Protein for pleasure

0:00Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer. I'm Nate. I'm Jenna. And we run a media company called Express Checkout, where we dive into the latest news in CPG, consumer brands, and retail. Welcome to our lovely podcast. Welcome to our lovely podcast. It was so fun because this week we got to go to Winter Fancy Fair out in San Diego, and we got to see so many people who said they watch our podcast, which is wild to me. I watch our podcast, but I have to edit it. We kind of have to. Yeah. Fancy Fair is a food and beverage trade show. This was actually the first year that it was in San Diego and we both flew out for it.

0:46I, if you were watching video, I stayed in San Diego and that's why I'm sitting outside right now. So if, if there are elements that affect my video or sound quality. That's mother nature. I'm sorry. There's only so much you can do. I'm jealous. It was so nice in San Diego. It was also nice that like part of the convention was outside, at least for one day. And that was so nice to just photosynthesize in the sun, having some snacks. It was wonderful. What more could you want? But yeah, we got to try some cool new products. We got to see some people in the industry. And now we're back with lots of goodies.

1:28Lots of goodies. I didn't take too much because I was flying, but I did get to take home some of the cumin club. Freeze-dried Indian ready-to-eat meals. One of my favorite products. So good. So impressive. So tasty. And so convenient. One of the trends I guess we saw, or I saw at least, I think there was enough to call it a trend, was freeze-drying. We saw some really cool up-and-coming freeze-dried brands that actually a really interesting one that I'm excited about is called NAMI, N-O-M-I-E, which is freeze-dried meals for kids. But I just love this concept of like, so good. I'm like, this isn't for kids.

2:08I would eat this every day. I love this concept of freeze-dried meals that reheat really easily, which is hot water because one, like freezer space is limited for a lot of people. Two, it is so lightweight. It's so great. You could take an entire meal on the go. You could take it hiking, whatever. And all you need to do is add water and you have like a really good meal. So I'm very excited to see if that trend continues. Another, I guess, flavor trend we saw, which also has to do with a news story that we're going to share this week was peanut butter and jelly. I think we saw a lot of the flavor, peanut butter and jelly, also a lot of peanut butter and jelly related products, which was fun coming off of.

2:48We both got samples actually from Bear Bells last week. They just launched their peanut butter and jelly flavored protein bar. And it also came off of the news last week from Midday Squares that they just launched a no bread peanut butter and jelly bar. It looks really good. We're getting samples sent. I'm very excited to try this. Look, BB &J, best combination ever. Oh, I love a peanut butter and jelly. I love it. You can never grow out of it. It's like everyone has been talking about nostalgic flavor trends for a long time now. So it's not surprising to see a flavor like this come out. I almost feel like it was like nostalgic flavors became a trend, but at the same time as a lot of nut-free products becoming a trend.

3:38So like peanut butter and jelly wasn't really included because that is not nut-free. And I guess people decided that you can have both. Brands like Jams came out this year, which is better for you, Uncrustables. I know we said Lunchables also came out with the peanut butter and jelly, which also feels late. But yeah, it's almost like peanut was like taboo for a minute. I mean, milk was taboo for a minute too. And now dairy's back. So things have been flow, but peanut butter and jelly seems to be back. And we're very excited about Midday Squares. I think the interesting thing about Midday Squares coming out with this flavor is I'm sure it partly had to do with the flavor trend.

4:18But it also came from a necessity, if you want to speak on that. I think it's really interesting. Yeah. So cocoa prices have been going up. They've dropped a bit, but they're still at higher than they've ever been because of supply chain issues and weather issues around the cocoa bean. So a lot of chocolate bars and brands that use chocolate have been going up in price or trying to come out with products sans the chocolate because of supply chain issues and because of cost. So that is something that Leslie from Midday Squares did mention to us, that this innovation was coming out of necessity, that chocolate is a very expensive product and a hard one to get right now.

5:02Shortages are real. Climate change is real and affecting this crop. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see other, especially candy manufacturers, but even the bar brands like Bear Bells and David and Fit Crunch and Misfits and all the other bars out there that are coated in chocolate to maybe do more creative ways to use less chocolate or to not use chocolate at all. Or to not use chocolate. Yeah, absolutely. It is so cool to see someone. I mean, Midday Squares is known for being like very, they build in public. They're a very transparent brand. And I love how they walked us through this process of here's the deal.

