Welcome back to another episode of The Curious Consumer! This week we dive into Danone’s $1.15B acquisition of Huel—and what it says about the future of meal replacement, GLP-1 consumers, and food as pure function.

We also cover Alix Earle’s skincare launch (Reale Actives), Cardi B’s surprisingly well-aligned haircare line, Olaplex’s acquisition by Henkel after losing 95% of its market cap, the rise of hard sodas, and Lucille—a long-overdue dignity-first nutrition brand for older adults. Let’s get into it!

We recently wrote a report with data from our friends at Faire highlighting the dichotomy of “clean” vs. science-forward positioning for beauty and wellness brands. Check it out here.

https://www.expresscheckout.co/p/the-state-of-beauty-and-wellnessThe Breakdown

00:00 Intro03:13 Danone bets on Huel18:07 Alix Earle launches a brand24:22 Cardi B's new haircare brand26:07 Olaplex gets acquired27:29 The "hard soda" trend32:49 The future of senior nutrition35:44 Wrap-up

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