Evergreen Raises $15M, MDS Drops New Product 👀

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CPG WIRE
January 06, 2026

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

  • Piper invests in Vieve 💄

  • Sauz partners with Bulletpitch 🍝

  • Jones Road Beauty expands 🧼

  • MALK unveils new creamer line 🥛

  • Ritual rolls out at Costco 💊

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Matt Pittman, the aptly named owner of 8-figure BBQ brand Meat Church, has acquired a minority stake in Pursuit Spirits, a Kentucky-based craft whiskey producer. Meat Church will provide Pursuit Spirits with resources to scale and the two companies will collaborate on products and content. The Spirits Business

Fundraising

  • Evergreen, a Chicago-based purveyor of frozen waffles, has secured just over $15M in fresh equity funding. Founded in 2020 by Emily Cole Groden, Evergreen is best known for its better-for-you waffles which are packed with hidden veggies and free from seed oils, preservatives, and artificial flavors. Evergreen made the 2025 Inc. 5000 List as the 16th fastest-growing food & beverage brand in the U.S. Melitas Ventures and Terpsi Capital backed Evergreen in 2024. SEC

  • Vieve, a creator-led cosmetics brand from Scotland, raised £9M in funding led by Piper. Renowned makeup artist Jamie Genevieve launched Vieve in 2020 and the company was on pace for £10M in revenue in 2025, up from £6.5M in 2024. Piper invested £7.5M in Borough Broth in December, and the firm has invested £65M into female-led brands over its past two funds. Piper

  • Fast-growing pasta sauce brand Sauz partnered with Bulletpitch to add a number of creators and influencers to its cap table. By partnering with Bulletpitch, Sauz added 21 content creators who collectively represent over 40 million followers as investors. Forbes

  • Lemon Perfect snagged $9.7M in fresh debt and equity funding. The capital infusion comes amid leadership changes and a bid to revitalize sales which declined 4.5% YoY according to Circana. BevNET

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Jones Road Beauty is expanding into body care on January 7th. The Body Collection includes a body cream, lotion, oil, scrub, and a shower gel. Jones Road Beauty also just opened a new store in Nashville, its 12th in the U.S. The Industry

  • Kitsch, the beauty & hair accessories brand with more than $350M in annual sales, released a liquid shampoo and conditioner range. The range is formulated with clean, sustainable ingredients and is available at Target, Ulta Beauty, Amazon, and via their website. WWD

  • Rhode is gearing up to release a slew of new products in 2026 like acne patches, a bronzer, and more lip products. Instagram

  • Unilever is doubling down on creators to raise awareness for Vaseline among Gen Z consumers. Fernando Fernandez, Unilever’s recently appointed CEO, suggested that the CPG giant aims to spend half of its ad budget on social media content instead of traditional media. Business of Fashion

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • David expanded its protein bar offering with a new line called Bronze. The bars feature a marshmallow core and a chocolate-flavored coating, sort of like a Barebells x Built Bar mashup. Each bar delivers 20g of protein, 150 calories, and 0 sugar. The new line is currently only available via their website. Twitter

  • MALK, one of the fastest-growing brands in the plant-based milk category, just launched a line of coconut-based creamers. Three varieties are available — Vanilla, Sweet Cream, and Unsweetened — and as always the creamers are free from seed oils and gums. The packaging is excellent. LinkedIn

  • Mid-Day Squares released its first-ever non-chocolate product with the No Bread PB&J. The new SKU is available nationwide at Target and will begin rolling out across North America in the near future. This is a clever move for MDS. It mitigates their exposure to rising cocoa prices while maintaining the familiar form factor that their customers love. Bullish 👇 Instagram

  • Chameleon Cold Brew is in the midst of rolling out a sleek new look. I spotted the new packaging at Whole Foods over the weekend and was impressed by the cleaner, more eye-catching labels. Chameleon Cold Brew

  • Mel Robbins, a bestselling author and podcaster, launched a protein shot brand called Pure Genius. Three flavors are available and each travel-friendly shot delivers 23g of protein. Pure Genius appears to be affiliated with Genius Shot, the protein shot brand that bodybuilder and entrepreneur Mike Israetel launched in 2025. It’s unclear if Mel Robbins purchased the IP from Mike Israetel but I’ll report back. LinkedIn

  • Coca-Cola is trialing an RTD boba product in Turkey under its Cappy brand (AKA Minute Maid in select international markets). The packaging is great and the fruit syrup pearls actually look pretty enticing. Beverage Daily

  • Creatime is a new creatine + protein bar brand from the UK. The brand launched with four flavors and each bar delivers 3g of creatine and 15g of protein. We spotted two creatine bars in 2025 — Jimmy Bar and Kreatures of Habit — with more to come in 2026 (presumably). Creatime

Data 🖥️

  • AB InBev’s RTD cocktail brands are all delivering impressive YoY growth. Cutwater dollar sales were up $209M while BeatBox dollar sales rose by $83M. AB InBev announced its intent to acquire a majority stake in BeatBox on December 5th. AB InBev also owns the #3 beer growth brand with Busch. Beer Marketer’s Insights 

Distribution News 🚚

  • No Cap! Soda Pop launched at select Walmart stores.

  • Ritual is now available at select Costco clubs.

  • MIILS launched nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market.

  • Salud launched three flavors nationwide at Vitamin Shoppe.

  • MUD\WTR is now available at Costco in the Southeast.