5:42The margins suck if we're going to use chocolate. So what we're going to do is we're going to innovate. And I love that they just shared that instead of just being like, here's a new flavor. That makes us root for them more and also want to try it more. Yeah, I think so. I'm curious how much like a regular consumer will notice the lack of chocolate or the price. I think they do. But yeah, I think they'll just be like, oh, cool. Another way to eat something like so hopefully just a win for them. I also love the marketing of it's a no bread peanut butter and jelly. It's like fun. Bear Bells is a no bread peanut butter and jelly.

6:19The peanut butter and jelly Reese's Cup is a no bread peanut butter and jelly. But nobody like says that. Right. I love that. That's how they're framing it. And they kind of made it visually looks like that. Like it's like a slab of peanut butter and a slab of jelly on top of it. So it almost looks like the inside. I'm so excited to try this thing. I wish we were eating them in this one. I know. I'm really curious about the consistency of the jelly. They put out a video saying that that was actually like nailing the texture was one of the hardest pieces. Because you can't go too firm, but you can't go too loose.

6:49Otherwise, you don't have the same feeling of eating a PB &J without the bread, keeping it all together. I think it might feel like the perfect bar, peanut butter and jelly, which also came out before this. Also is in a refrigerated set. That also is a no bread peanut butter and jelly. It's all in the marketing. Because, like, honestly, it's really just a perfect bar, right? Like, I mean, I haven't tried it yet. But it's very similar to the peanut butter and jelly perfect bar. Well, it's a square, not a rectangle. Oh, my bad. You're so right. But, yeah, I'm excited to try it. But you mentioned David Bar.

7:28The most controversial bar in the market. We also had some news from David this week, which I'm honestly grateful because this news gave us the best subject line for an email that I think we've ever had. And that was sex cells protein. It sure does. Yeah, it really does. And David's not hiding from that. No, I mean, it's it's front and center with with the lovely Julia Fox. Yes. So for context, David Barr launched their very first, their first product since launch, unless you count that they launched COD, frozen COD, which we're still like, yes, it was a real launch, but also it was a gimmick, but also it was a real launch.

8:12We'll put a pin in that. But they launched their first product, which is their line of bronze bars is what they're calling them. So we have the quintessential gold bar from David. And now we have the bronze bar. I'm assuming because it has less protein. So like third place for fewer grams of protein. I don't know. But David's OG product is 28 grams of protein. The bronze bar is 20 grams of protein. And it is a candy style protein bar. So David's original bar was more of that like chewy, not chocolate covered texture, fairly single note. Extruded, yes. Fairly single note texture. Whereas this is layered.

8:57There are crunchy pieces. There's a chocolate coating and there's an inside very much like a Bear Bell, very much like a candy bar. It's 150 calories, 20 grams of protein. And they partnered with Julia Fox to promote it in some of the most unhinged marketing I've ever seen around a protein bar. Actually, yes. The most. Well, part of their marketing activation was to send PR kits out with a singular bar. I think all of them were the s'mores flavor. And then a personal vibrator as well. Yes. Because the marketing line for this activation was that, what, men don't satisfy, David satisfies. Exactly that.

9:41That's what the campaign with Julia Fox was saying. She was like in a confessional booth and she was like, I'm aroused. I don't know what I'm feeling attracted. And it comes out that she's talking about a protein bar. The PR boxes that were sent out, tragically, we didn't receive them. um they as nate said were a vibrator with a david bar and the copy on that was pick your pleasure basically insinuating that i said this in the newsletter like equal opportunity pleasure if you want to use a vibrator or if you want a protein bar which is why y 'all the other copy that they had in there was uh finished twice unhinged unhinged so it's clearly was not marketed towards men, which makes sense that they have this product after launching something that's like hyper-masculine, literally called David.

10:33It's a man's name. All of the marketing was around being sculpted like Michelangelo's David. And now they're like, oh, what about women? I guess. And they are offering something that supposedly tastes like candy and is eight fewer grams of protein, low-cal, like no fat, but they're targeting women with this bar, and it makes sense that they would be targeting women, but I also went off on a bit of a rant in the newsletter about this because, yeah, I don't know. I just think there's a lot there. There's a lot there with this more like indulgence-oriented bar, whereas I do feel like the first set of bars were less about like the flavors and they weren't as like it wasn't as much about like pleasure it was more like hardcore macros that was in their marketing was pure effectiveness it wasn't like have your cake and eat it too this was we are focused on making you the most macro focused person ever which look I think is and I think this makes sense I think for them to expand their brand too they they might need more of these products that appeal to a wider audience to someone with a sweet tooth especially because a lot of the bars out there are like this new bronze bar misfits as we're saying bear bells which is one of the category leaders a lot of the bars lean candy and sweet and and accessible to a wider palette i don't i think obviously in their marketing, they're really being like, hey, this is more femme-coded.

