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Rowdy Mermaid Joins Next, Mush Drops Protein Oats, and Sourmilk’s Grassroots Strategy

Rowdy Mermaid Joins Next, Mush Drops Protein Oats, and Sourmilk’s Grassroots Strategy

The functional food & bev space is on a tear.

Three brands. Three totally different plays. One thing in common: real traction in better-for-you CPG.

→ Rowdy Mermaid partners with Next to scale functional beverage→ Mush leans into high-protein, clean-label convenience→ Sourmilk builds a community-first probiotic yogurt brand by hand

Let’s break it down.

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Major Moves in Food & Beverage

Rowdy Mermaid Joins Next in NaturalThe functional beverage space continues to heat up. This week, Next in Natural announced its latest partnership: Rowdy Mermaid, a clean-label brand known for heart-led kombucha and functional drinks.

Led by founders Jamba and Erin, Rowdy built a brand that blends taste, science, and mission. With backing from KarpReilly and Luke Comer, they’ll now have the full weight of the Next platform behind them to scale thoughtfully.

Why it matters:

  • Big win for purpose-driven CPG
  • Strong operator/investor alignment
  • Functional beverage momentum shows no signs of slowing
  • Proof that product with a mission still wins

Mush Launches Protein Overnight OatsMush, known for its chilled oats, just dropped a new Protein Overnight Oats line — 15g of protein per cup and flavors like PB&J, Cookies & Cream, and Chocolate Brownie.

Made with oat milk, dates, almond butter, and zero added sugar, these ready-to-eat cups hit the sweet spot between indulgence and nutrition.

Why it matters:

  • Functional food meets grab-and-go convenience
  • Clean-label, plant-based, protein-forward
  • Mush is leaning into wellness while delivering craveable taste

Founder Spotlight: Kiki & Elan w/ Sourmilk

  • What made you want to leave your jobs and launch this brand - what sparked the shift?We met back in undergrad at Stanford, where we bonded over food, nutrition, and the impact of food systems on health. For me (Elan), it got really personal when I started dealing with gut health issues. I dove deep into the microbiome and realized how central it is to everything — mood, energy, digestion. I was already eating yogurt every day, but when I looked closer, I saw most store-bought yogurts didn’t actually deliver the probiotics I needed. So I started making my own. Over time, Kiki and I both realized there was this huge white space in the market for a yogurt truly designed for gut health. That’s when we decided to leave our jobs — I was a product manager in tech, Kiki was in private equity — and go all-in to create something we believed could genuinely help people.
  • You recently went through a trademark/name change; why go bold with the new name? How did you navigate that?Yeah, we were originally called Benny, which was a nod to the Lebanese root word for yogurt. But a couple of months ago, we got a cease-and-desist from another Benny in the energy drink space. We could have fought it legally, but honestly, we decided to pivot before we were too deep — especially before pre-ordering packaging, which would have been a costly mistake. We saw it as an opportunity to think bigger and be more strategic. We didn’t just want another cute name; we wanted a name that could spark curiosity and do some heavy lifting on its own. Sourmilk stood out because it’s bold, loud, and instantly tells you what we’re about: highly fermented, probiotic-packed yogurt. It opens the door for both education and attention, which is exactly what we needed.
  • You launched in person a weekend ago - are you planning to go DTC next, or focus on retail expansion?Right now, we’re super focused on New York and building a strong local community. We’ve been doing pop-ups, local drop-offs — literally city biking yogurt deliveries ourselves! DTC is definitely in the mix, but shipping refrigerated products is expensive, so it’s not going to be our main channel right away. Our plan is to create a virtual line out the door — getting loyal customers here in NYC first — so that when we hit retail shelves, we already have the demand to keep product moving and avoid the pitfalls of slow sell-through. Once we feel confident, we’ll start rolling into retail and possibly expand DTC for nationwide orders.
  • Why focus on grassroots marketing and community-building early on, and how has that shaped your growth?We believe grassroots marketing is essential, especially for a perishable, everyday product like yogurt. There’s only so much shelf space, and you have to move fast to compete with brands like Chobani or Siggi’s. That’s why we’ve been documenting everything on social — sharing the behind-the-scenes, the story, the process. We want people to feel connected to us and the brand before they even taste the product. Building a community early ensures that when we launch into retail, we’re not starting from scratch; we already have people eager and ready to buy.
  • Looking ahead, what does success look like for you and the brand over the next year?In the next year, we want Sourmilk to be widely accessible across New York City — whether that’s through retail shelves or local delivery, we want anyone who’s curious to be able to get their hands on it quickly. We’re focused on building strong infrastructure here before expanding elsewhere. Longer-term, we’re eyeing markets like California because of our roots there, but for now, it’s all about building a strong, loyal base here and making sure we deliver a product people genuinely love and feel good about.

Brands & Tech to Watch

Jozo – Barrel-aged tamari soy sauce with deep umami flavor → getjozo.com

Mailmend – Email tool to improve inbox placement and open rates → mailmend.io

That’s it for this week!

If you’ve got a launch, story, or trend you want covered, just hit reply. Always excited to spotlight what’s next.

See you next week!

— Zach

P.S. If you found value in this, consider sharing it with a friend or colleague who's interested in brand building, consumer trends, or the future of retail. And as always, hit reply with any thoughts — I read every message.