Milly Pepper Founders + Second Nature's $175M Acquisition, Smucker's 12% Pop & Why Layers Win

This week we sit down with Roy and Michael, co-founders of Milly Pepper, the brand turning a common spice into a premium experience through direct sourcing, freshness, and storytelling. Then we break down the biggest CPG news of the week — including Second Nature Brands quietly building one of the largest snack platforms in America while nobody's watching. INTERVIEW: Milly Pepper Co-Founders 00:00 Introduction to Milly Pepper and Founders' Background 02:48 The Journey of Fresh Pepper: From Farm to Table 06:03 The Importance of Branding and Consumer Education 08:56 Exploring the Culinary Uses of Milly Pepper 12:00 Distribution Strategy: DTC and Retail Partnerships 14:48 The Vision for Milly Pepper's Future 17:54 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Milly Pepper WEEKLY BREAKDOWN: → Second Nature Brands acquires Tillamook Country Smoker — $175M+ in sales, two manufacturing facilities. Fourth acquisition since 2022 after Voortman ($305M), Sahale ($34M), and Brownie Brittle. The quiet snack empire nobody's covering. → Smucker Q4 stock jumps 12% — net sales up 6%, EPS up 20% beating estimates. Three weeks after hiring Goldman Sachs with Elliott pushing. The Hostess review continues but now from a position of strength. Time is leverage in M&A. → Remedy lands Series A from L Catterton — founded March 2024, expects $50M this year. Dr. Muneeb Shah's social media audience as organic customer acquisition. Norwest and Sonoma Brands also participating. → Stars + Honey raises $24M from VMG Partners — 300% growth in 2025, $50M trajectory, building 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. VMG's second protein-forward investment in a month after Brami's $33M. → AG1 launches AG1 Pro — creatine-infused greens. Three versions of the daily habit under Kat Cole: Original, Omega-3, and Pro. Single-product company becoming a daily wellness platform. → Mammoth Brands wants more acquisitions after $1B+ Coterie deal — nine active buyers now competing for personal care and wellness brands. → Suja Q1: $107M, up 22.5%, 50% gross margins, $7.7M net income. The IPO thesis working quarter by quarter. → PerfectTed reportedly on pace for $100M — UK matcha brand approaching nine figures. → Organic non-alc wine up 41% — Good Twin owning 35% dollar share. → Tom Brady and Gopuff launch Good Nut coconut water — organic, no added sugar, Gopuff exclusive. → Barebells launches low-sugar gummy candy for the convenience channel. → SVEDKA canned vodka water in clear cans — Sazerac keeps extending acquired brands. → Smash Kitchen adds pasta sauce at Walmart — approaching $100M across five categories in under two years. → Lavazza bringing espresso tablets to the U.S. — 100% coffee, zero additives, the anti-K-Cup. → Bawi raises $6M for sparkling agua fresca with Sysco and Kraft Heinz CCO. → Rem3dy Health raises $18M+ at $110M valuation for 3D-printed personalized gummy supplements. → Animal Capital closes Fund III at $33M. → FDA approves first new sunscreen ingredient since the 1990s — every sun care brand is now reformulating. → Fizzen at 1,900 Target stores — VO/D's venture studio model keeps producing celebrity launches at scale. → Distribution: Cadootz nationwide at Target, Day Out at 2,000 Target stores, Vacation at Sephora June 20th, Throne at CVS, SMACKIN' at Kroger, Cotto at Fairway Market NYC. The thesis this week is layers. Second Nature adding meat snacks to cookies and trail mix. AG1 adding creatine to greens. Smash Kitchen adding pasta sauce to condiments. Milly Pepper adding premium storytelling to a commodity spice. Each layer compounds the one before it. The brands adding layers fastest are pulling ahead. Build your layer. Then add the next one. The compounding never stops. 🥣 Subscribe to The Deeter Digest: https://deetseatsnyc.substack.com/ 🎙️ Unpackaged Goods podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6moZEYj... 📸 @deetseatsnyc on Instagram/TikTok 🥒 Pickle Advisors: pickleadvisors.com #CPG #ConsumerGoods #MillyPepper #Spices #DirectSourcing #SecondNatureBrands #Tillamook #Smucker #Remedy #LCatterton #StarsAndHoney #VMGPartners #AG1 #AG1Pro #Creatine #MammothBrands #SujaLife #SmashKitchen #Barebells #SVEDKA #Lavazza #Target #Sephora #Kroger #UnpackagedGoods #DeeterDigest #Layers #BuildAccordingly