12:10This is much more for a female consumer. But same with now that's really the rest of the protein category is really geared towards a female consumer. It is. Definitely less blatantly so. It feels like this more old school, tastes like a candy bar, but is guilt-free, restrictive diet messaging that's always been geared towards women. And I think that bothers me more than if they had done this campaign but with their og bar but effective honestly it's brilliant marketing as much as i'm icked by it i'm like this is so smart julia fox is an awesome person to partner with like what a great get when they she's an icon icon new york's original it girl seriously um no it's crazy it's perfect so you can't even be mad at it but we had a lot of protein news this week gorgy which is an energy drink brand they launched an energy and protein beverage eight grams of protein not a crazy amount but still energy and protein it's like four loco but instead of protein look if four loco came out today it would have protein in it oh a thousand percent it would a thousand percent yeah and you know what as it should as it should.

13:31So the Gorgie launch, I also thought was really interesting because they launched it at the same time as Athleisure Line, which isn't all that surprising. But the thing I noticed was we had an announcement like two weeks ago, I think now that Alex Earl became an investor in Gorgie. She also was an early investor in Poppy, has been a brand partner for Poppy. And a lot of the launch strategies branding merch look very similar i'm like i feel like gorgie's like taken a page out of poppy's playbook 100 very similar very similar audience um makes sense to me and i think it'll do well so bloom launched clear protein uh in two different flavors they launched a powder and clear protein has been having a real moment lately um We saw some stats from Spate that just searches and mentions of Clear Protein are up.

14:30We've also seen a lot of different brands see a lot of success in Clear Protein. Seek, Clean Simple Eats. And I think it's because Clear Protein just has gotten better. When I first tried it years ago, I tried it from this brand called MyProtein out of the UK. This was in like 2017, 2016. it was not great it did not it wasn't really clear it was hazy it was fruit forward but still a little milky and now all of these clear proteins are so good like yeah you wouldn't necessarily know that you're drinking a protein drink i completely agree it's been like the category of this i guess subcategory has changed pretty pretty drastically in the past few years so clear protein is made basically by ultra filtering, typically whey protein.

15:23So it takes out the fat and the lactose and it takes out more carbs as well. It filters it down to just like just protein pretty much. So it's a powder that also typically dissolves better than a non-clear protein, like less milky. It's more juice-like. And this lends itself to some better innovations for a few reasons. One, Flavor innovation can get a little craftier when it's not like a milk base. You can do something more fun in like the fruit area, which most of these are fruit flavored. Blooms were both fruit flavored. And the macros are typically better. So we're looking at fewer carbs. We're looking at zero fat usually and still really high protein.

16:09So it's a really great innovation in this space. and I think people didn't really know what it was or like what they were looking for. And now because of the brands, like the ones that you mentioned, there's a lot more consumer awareness around clear protein. And as we said, people are actually seeking this out. You mentioned we got data from Spate. So Spate collects search data from Google and TikTok and Instagram. 220 % increase year over year on TikTok for searches for clear protein. So if you are a brand with a clear protein product, you should absolutely be pushing it on TikTok because people are looking for it.

16:50The TikTok audience seems to be really interested in this. Oh, and the other benefit I didn't mention is because the lactose is taken out, it's usually more easily digested by people. So just a great innovation and smart for Bloom to hop on. Yeah, and that's why we're also seeing like protein sodas out there is because the innovation in clear protein, it lends itself to an RTD really well. We're seeing a lot of clear protein sodas, like the Koya protein pop that we saw. Theirs is interesting because that's clear pea protein. Yes, it's clear plant-based protein. I think we'll see a lot more clear protein beverages this year and it just finds its way into more and more things.

17:33I'm sure Pepsi or Coke will come out with a protein soda at some point. I'm sure. They came out with a prebiotic soda, so. And if they're anything like Koya, they may as well do both because Koya's is prebiotic and protein. Yeah, I think it was like a matter of time that Bloom, which is famous for its greens powder, launched into protein because they also have creatine. Like they're getting into the more like from wellness to fitness. Full wellness and fitness. But Clear Protein just aligns so well with their current lineup of successful products because it's a little – it's easier to digest. It's easier to be really flavor forward and very like fruity flavor forward, which all of their products are, including their green spatters.

18:20And it just makes it a lot more accessible and especially because so many other brands have been like, hey, we made good Clear Protein. Clear Protein is good. and a lot of other consumers are like, oh yeah, I have a clear protein drink. It's delicious. So the more readily... The stage has been set. The stage has been set and they're more readily...

