• 🔵 PepsiCo: International Business Fuels Q1, Quaker Recall Drags Earnings
• 🏭 Atomo Opens Beanless Coffee Roastery
• 🏁 Liquid Death Races Off With NASCAR
• 💰 Raising Capital? BFG’s $125M Fund Should Be In Your Sights.

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Rumors began to swirl yesterday that all was not well at Chicago-based Foxtrot. According to a report from Snaxshot, multiple tips from insiders, including confirmation from sources with contacts at Dom’s Market, indicate that the trendy convenience store is preparing to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. As of this morning, the grocery chain has closed many of its stores with store phone lines either disconnected or going directly to voicemail. Here’s what we know so far:

⛔ Dom’s Market shared a notice this morning announcing the closure, which will include both of its Chicago-based stores and all 33 Foxtrot locations. Crain’s Chicago Business showed photos of signs on both Dom’s and Foxtrot stores stating they were closing.

😫 One store clerk reached for comment confirmed they were told by leadership on the phone this morning “to lock the doors” and the store would remain closed permanently.

💔 Lex Evans, founder of artisanal brownie company Lexington Bakes, said he did not received a normal PO yesterday but otherwise had been receiving them regularly as of last week.

🙄 The rumors come two months after Foxtrot CEO Liz Williams left her post to take on the chief executive role of fast-casual Mexican food chain El Pollo Loco. Williams was replaced by former Whole Foods executive Rob Twyman.

🦊 Foxtrot merged with fellow Chicagoan chain Dom’s Kitchen & Market in November to form Outfox Hospitality. At the time, the merger was seen as a potential disruptor to modern grocery. Foxtrot operates 18 locations in Texas, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.; along with its 15 stores in the Chicagoland area.

Dom’s has not yet responded to our requests for comment. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story.

In the meantime catch yourself up on Foxtrot’s corporate structure and post-merger plans.

PepsiCo highlighted moderate organic revenue growth driven primarily through the food and beverage giant’s international business during its first quarter earnings this morning. In the U.S., PepsiCo saw single digit sales growth across its Frito-Lays and North American Beverage business as volumes steadily recovered but remained below the year-ago period. Let’s dive into the numbers:

• Net Revenue was up 2% to $18.2 billion, compared to $17.8 billion in Q1 2023.
• Volumes were down year-over-year in the North America segment with Frito-Lay (-2%), Quaker Foods (-22%) and PepsiCo Beverages NA (-5%) during the quarter.
• Guidance for 2024 remained unchanged with at least 4% increase in organic revenue and total cash returns to shareholders of approximately $8.2 billion through dividends and share repurchases.

Stay tuned for a full report later today on BevNET.

This Friday, April 26, early registration pricing expires for BevNET Live Summer 2024, taking place on June 12 + 13 in New York City. 

BevNET Live in NYC is your chance to tap into a vast network of beverage entrepreneurs, investors, retailers, suppliers, service providers, and industry experts. For two days, you’ll be able to gain actionable insights, network with fellow professionals, and sample innovative beverage products. Plus, hear from executives at Icelandic Glacial, Lemon Perfect, Boisson, Sèchey, Diageo Ventures, Lowes Foods and more. They’ll cover topics like succeeding in unique retail environments, strategies for raises and exits, and the ways that emerging brands can think about growth and working with larger strategic entities.

Register before the weekend and save $100.

Food technology startup Atomo waited until Earth Day yesterday to unveil its new 33,500 sq. ft. facility in downtown Seattle. The sustainability-focused company claims the production center will be able to produce 90 million cups of its beanless coffee per year.

🔄 Atomo debuted in 2019 as a RTD company positioned around its “reverse engineered” coffee alternative made from upcycled plant ingredients. It has since pivoted to a ground espresso blend that it launched at New York City cafe chain Gumption Coffee last fall.

☕ The news comes less than two weeks after announcing the alt coffee grounds will be in all 58 Bluestone Lane cafes starting in August. It intends to move into more independent coffee chains in Seattle, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Austin later this year.

🤑 The company has been shaking up the coffee alternative category recently after landing a “multi-million dollar” deal with multinational Japanese beverage company Suntory in December. Atomo had previously raised $40 million in June 2022.

Canned water and iced tea maker Liquid Death is the latest beverage brand to hit the race track via a new partnership with NASCAR. The multi-year agreement establishes the brand as the “Official Iced Tea of NASCAR” and will feature social and digital content, on-site experiences and activations. 

🥤 The partnership kicked off on April 21 in Talladega with an interactive “Thirst Hearse” stocked with samples of select iced tea flavors. 

🫖 Liquid Death Iced Tea, launched in 2023, is available in 19.2 oz. cans in Grim Leafer, Green Guillotine, Slaughter Berry, Rest in Peach and Dead Billionaire (a.k.a. Armless Palmer) varieties. 

💰 The new partnership comes on the heels of a $67 million funding round closed in March that put the company at a valuation of $1.4 billion. The funding round featured investment from several distributors.

Tom Spier and Dayton Miller, managing partners of BFG Partners, a venture capital firm with investments in several high-profile and fast-growing brands, including Olipop and Graza, dive deep into investment strategy, their evaluation of fast-growing categories, how they assess gross margin in the near- and long-term lifecycle of a brand and what a polished pitch says about a founder.

Listen to the latest episode here.