From Digestive Health to Chickens: What Gets Funded Now

Wonderbelly, Ultra, NOBULL, and a chicken company, show the new bar for capital.For the last 18 months, the narrative in consumer has been simple:strategics only care about $1B+ platforms.Sub-$100M brands? Nice businesses. Not needle-movers.This week broke that narrative.A digestive startup exited for nine figures at ~$25M revenue.A supplement brand raised on a format shift, not a new ingredient.A “CrossFit shoe company” re-emerged as a $1B wellness platform.And a chicken feed company is quietly building one of the stickiest pet businesses in America.

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Fan Bi
February 09, 2026

Wonderbelly, The $25M Brand That P&G Had to Buy

Procter & Gamble just acquired Wonderbelly for a reported nine-figure outcome, likely 4–5x revenue, on a business doing ~$20M–30M.

That matters.

Wonderbelly wasn’t a $1B platform. It was a precision bet.

The barbell strategy:

  • Legacy end: Rolaids (acquired 2024)

  • Premium end: Wonderbelly (clean, modern, trust-native)

Why it cleared the bar:

  • Ingredient-led differentiation (“free-from” was real, not marketing)

  • Next-gen consumer relevance (25–40 demo treats medicine as wellness)

  • Velocity + near profitability (Target → CVS → Walmart without cash burn)

Digestive health is a $2.5B+ U.S. category.
P&G didn’t buy Wonderbelly for scale, they bought it to future-proof the aisle.

Signal: Sub-$100M exits are back if you own the modern end of a big legacy category.

Ultra, The Oral Pouch Might Be the Next Pill

Ultra just raised $11M Series A led by Left Lane Capital.

On paper, it looks like “another pouch brand.”
In reality, it’s a format shift.

Think:

  • ZYN → proved pouches create high-frequency, discreet rituals

  • Neuro Gum → normalized “focus without stigma”

Ultra combines both:

  • ZYN-style pouch mechanics

  • Clean nootropics (paraxanthine, L-theanine, Alpha-GPC)

  • No nicotine, no crash, no liquid friction

The stat that matters:

  • 1 million cans sold in first 6 months

That’s rare CPG velocity.

Ultra isn’t betting on a new ingredient.
They’re betting that delivery format beats formulation.

Signal: Investors are underwriting habit + convenience, not another pill with better copy.

NOBULL, How a Footwear Brand Becomes a $1B Wellness Platform

NOBULL just raised $50M at a $1B valuation, a full comeback from its 2023 “CrossFit plateau.”

This wasn’t organic drift. It was deliberate control.

Enter Mike Repole and Tom Brady.

The playbook:

  • Absorb TB12 + Brady Brand → instant high-margin consumables

  • Exit the CrossFit cage → let sponsorship lapse, go mainstream

  • Pivot from apparel to counter space → supplements, electrolytes, protein

The outcome:

  • Valuation doubled (~$500M → $1B)

  • Fresh capital earmarked for global nutrition rollout

  • Now competing in the $200B+ wellness market, not shoes

Signal: Capital flows when a brand proves it can expand its category, not just defend its niche.

🎙 The Podcast: Are Chickens the Next Cats?

In my conversation with Sean Warner of Grubbly Farms, one stat reframed everything:

Pet chickens are now the 3rd most popular pet in America.

Behind dogs and cats. Ahead of everything else.

Why Grubbly works:

  • Category arbitrage: Backyard chicken owners pay 2–3× for clean protein

  • Supply chain leverage: Freight + insect protein costs collapsing

  • Retention: 55% 12-month subscriber retention vs ~31% industry norm

  • Education moat: Support + expertise, not just feed

Scale hiding in plain sight:

  • ~17M households today

  • ~30M projected in 5 years

  • ~40M households have cats (for context)

Sean isn’t chasing $100M revenue to be relevant.
He’s building the default brand in an underestimated category.

Signal: Some of the most fundable businesses live where investor assumptions are outdated.

🎧 Watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify.

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Deal Alert: Off-market Amazon-first consumer platform exploring strategic options. 4-brand portfolio with ~$16M in revenue and ~$1.7M of post-market contribution margin, across apparel, health & wellness, specialty consumables, and recreational categories.

Highlights:
Amazon-native platform with long operating history and strong review moats
Contribution-positive brands at the asset level (post COGS + ads)
Anchor brand with category-leading hero SKU and #1 BSR Diversified revenue across multiple established brands
Lean team, disciplined operations, and clean data

The business has navigated a tougher e-commerce environment (higher ad costs, category competition) and price is being evaluated with that in-mind.

Potential fits:
Experienced FBA operators
Consumer platforms looking for cash-generating brands
Strategics (manufacturers, distributors, category owners)
Buyers seeking scale + infrastructure rather than early-stage risk.

Email: fan [at] thehedgehogcompany.com

That’s it for this week.
If you liked this issue, forward to a friend who obsesses over brand strategy, capital flows, or exit timing.

In the Money – following the flow of capital in consumer

P.S. We love talking to brands interested in exiting in the next 3-18 months. If you know of any brands interested in exiting, or any firms trying to help port cos manage turnarounds, we'd love to share a POV.

fan [at] thehedgehogcompany.com