18:42They're ready to try these things. And I think Bloom will see a lot of success with this. I think they launched it exclusively at Target. Classic. Classic. I think it'll be good. I think they're going to see a really good bump from this product. I really hope we get to see protein jello next oh I'm shocked that's not a thing someone is really excited that you just said that because they are currently developing it I'm sure and if you're developing it I will I will be your co-founder I will be your spokesperson that's a crazy risk I don't know how many you might be a like one of the only people I know who seeks out jello happily so i think a side effect of this protein boom and also specifically targeted women creatine and we got we had one creatine piece of news this week which wild sentence i just uttered um lemmy the the gummy wellness brand from courtney kardashian they launched a creatine gummy which honestly surprised they haven't had a creatine gum.

19:48I know. I had that same thought. I had that same thought. I was like, oh, don't they already? No, they don't. But creatine is booming. Booming. Creatine gummies have also been out for a minute now. The company Create, I feel like kind of pioneered or at least popularized them. But stage has now been set. It's popular enough that women are starting to be interested in how they can incorporate creatine into their wellness routine, I kind of see a lot of these headlines as like the fitnessification. I hate the iffication stuff, but the fitnessification of women's wellness because women have been told now for the past many years, all of the wellness things that we need to be doing, but they haven't been very oriented around, you know, building muscle that was like saved for men.

20:38And now protein supplements and now creatine supplements targeting women, there's clearly like, it's either because they think women actually are new consumers for this, which I do think that's true. Or these brands are just like, that's the one target market we haven't reached yet. So I guess we should try. And brands like Bloom, as we mentioned, also helped with introducing creatine to women. They had their own gummy, creatine gummy. So this will be an interesting supplement to watch because creatine actually, unlike some, I know in 2025, we mentioned that a lot of the supplement trends were around supplements that worked immediately or quickly, at least like caffeine, for example, protein satiates pretty quickly.

21:24Creatine, on the other hand, you have to take for a few weeks before you see anything and you have to stick to a routine of taking it or you won't see the results. So that makes it great for like subscription, but it also means that people might quickly quit if they don't see the results that they're looking for. Right. But that's why I think a gummy is so smart for this kind of product because it's so much easier to take it consistently because you just pop it in, you chew it, it tastes decent because you want to. And I think that's why like a Groon's does so well is because I think there's a lot of people who don't want the powder, who don't want the process of putting it into a bottle and shaking it.

22:02and it doesn't mix in well and there's clumps and it tastes weird. Sometimes after a run or after working out, yeah, I want to drink something, but I don't want to have it be yucky or not mixed well. A gummy is so simple and convenient. And I think that's why a creatine gummy makes so much sense. Yeah, it does. Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention. I always have some beef with how Lemmy names their products. And I continue to have beef with how Lemmy names their products because these creatine gummies are called body toning gummies. Now, toning, if you speak to any fitness professional, they will tell you, is not a thing.

22:50That is not a real thing. Toning just means gaining muscle and losing fat. But, like, you can't – when people are like, this workout tones me. No, it doesn't. It helps you gain muscle or you do cardio and you theoretically lose fat, but like toning is not a thing. And I hate that they're like this, like taking this gummy will tone you. Um, I know creatine does help with muscle protein synthesis. So maybe you will, it'll help you like at least see a pump or like, yeah, it might help you like see muscle gain, but to claim toning, I just like it. It's so diet culture weird. it's very fed coded all of their names are so diacultury a bit brutal um yeah but this one like particularly bothered me i had to say it their their names or at least they're like sub names because it does say creatine bigger than it does say body toning but they're kind of predatory a little bit some of these oh yeah oh yeah and they're very very very much targeting women like i don't see a man taking a body toning gummy like no anyway anywho that's on creatine that's on creatine but i i don't think we should stop talking about wellness here because 2026 is going to be another big year for wellness and especially a big year for wellness at target um because target this past week announced that they're expanding their wellness assortment by 30 percent uh so they're adding thousands of new products across different protein options supplements different functional beverages including the na space different family solutions so like anara organics which is a baby formula brand skincare products and they're even including in this like performance apparel and just apparel in general around the wellness category.

24:46This is their second major wellness push. They previously announced literally a year ago, January 2025, that they were adding over 2 ,000 new items in the wellness category. And all of these are also priced affordably, at least according to Target. So thousands of them are$10 or under, for example. But they're not the only retailer doing this. Ulta's doing this. Walmart's doing this. And they're all expanding across categories to capture this growing trend. And they're also like Ulta, for example, they've had like a little wellness section. They doubled, more than doubled that. They 4X'd it this past year, including like a lot of similar products that we're seeing at Target and at Walmart as well.

