CPG Roundup: M&A, Capital, and Manufacturing Moves

Today's digest covers a major distributor acquisition in Massachusetts, a $250M capital raise in protein snacks, a $1B divestiture from Nestlé, a manufacturing investment from Kraft Heinz, and a new product entry in the THC beverage space.

Martignetti has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Girardi Distributors, LLC, an independent Massachusetts-based distributor carrying Anheuser-Busch InBev and Constellation Brands portfolios. The deal continues a pattern of consolidation among regional distributors, where larger players absorb independents to build density and negotiating scale with suppliers. For brands seeking shelf placement in Massachusetts, the combined footprint means fewer but more powerful distribution relationships to manage. Martignetti already ranks among the larger beer, wine, and spirits distributors in New England, and the Girardi acquisition extends that position further into the A-B and Constellation network.

Medici Brands, the parent company of David Protein, has closed a $250 million funding round earmarked for manufacturing expansion and the launch of a new salty snack brand, HallPass, later this year. The raise signals strong investor confidence in the high-protein snack category, which has seen consistent consumer demand growth across both conventional and natural retail channels. Scaling manufacturing is frequently the critical bottleneck for breakout snack brands, and this capital injection is intended to address that constraint directly. A new salty snack entry under the Medici umbrella will also test whether the company can build a multi-brand portfolio beyond its protein bar flagship.

Nestlé has sold its vitamins, minerals, and supplements business, including the Nuun Hydration brand, to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners for $1 billion. The divestiture is part of a broader portfolio reshaping effort by Nestlé, which has been shedding non-core assets to concentrate on higher-priority categories. Yellow Wood has a track record of acquiring consumer brands from large multinationals and investing in focused brand development, suggesting Nuun could receive more dedicated commercial attention than it may have gotten inside a sprawling global conglomerate. The deal hands one of the hydration category's better-known electrolyte tablet brands to a new owner with room to maneuver.

Kraft Heinz is investing $30 million in its Jet-Puffed manufacturing facility in Kendallville, Indiana, the only plant that produces the company's marshmallow and caramel brands. Facility-level investment of this scale typically signals a commitment to keeping production domestic and expanding capacity to meet retail demand. For the Kendallville community and its workforce, the capital injection represents meaningful job security at a time when plant closures elsewhere in the food industry have been a concern for workers. The Jet-Puffed brand holds the leading position in the marshmallow category, and this investment positions the facility to support continued volume growth.

Herb Light has entered the THC beverage market with a 1mg THC offering styled after classic American light pilsners, cutting the dose to less than half of the 2.5 to 3mg standard common among competing low-dose products. The positioning is notable because it chases a consumer who may be cautious about cannabis effects but already comfortable with the sessionable, light-beer format. Most THC beverage brands have anchored on the functional or wellness framing; Herb Light instead borrows directly from the familiarity of mainstream beer culture. Whether a 1mg dose delivers a perceptible effect for most consumers will likely be the central question retailers ask before committing shelf space.

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Sources: BevNet · BevNet · BevNet · Food Dive · BevNet

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