Sol-Ti's $30M Marks Win For Shots & Another Chef-Driven Meal Kit

0:04Brad Avery:Welcome to the CPG Week podcast by Bevna and Nosh. I'm Brad Avery here with my co-host Lukas Southard. If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe on your listening platform of choice. Brad, I've got a question for you. Do you ever buy wellness shots at a grocery store, convenience store? I'm the kind of panic buyer. If I think I'm getting sick, I search out as many immunity shots as I can, which I know is not how it's supposed to work, but it's what I do. You are probably not the only one, and I have definitely done that before where I'm just going to grab a ginger shot of some sort because I feel like I need to boost my immune system.

0:46That being said, functional shot maker Salty quietly raised a$30 million funding round earlier this year as it grows its team and expands deeper into retail as well as food service. I spoke of the brand in March after the company had added a whole slate of experienced operators to its leadership team. Now, for details on that, you can read my story, which is titled Solty Bets on Food Service Expansion on BevNet. But in light of this recent eight-digit funding round, it appears that the wellness shot space is having a bit of a moment amid the more challenging environment for refrigerated juice.

1:28For the record, Salty does not consider itself a juice brand, but a producer of functional shots as well as larger format functional drinks. Yet, Salty does sit on store shelves next to a bunch of brands that are doing quite well, and we're seeing some movement both in M &A as well as funding for a lot of the operators in shots.

1:54Brad Avery:Yeah, we've seen quite a bit of activity in juice shots for a few years now. There was, of course, Suja buying Vive. And then earlier this year, SoGoodSoYou got bought by private equity. And I believe it was recently reported in Reuters that DOS is looking for a buyer. So all this kind of M &A activity, both acquisitions that have happened and those that could happen in the future are all representative of the growing demand for this convenience-oriented, one-and-done kind of drink, especially when it comes to these wellness shots. And if you look deeper into the shot category, beyond the refrigerated set where all those brands that you just listed are merchandise, device, functional shots in general seem to be having quite a moment.

2:45For example, when BevNet covered the alt-energy shot maker Ketone IQ for the first time four years ago, the brand had been slowly building itself with a multi-serve format, but had just launched a new two-ounce shot. The switch turned on a huge opportunity for the brand, which is now in over 10 ,000 doors with mainstream retailers like Target, Circle K, Vitamin Shop, among many others, bringing it in. And it has raised its yearly revenue to over nine figures. We also have Proper Wild, Good Belly, Magic Mind. These are all different shot makers that are staking a claim on different corners of the category, whether it's sleep or gut health or clean energy.

3:31And all of those brands are also increasingly raising bigger rounds to support their scale.

3:37Brad Avery:A few things come to mind with this. One, smaller pack size means a lot less input into packaging, a lot lower shipping costs. It's really beneficial from a production standpoint. And I think from a consumer standpoint, I think a lot of people, when we talk about this functional beverage movement, there's so many consumers out there who would just rather have a two ounce shot, one and done. You get your vitamins. It's like taking your meds in the morning versus do I want to sip on a 12-ounce drink for this functional benefit that I think I'm getting? It's very much what's driving this category.

4:18Yeah, we live in a convenience-oriented economy, and I think these shots are really starting to find a footing for consumers. And like you said, They fit easier in a bag. They are just that quick hit of whatever you need, whether it's gut health, energy, sleep support, focus, all these different need states that the functional drink category is really leaning on heavily can all be had in a smaller format. And that's working. So turning back to Salty, I think the interesting thing to note is that they have built vertically. Salty self-produces its products with the initial intent for that was that it uses a proprietary UV filtration system.

5:03And it has a dedication to being a glass-bottled beverage brand. But in the grand scheme of things, owning your own manufacturing and having the expertise of scaling that infrastructure from the beginning of the brand gives it a leg up and serves as a tasty addition to a potential acquisition offer. Now, for the record, I'm not saying that Salty has hinted it is looking for a buyer. But if a larger company wanted to put an offer, Salty's scale and its two production plants could add a couple zeros onto that offer price.