25:30They're really doubling down on this space. I think it's really interesting how they're defining wellness as well. They're evolving the term to not just be like a bunch of Lemmy supplements. It's also better quality ingredients and better quality foods and supplements and apparel items and skincare. Like I think it's really admirable that wellness is being thought of a bit more broadly than just like supplements. Yeah. I think it is. It is. I'm hesitating at the word admirable because I think it benefits them to call all of these things like wellness products because I think the consumer is like, oh, wellness, like better for me.

26:14That means I'll take it even if it's not earnestly better for them. But they're not just launching new products that they are labeling wellness. They also are changing the store format a little bit. So they have cross-category displays that they're calling their wellness zones. There's going to be a wellness hub on target.com and it said in their press release that they're going to have personalized recommendations. Probably something with AI. Who knows? Yeah. I don't know what that necessarily means, but they are actually like restructuring in response, restructuring their store format in response to this wellness boom.

26:49So they're taking the wellness boom very seriously. Yeah. And look, I think the cross category nature of it and like thinking about wellness a little bit more broadly. The admirable thing and the interesting thing to me is it's incorporating a more wellness and thoughtful mindset into not just supplements, but into how you eat and why you would be just being more thoughtful about what you're putting into yourself. Not necessarily that the products themselves are quote unquote wellness. Building a better wellness picture for yourself. And I think that's the interesting part to me. Obviously, you can have the capitalist side of this that it's like they're just trying to sell you more stuff.

27:32The nice thing about all this wellness stuff, too, is a lot of it is very repeatable purchases. And it's usually more expensive and maybe better margins for them. So there's always other sides to this, of course. But I think it could be really good for Target. And I think Target has had a tough year. Store visits were down. So I think these changes will help them fight back against that and also go against some of the other retailers that are coming up in this space. like Ulta and Walmart and even Amazon is trying to take some market share back that was taken from them, from Target, from the likes of Target and Walmart.

28:16I think something else that is kind of interesting, I know this wasn't part of their wellness set, but like another way that they're evolving as a retailer is that they were experimenting, at least in Minnesota, with THC beverages in their stores there. They haven't expanded yet to my knowledge, and I don't actually know how this test is going, but that's another example of how they're trying to expand their set and hopefully bring some customers back. But Sprouts just did that as well. Sprouts is a really awesome natural retailer, and they are rolling out hemp THC beverages in Texas and Florida, which, like, honestly, so surprising that those are the states.

28:55115 Texas and Florida stores will now carry hemp THC beverages at Sprouts. That's so cool. I think it's really cool. And we posted about this on our Instagram, and a lot of the comments were about people being very excited for this. I really think this space is so interesting. Obviously, there's some issues from the federal government around the 2018 Farm Bill and closing loopholes and trying to limit this. But now that a lot of the alcohol brands are starting to get involved in this space, I wouldn't be too scared. They're pretty powerful lobbyists and have, I mean, they've distribution networks across the country.

29:34Like so much is riding on this that I'm not too worried about this going away. And especially with major retailers investing in this and putting their stake in the ground. I think this is a great sign for the industry that a retailer like Sprouts is doing this, that a retailer like Target is doing this. Because it means they're taking it seriously. And it also means that they are betting on more consumers coming to the fold and or consumers are demanding this behind the scenes and asking for can wink nowadays brez. So I think this this this world's about to really blow up. Oh, yeah. And I hope it does.

30:13I think it's such a fun category. I think the brands that are playing in this category have been doing an amazing job, despite basically all the odds being stacked against them. Like it's so hard to market a cannabis beverage and yet they are doing really well. I think what's interesting is that there was a quote from Jake Bullock, who is the founder of Can. He's awesome. And he attributed a lot of this category success to the fact that consumers are really looking for alternatives to alcoholic beverages. And these are wellness consumers. That's something that he mentioned as well. So I think what's interesting here is that positioning of, I know that I'm not saying anything.

30:51revolutionary by claiming that people are going for a hemp THC beverage instead of alcohol. But I do think it's interesting in how these brands are positioning themselves, not just as like an alternative, but specifically as a healthier alternative to alcohol and tapping into all of that wellness rhetoric by saying like, this is a wellness product because there isn't as much research on THC. We don't really know a lot actually about like, health benefits or lack thereof of THC. It's been federally regulated, so it's hard to study that stuff. Exactly. So to claim this as a wellness product, I think is really interesting.