Unilever just acquired Grüns — the gummy vitamin brand that landed Costco and Ulta last week. Smackin' Sunflower Seeds has now sold 25 million bags since launching from a college dorm. And Chomps is entering the chicken game.
Here's what brand leaders shared on LinkedIn this week.
Brand Voice tracks what 8 and 9 figure Shopify brand leaders are sharing on LinkedIn each week. We started this because our feed was full of SaaS and agencies - we wanted to see more from the brands themselves.
This week: 524 posts from 477 people across 24,200 profiles tracked.
Full data set linked at the bottom. If this was forwarded to you, subscribe at dtcmvp.beehiiv.com
Brand Voice is powered by dtcmvp.com, where established brand leaders are compensated to give product feedback to vetted Shopify tech startups. If you’re interested in applying to join as a brand or a partner, just reply to this email or apply here.
We also want to give a quick shoutout to our friends at the Hot Takes Big Stakes podcast, give it a watch!
Revenue & Milestones
Smackin' Sunflower Seeds has sold over 25 million bags — a brand that started cooking seeds in a college dorm six years ago. → post
Portland Leather is now ranked #330 out of 391,000 active TikTok Shops, and they've only been on the platform a short time. → post
Happy Dad is trending upward — Beer Business Daily reported the hard seltzer brand is up. → post
Nudestix has generated over 45.5 million in reach for their Ulta Beauty retail partnership year to date. → post
Baseball Lifestyle 101 opened their second Texas store at Grapevine Mills. → post
Distribution
Brutus Broth landed at Raley's chain-wide with their beef and chicken broths. → post
AKT London launched in Sephora. → post
Untamed launched into the Tesco pet category. → post
Esprizio (from the GT's Living Foods founder) was selected for the Southwest Grocery Run in Salt Lake City. → post
Redwood Outdoors is opening a showroom on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. → post
Strategic Moves
Unilever acquired Grüns — weeks after the brand hit Costco and 1,400 Ulta doors. Founder Chad Janis shared the news, calling it a dream three years in the making. → post
Chomps launched Chicken Sticks on their DTC site — a move into America's most consumed protein and a launch years in the making. → post
Caraway expanded beyond cookware with a new trash and recycling collection — signaling the brand's push into the full home category. → post
On tapped Zendaya and director Spike Jonze for a campaign — a major creative swing from the Swiss running brand. → post
Ergobaby unveiled a full rebrand — positioning it as more than just a carrier company. → post
Solgaard brought on Rob Cooper as President. → post
Thread has been rethinking what the brand stands for long-term — every discussion came back to connection. → post
Recognition
Therabody was named one of Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies for 2026. → post
Crocs has two campaigns as finalists for this year's Shorty Awards. → post
Murphy Door CEO Jeremy Barker was named one of Utah Business Magazine's 2026 CEOs of the Year. → post
Lalo's Long Sleeve Smock Bib won the Parents Best For Baby award. → post
686 picked up three wins including Short Video of the Year and Women's Footage of the Year. → post
Worth a click
Midday Squares found out a grocery store put them on a highway billboard off the I-87 in New York — without telling them. → post
Glow Recipe exhibited at the American Academy of Dermatology conference for the first time. → post
Beyond Retro contributed fabric for a Vivienne Westwood bag made in their Beyond Remade workshop. → post
Once Upon a Farm is launching organic, grass-fed, refrigerated meat pouches. → post
Den (prefab modern cabin brand) says they know they've landed on something real — because they're getting counterfeited. → post
want to see the rest? here’s the link
