On its mission to create “healthy minds through healthy habits,” MUD\WTR is turning its attention to protein as it gathers strength in retail.
The powdered beverage brand known for its caffeine-alternative and wellness products launched a ready-to-mix protein shake today, building on its growing footprint in stores like Target to establish itself as a full-service wellness company.
Nourish is MUD\WTR’s answer to the high demand for protein playing out across CPG, but also touts itself as “the world’s first mental wellness protein blend.” Starting online, the protein powder comes in 22.8 oz pouches in Chocolate and Vanilla flavors. The drink mix pairs 25 grams of organic brown rice and pea protein with probiotics, vitamin D and functional ingredients like bacopa, ashwagandha, lion’s mane and cordyceps.
Founded in 2018, MUD\WTR was an early adopter of functional mushrooms using the adaptogenic ingredients in its first product, a powdered coffee alternative made with cacao. The brand followed that with varieties like Matcha, caffeine-free Turmeric and a Rooibos tea-based nighttime product.
“When I launched the company, it was positioned really as an alternative to the overconsumption of caffeine,” said founder and CEO Shane Heath. “Our vision as a company is to build this platform for mental wellness. I feel like mental well-being is the cause of our generation.”
The new protein powder is MUD\WTR’s first shake product and speaks to the brand moving deeper into the retail supplement category with a “full spectrum” approach to addressing mental wellness, Heath said.
“Humans eat a lot of food, but we suck at it,” Heath said. “Ninety percent of adults don’t get enough fiber, and most don’t hit their protein goals.”
While the brand established itself as a DTC, subscription-based powdered drink maker, it has been platforming with different day-occasions and channels, including foodservice and retail. MUD\WTR opened a Santa Monica, Calif. café/workspace concept, :gather, in December 2023. The brick-and-mortar location has opened MUD\WTR to new consumers, become a testing ground for product innovation, content creation and serves as a wellness venue for its community-focused mission.
At the same time, MUD\WTR has enlarged its presence in brick-and-mortar retail, including with Target last year. While Target currently only offers Cacao and Matcha, MUD\WTR is expecting to grow its assortment as it expands to over 1,000 stores. The brand is also available in Fresh Thyme, Fred Meyer, Ralph’s, King Soopers, Plum Markets, Jimbos and many others.
While DTC has been a prime channel for powdered beverages and supplements, the shift to retail can be difficult when there is no established set to slot into. Bloom successfully made the jump, finding a home with Target as one of its first partners and expanding from there. AG1 has also shifted from its roots in ecommerce to partnerships with Costco and Walmart.
Eager to easily fit within existing coffee retail sets, Heath said the product packaging was revamped from cylindrical tins (as sold online) into pouches.
The shift to pouches in late 2023 was also intended to draw in retail consumers through “appetite appeal” by showing an image of the prepared beverages, “so people walking by will know what it looks like at a glance,” Heath said.
The brand will eventually implement some of the aesthetic changes to its ecommerce SKUs as well. MUD\WTR has begun to do development on RTDs but is at least 18 months away from a move into that category, Heath said.
For now, the company is focused on launching a Pumpkin Spice SKU this fall, potentially using the :gather café as a model for a pop-up concept in other cities and putting resources behind its retail expansion.
“I foresee a ton of retail growth over the next three years to the point where it will start to yield similar revenue results as our ecommerce business,” he said.