Every CPG consultant has a co-man list that is wildly out of date
Also, high coffee prices are driving energy drink sales, what's going on with egg prices?, honey is still mostly adulterated (!), and pre-launches at Newtopia
Before we get into it, you know that person that is dying to launch in grocery and keeps asking you for tips? Send them to Wholesale Week! Registration starts now
📋I have a half dozen crowdsourced CPG supplier and co-packer lists in Sheets/Excel that are trash
That’s why I’m really curious about Keychain. They are flipping co-packer search on its head. Keychain is mapping the full universe of manufacturers using structured identification (NAICS, private business registry, etc.) to bring you the front door to manufacturing. It’s not a keyword search platform, but matching by categorization and capability.
This is akin to the 1990’s when Google leaped from pages stuffed with keywords to ranking pages that earned attention through backlinks.
What Keychain promises is an AI-powered infrastructure (KeychainOS) designed to scale rapidly across functions—matching, production insights, auditing, cost estimation—beyond just discovery.
I have not seen pricing for membership or admin fees on Keychain’s site—but with $68M raised in just 18 months, they’re clearly building fast and may be open to incubating use cases for smaller, high-potential brands. If you’re an emerging brand struggling to find the right co-man, this might be one to demo.
💉Thank you vaccines. L♥️ve, Egg🥚s
Remember avian flu? Prices soared, and food brands began to question whether reformulating away from eggs was a safer long-term bet. The outlook is shifting because, for the first time, the layer (eggs), broiler (meat chickens), and dairy industries are aligned in favor of vaccination.
A producer I spoke with this week said egg supply is currently “very strong,” with a surplus forecast in the coming months. United Egg Producers are lobbying DC for USDA’s APHIS to move forward on stockpiling vaccines, authorizing field trials, and strengthening biosecurity.
Ingredient egg prices will remain elevated into 2026 since it takes more than a year to rebuild flocks, but with supply stabilizing and the industry closer to vaccination approval, the bigger risk may be investing in reformulation costs only to return to eggs once prices normalize.
I loved this episode of Shelf Help
Two reasons: this founder was an investor before starting his brand. What he has to say about success in CPG is spot on. He’s building a honeycomb brand and succeeding in retail in an unconventional way — that when you hear it, it makes so much sense. PLUS, liquid honey is still mostly fraudulent! How can an agricultural product vital to our ecosystem, and also a pantry staple, be so overlooked? Listen here.
**Seen at Newtopia**
Drippy is innovation that hits you like, why didn’t I think of that? Clean label, real queso like you make at home
Excited about this venture studio brand in pre- launch.
Yes the world needs electrolyte freeze pops. Run clubs. Hangovers.
This is an MBA project in the wild. Love it.
POWER COFFEE™️ — in the crowded space of energy drinks this is a high caffeine protein coffee that actually tastes good
RTD coffee and energy drinks are overlapping
Rising prices in RTD coffee — especially cold brew — are nudging consumers toward functional energy drinks. Huxley won the Naturally Network pitch slam at Newtopia— Huxley is an energy drink using cascara (coffee fruit husks) but no actual coffee. Energy drinks were once considered the pricier option, and now functional energy beverages are meeting coffee drinkers by delivering the same caffeine hit, often at a lower price per ounce, and with added benefits.
This WSJ piece dives into the trend.
⤴️I did not know this existed - naturally refined, allergen free almond oil with high smoke point ~430 F
Get in touch now — replace avocado oil with price competitive California almond oil available for your formulations.
I’m pretty obsessed with burger joints launching Pistakio shake LTOs
Send me the ones you find. This LTO starts Sept 1. New Jersey locations only.
All my best,
Jennifer
Obsessed with the Hydra Pops, such a smart product