Weekly Digest #30

23.02.2026

Welcome to The Fork’s Lens

Every month, we serve up a quick, flavourful dose of what’s cooking at the intersection of food, drink, and entrepreneurship.

Expect:

🍴 Sharp founder insights

📊 Bite-sized industry trends

🛠 Tools & tips to level up

🔥 Events & openings worth your time

For those of you building food brands, launching products, or just hungry for what’s next – this one’s for you.

Money, Microbiomes & Morsels

📨 Monthly #30: Money, Microbiomes & Morsels

🍴 What’s Up?

We have some exciting news… After more than 4 months of sharing weekly F&B updates with our curious followers, we are moving to become a monthly newsletter to share more curated news and insights about what’s moving the food industry. Stay tuned for opinion columns, collabs, and more visually exciting news. Next issue will circulate on 23 March.

Now let’s dive in…!

Big Tech is muscling into grocery economics, collectible-driven marketing is quietly becoming QSR’s most powerful growth lever, and “healthy ageing” is no longer a pharma conversation – it’s entering the FMCG aisle.

🌎 Global Spotlight

• Amazon overtakes Walmart as largest company by revenue
  Amazon is now the world’s largest company by revenue, with $716.9b in 2025to Walmart’s $713.2b. This marks a big moment for the retail industry, the importance of a technology-first approach that may have repercussions into other areas such as private label and logistics.

• McDonald’s to release new pokemon Happy Meal with Pokemon Cards
  The concept of collectibles in the marketing world is a lucrative opportunity, and QSR and CPG businesses are primed to explode in this territory. One of the best strengths of McDonald’s since many years has been attracting its customers through successful collabs, and it continues to lead the way.

• Brewdog is restructuring for potential sale
  BrewDog, the once-dominant Scottish craft brewer, has hired AlixPartners to restructure the business and expedite a sale. The beverage company posted a loss of £35M in 2025. BrewDog raised £75M via a crowdfunding campaign so around 220,000 individual investors will likely lose their shirts. (Linkedin)

• Epetōme closed multi-million £ funding doubling down on supplements
  Founded in 2023 by English, better known online as EmTheNutritionist, and Jimmy Hill, Epetōme offers products for digestive improvements as well as broader issues linked to gut health, such as eczema and rosacea. (Cosmetics Business)

• Redrice Ventures secured commitment for Fund II
  The London-based venture firm secured a £45M commitment from British Business Bank for Fund II. Redrice plans on raising a total of £75M for its next fund. Previous investments include Castore, Luna Daily, Spacegoods, Mother Root, and Skin Rocks. (UKTN)

• Nestlé launched a nutritional drink mix line for healthy aging
  Nestlé Vital, Nestle’s new brand, offers a Morning Routine which supports focus, energy, and strength, as well as an Evening Routine that supports Sleep, Muscle Mass, and Healthy Skin. It is extremely bullish on midlife and senior nutrition. (Nestle Global)

• David is gearing up to expand its brand
  After crossing $100M in sales in 2025, David plans to add more products and brands to the portfolio as soon as this year, under an umbrella brand called Medici. The idea is to let David stay in its lane, while using other brands to tackle new opportunities. (The New Consumer)

• Spoon Cereals secures new investment
  Spoon Cereals raised over £1 million to open its first in-house production facility, gaining control over quality and supply. The investment will also support job creation, product innovation, and business growth. (Linkedin)

💭 The Fork and The Flame

Margins are math. Appetite is psychology.

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About Forks & Founders
Forks & Founders is an F&B consultancy and global sourcing partner supporting the UK food industry. Alongside strategic and technical support for ambitious food businesses, we support retailers, CPG companies, and manufacturers with a trusted international network of leading ingredient suppliers and private label producers. From sourcing better-for-you ingredients to co-manufacturing finished products, we help bring innovative, high quality food to market with greater speed, consistency, and efficiency.