5:44Brad Avery:Lucas, do you know what you're having for dinner tonight? Tonight, I know what I'm having for dinner. You do? Yeah, I have two small kids, so we try to plan ahead. But I will say that that is not always the case. And sometimes it's a scramble. Well, what is it? We are having a stir fry with tofu tonight. Well, delicious. Well, that puts you in a minority because according to the Wall Street Journal, at least 80 % of Americans struggle with that same question, having no idea what's for dinner by 4 p.m. each day. That daily burden is one factor that has benefited the meal kit category, which is expanding with new innovations flocking into the space.

6:22Brad Avery:One of the latest entrants is Riff Meal Kits, a premium line of shelf-stable kits created by Sir Kensington co-founder Mark Ramadan and Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Hum. The brand debuted in Target nationwide this month with varieties like spicy tomato rigatoni and sesame ginger noodles, and it's looking to compete against brands like Hamburger Helper and Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat. Though it comes at a high premium price of$6.99 per two-serving kit. For context, most of the category comes in at$2 or less. So, Lucas, I think we have two big questions here. One is whether or not a premium meal kit offering higher quality ingredients can compete at that high a price point.

7:06Brad Avery:The other is just how big of an impact does a celebrity chef's name have for a brand that's just getting started? I mean, those are two very good questions. In terms of your first question about a premium meal kit, I would say yes. I think there is definitely a demand for more premium, higher quality meal kits that are offering something nuanced and bringing different flavors with sustainably sourced ingredients and the backing of a pretty well-regarded chef in Daniel Hum and Eleven Madison Park. Now, when it comes to the celebrity chef angle, I don't know if that impacts how well this brand is going to do or not.

7:49I think what's most important to note about what's happening in meal kits is that this seems to be an evolution from what we saw during COVID when people were really leaning on companies like Blue Apron to get their meal kits delivered to their door and just the convenience of having that happen. But now we've seen those meal kit brands, some of them fold and some of them get acquired and others make that jump into retail and become part of that convenience-oriented lifestyle that we've been talking about in the retail stores that people are shopping in. So we've seen like Factor make a big leap into being more of a retail product as opposed to a D2C product.

8:34And I think really that's where it's going to matter. And that's where we're going to see a lot more of the impact is how well brands evolve into being a retail ready meal kit brand.

8:48Brad Avery:I can tell you, we tried doing Purple Carrot for a little while back around the COVID times. And I did find some struggles with the format. It would come almost too frequently for a subscription. And it took longer than you would hope to actually prepare the meal. Yes, it solved the problem of what am I having for dinner, but it still took like at least an hour or more to actually unpackage and prepare the ingredients. Then you had to recycle the boxes. So I think the evolution away from that D2C meal kit format makes a lot of sense to me. Just from my personal experience, it wasn't the most convenience friendly option out there versus what we do see in these products that are on shelf.

9:34Brad Avery:And if they're offering these chef-quality meals, then yeah, I absolutely, as a consumer, am interested. And, you know, star chefs have been playing an increasingly bigger role in CPG. You just look at David Chang with Momofuku or Andrew Zimmern's Asha Foods collab. There's a lot of activity here. I think understanding what you're getting and the quality that you're getting when you're at a retail door is going to make a big difference. I can understand why having these celebrity chefs, whether it's David Chang or Andrew Zimmerman, like be the face of it. But I think what it really comes down to is that price point.

10:19And if consumers are going to think that that price point is worth what the quality of the food that they're getting out of it.

10:25Brad Avery:Well, I'll leave you with one really interesting data point. This comes from Bell Communication, which found that Google searches for chef partnerships were up over 1 ,300 % in July 2025, year over year. So for CPG brands, chef-led products are certainly becoming one of the hallmarks of a premium product. Maybe I'm just jaded because I'm a former chef and I never got to put my face onto a meal kit. But, you know, maybe that's just where this is all coming from. You watch The Bear and you have flashbacks and nightmares. No joke, that joke has given me anxiety. I stopped watching it for that reason.

