The New Consumer

Why everyone’s launching a beverage brand: newconsumer.com/2026/05/why-ev… It’s easy to enter, hard to win, and the prize is huge. Sounds like Powerball, but it’s the $250+ billion US beverage market.

The Claude Code / OpenClaw prosumer effect: Claude has a fraction of ChatGPT’s paid users, but they're spending ~3x more on a per-user basis. In March, the average paid Anthropic customer spent $63 — real money! — vs. $22 for paid OpenAI customers, according to consumer card transaction data from @ConsumerEdge. The gap in per-user spending widened last year as Claude Code and OpenClaw drove a prosumer wave, accelerating user and spending growth for Anthropic. Meanwhile, OpenAI is moving in the opposite direction w/ a cheaper ChatGPT plan and ads. More at @newconsumer: newconsumer.com/2026/05/claude…

Claude is getting consumers to spend real money on AI: newconsumer.com/2026/05/claude… ChatGPT and Claude look like the same product. They’re becoming very different businesses.

It’s actually pretty easy to make a list of brands generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue — even more than a billion — in DTC e-commerce sales. @wearehims reported $2.2 b in US revenue last year, up 53%. @onequince said its total revenue passed $1 b last year. @hungryroot announced $700 mm. Here’s how a broader set of brands performed last year. This is each brand’s estimated online sales for 2025, as provided by @ConsumerEdge, which tracks US consumer credit and debit card spending. I’ve indexed Quince to 100, so you can get a relative sense of how the following brands performed last year. The truth is more complex and nuanced than “DTC brands didn’t work.”

DTC isn’t dead — it’s just different now: newconsumer.com/2026/04/dtc-is… I wrote about what’s actually working, what didn’t happen, and why distribution wins championships.

DTC isn’t dead: newconsumer.com/2026/04/dtc-is… It’s just different now.

Grüns built a successful omnichannel distribution network on the way to its acquisition by @Unilever for a reported $1.2 billion, with more than 7,000 retail doors in addition to Amazon. But its DTC site has also grown rapidly, and is about to overtake the OG daily greens brand, @drink_AG1, according to Consumer Edge card spending data. "Why @grunsdaily won" at @newconsumer: newconsumer.com/2026/04/the-ne…

On @Whatnot, the live shopping platform, snacks and candy sales have grown ~30% m/m since last July, while transactions grew 2.5x. @garyvee sold out 1,055 units of “Heat Wave” gummies in minutes. More in the Live Shopping Update, presented by Whatnot: newconsumer.com/2026/04/the-ne…

The next 40 million GLP-1 users: newconsumer.com/2026/04/the-ne… How they’re different and what it means for food businesses. Also: Why Grüns won. @grunsdaily

I think this is a good example of why "trends" are so confusing As Dan points out, there is no significant change in broad consumer behavior around smoking. But you could argue that smoking has restored some of its *cachet* because of its return to a few high status contexts

Is smoking really back? Sorry to disappoint… (No.) newconsumer.com/2026/03/is-smo…

With Opening Day on deck, now's a great time to read my piece on @Obvious_Shirts, your favorite sports fan's favorite t-shirt company. PCA has been extended by the @Cubs, so paywall lifted! Enjoy: newconsumer.com/2025/10/obviou…

We asked 3,000 consumers how they feel about adding protein to 18 food and beverage products, from snack bars to beer — where it feels most natural, and which they'd be most interested in trying: newconsumer.com/2026/03/consum… From @newconsumer and Coefficient Capital:

A decade ago, a Sweetgreen Kale Caesar cost $9. Today it’s $14. The problem is that it still looks and tastes like a $9 salad. $SG isn’t as good as it was, or as it could be. I wrote about why — and whether years of self-inflicted mediocrity are fixable: newconsumer.com/2026/02/has-sw…

Has Sweetgreen hit bottom? newconsumer.com/2026/02/has-sw… Wraps to the rescue, after years of drifting?

After passing $100mm in sales last year — @david_protein's first full year in the market — CEO @PeterRahal is expanding the aperture. The company plans to add more brands to the portfolio under an umbrella called Medici. Details at @newconsumer: newconsumer.com/2026/02/david-…

I’m excited to announce the Live Shopping Update, a collaboration with @Whatnot, the largest live shopping platform in North America and Europe. Over the next several months, Whatnot will contribute new data to @newconsumer about what’s working in the fast-growing live commerce market. Live shopping is finally getting big in the West around a decade after taking off in China. Whatnot estimates that the market reached around $22 billion in North America and Europe last year. It's being driven by small business owners who are learning how to be creator hosts, selling products and also building communities. More in today's post: newconsumer.com/2026/01/introd…

Introducing Consumer Trends 2026: newconsumer.com/trends/consume… Despite last year’s chaos, the American consumer never stopped spending, and many say they’re trading up. Our latest collab with Coefficient Capital. 122 slides, free to download:

Ozempic users are going crazy for deli meat, fries, and handbags: newconsumer.com/2025/11/ozempi… GLP-1s are life-changing drugs, transforming not only waistlines but also identity and indulgence.

I wrote about @obvious_shirts, your favorite sports fan's favorite shirt company. It's a great case study in how to build a modern content + commerce + community business without spending on ads. It also has an amazing founding story, featuring former @Cubs great @JArrieta34: