs for a stategic portfolio review. Given that Smucker’s coffee, frozen handheld, and pet divisions are performing reasonably well while sweet baked snack sales are collapsing, carving out Hostess Snacks is a likely outcome. J.M. Smucker acquired Hostess Snacks for $5.6B just three years ago. Axios 

  • Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, has acquired Van’s Foods from Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. Van’s is a leading manufacturer of better-for-you frozen waffles and pancakes. The company is also the category leader in gluten-free waffles. The acquisition moves Cal-Maine into a complementary adjacent category and increases their annual prepared foods revenue by 10%. Cal-Maine has been on a buying spree lately. Food Dive

  • London-based beverage collective Sunrise Beverages has acquired Days, a leading non-alc beer brand across the UK. Founded by Duncan Keith and Mike Gammell in 2021, Edinburgh-based Days is available at Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, and select pubs. Sunrise owns a small but impressive craft beer portfolio and with Days, they now own a non-alc craft beer maker. Global Drinks Intel

Fundraising

  • High-protein snack company Rogue secured $2.5M in pre-seed funding. Science, Inc. led the round while Simple Food Ventures, Uncommon VC, and other strategic investors followed on. Rogue was founded by Tommy Riggs and incubated by Science, Inc. The brand will make its nationwide debut at Walmart in July. Business Wire

  • Viral skincare brand 4AM closed a $4M funding round led by CAVU Consumer Partners. Other participants include B4 Capital, Type Capital, Dr. Muneeb Shah, Joe Cloyes, Brian Bordainick, and several others. Founded by Jade Beguelin and Sabrina Sade, 4AM is best known for its Clean Sheets line which just hit shelves at 1,700+ Target stores. GlobeNewswire

  • Prestige haircare brand Crown Affair closed its Series C round which was led by Stride Consumer Partners. Founded by Dianna Cohen in 2020, Crown Affair recently unlocked all-door distribution at Sephora. Stride is also an investor in Odele, a masstige haircare brand from Minnesota. WWD

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Fast-growing skincare brand Bubble collaborated with American Eagle on a vast collection of apparel, accessories, and skincare products. The collection is available via DTC channels and will debut at 300 American Eagle stores. PR Newswire

  • YouTuber Olivia Jade officially launched her beauty brand, o.piccola, yesterday. The company debuted with one hero product, The Bronze & Glow Balm, which is a dual-ended bronzer and highlighter stick available in three shades. Interestingly, Jade didn’t partner with an incubator or venture studio to develop o.piccola and she hasn’t raised any outside funding. Inc. 

  • La Bonne Brosse, a Paris-based producer of luxury hairbrushes, expanded its retail footprint in the U.S. with 100 Nordstrom doors. The U.S. is their biggest market and the company expects to do more than $30M in sales this year. WWD

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Ritual Zero Proof, the non-alc spirits specialist that Diageo acquired in 2024, is moving into RTDs. The new RTD collection features three flavors: Zero Proof Margarita, Zero Proof G&T, and Zero Proof Spritz. 4-packs are available at select retailers across the U.S. for $13.99. PR Newswire

  • On the other end of the booze spectrum, The Boston Beer Company unveiled LYTT Electric Coolers, a glow-in-the-dark line of 15% ABV cocktails. The malt-based cocktails are packaged in 6.8 oz vessels that are shaped like light bulbs. Brewbound

  • Purely Elizabeth continues to push deeper into protein with its Protein Ancient Grain Granola line. Three flavors are available and each 60g serving delivers 10g of protein and 6-8g of fiber. The new line is available at Target with more retailers coming soon. Purely Elizabeth is set to surpass $300M in sales this year. PR Newswire 

  • Better Sour expanded its BFY candy portfolio with Gummy Shells, a line of candy that’s made with real cane sugar. Three flavors are available: Watermelon Yuzu, Mango, and Lychee. The branding is excellent. Nosh

  • Swiss multinational food company Hero Group officially launched Goodies in the United States. Goodies is a better-for-you snack brand designed specifically for childen ages 4 and up. The brand is available at Walmart, Kroger, and Amazon. PR Newswire

  • Bloom expanded its sparkling energy range with a limited-edition Summer Splash flavor. The strawberry lemonade-inspired flavor is available at Kroger, Sam’s Club, 7-Eleven, and several other chains. Great-looking can. Instagram

  • HIPPEAS introduced its Protein Crunch snack range with two flavors: Cheddar Vibrations and Pizza Party. The snack contains 8g of pea protein and 55% less fat than leading puff bands. PR Newswire

  • Nutrabolt, the owner of Bloom and C4 Energy, appointed Andrew Archambault as President & COO. Archambault recently served as the President of The Hershey Company and as the Head of U.S. Beverages at KDP. FoodBev

Data 🖥️

  • Once Upon a Farm (NYSE: OFRM) cooked in Q1 as net sales jumped 43% YoY to $73M. The company’s net loss also narrowed to $15.8M compared to $19.5M. Once Upon a Farm’s network of 3,700 branded coolers across the U.S. is delivering productivity gains. Once Upon a Farm

  • Monster Beverage had a massive Q1 as net sales surged nearly 27% to $2.35B, up from $1.85B in the same period last year. Reuters

Distribution News 🚚

  • Rotten secured nationwide distribution at Kroger.

  • Bunky launched at The Fresh Market across the East Coast.

  • Buda Juice landed at nearly 250 Walmart stores.

  • AG1 launched storewide at Ulta Beauty.

  • David launched at Publix across the Southeast.