11:28Brad Avery:Category pros following the industry. Reach operators, sales leaders, supply chain pros, and retail buyers spending more time with candidates and less on mismatches. At cpgjobs.com, post your opening. Use code TASTERADIO26 and save on the listing. Your inbox should reflect the parts of CPG that matter to you. Choose from BevNet's seven free newsletters covering beverage, food, beer, spirits, careers, education, and more. Sign up and select your favorites at cpgmedia.com slash newsletter. Depending on a brand's scale and its core mission, a third-party certification can be a badge of honor or a seal of approval that signals to consumers to choose their product over competitors.

12:14Yet, these certifications come with price tags, and it's not always clear how much of an impact they're making. Our colleague Adrian DeLuca recently covered the launch of the non-UPF verified label. This is a new certification that addresses consumers' growing concerns over ultra-processed foods. Brands with the seal include Amy's Kitchen, Simple Mills, Spindrift, Chomps, and many more. The organization behind the seal has recently launched an app which aims to be a useful tool for consumers to better understand the products they are searching for. Research conducted by the Food Integrity Collective last year found that 68 % of consumers are trying to avoid ultra-processed foods, and nearly that same amount, 70%, say they struggle to identify UPF foods.

13:09As with any app these days, the consumer-facing angle is just one side of the coin, the other side being that the data that is gleaned from the app's usage. The app could help non-UPF verified track how the certification is driving consumer buying patterns and how much of an impact non-UPF is really having on consumers as a whole.

13:34Brad Avery:Well, I have no idea if this product will qualify for that certification or not, but I do know that I'm mighty curious about it. C4 Energy is launching all hopped up, a non-alcoholic beer-flavored energy drink packed with 200 milligrams of caffeine that the company says is trading in the buzz for an energy boost. The new flavor is launching on TikTok Shop and Amazon this week with D2C sales on C4Energy.com scheduled to begin September 30th. Lucas, would you try this? Are you curious about the beer-flavored energy drink? You know what my favorite beer-flavored drink is? Beer. It's beer. Yeah. I don't see why we need this.

14:17I get it. It's a bit of a gimmick. I get that some people just like the taste of beer and want it to be maybe in an energy drink. Personally, I think this is more of a gimmick than actual product that's going to move the needle for C4, but kudos to them to taking a somewhat kind of liquid death approach to the energy drink category. but if I want to taste beer, I'm going to crack a can of beer.

14:45Brad Avery:I would give it a shot for sure. I do enjoy my caffeine, but what's curious is that a lot of the other beer-like products that are non-alcoholic that we see out there, like say hop water, with function, it's generally geared towards relaxation. It's ingredients like adaptogens because they want to recreate that light, buzzy feeling of alcohol with the problems of alcohol. This feels a little four loco-y in terms of kind of blurring the lines between alcohol and energy. Now, I get that C4 is not actually adding alcoholic beer into this drink, but I don't necessarily feel like there is confluence between beer and energy.

15:30That's my question, because when do you want to drink this?

15:34Brad Avery:you don't want to drink this early day when you want an energy drink to get you going. If you're an energy drink in the morning type of person, you know, drinking even a non-alc beer in the morning, it just feels wrong, right? It should feel wrong if you do. I'm judging you. But you also, you don't want it in the evening when you'll be up all night. So I am left a little bit confused by when are we supposed to be enjoying this? Mid-afternoon at a picnic, maybe? I don't know. You're right. The use occasion feels strange to me. And if anything, drinking one of these will probably make me want to grab a real beer.

16:15Brad Avery:It's a challenging space, even as athletic brewing is booming. We just reported this week that sparkling water tea and otherwise NA brand Hoplark is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. So it's not always a surefire victory, but I will say points for originality. They get that much, that's for sure. Thank you for listening to this week's episode. For these stories and more, become an insider at BevNet and Nosh. If you enjoy the show, like and subscribe on your listening platform of choice we'll see you next week bye everyone