Five months after launch, FINNSUL has posted its fastest sell-through on record: the Tana Mongeau x FINNSUL Rocket Pop powdered drink mix cleared 25% of inventory within 60 minutes of going live on FINNSUL.com, driven by a waitlist of more than 10,000 consumers built over just two days of social teasing. The brand was co-founded by Maureen Kelly — founder and CEO of tarte cosmetics — alongside her sons, Finn and Sully McDonough, who also serve as co-founders.
The Formula
Rocket Pop is a zero-sugar, 10-calorie powdered drink mix positioned at the intersection of cognitive support, energy, and hydration — a format gaining share in the better-for-you beverage segment as consumers move away from high-sugar RTD energy drinks. The finished formulation centers on Cognizin® citicoline, a patented, clinically studied form of citicoline shown in peer-reviewed trials to support attention and mental energy, paired with L-theanine, 150 mg of natural caffeine, B vitamins, and magnesium. The flavor — cherry, lime, and blue raspberry — references the classic red-white-and-blue freezer pop, a nostalgic equity play that translated directly into the brand's Americana-inspired creator campaign. The inclusion of Cognizin, a branded ingredient with an established clinical dossier and broad GRAS-equivalent acceptance, lends the product a level of formulation credibility uncommon in social-first challenger brands at this stage of development.
Market Context
The powdered hydration and functional energy mix category has been one of the fastest-growing segments in the broader supplement and functional beverage space, with brands like Liquid I.V., LMNT, and Celsius establishing consumer habits around convenient, on-the-go format delivery. FINNSUL's entry targets a younger cohort — specifically overstimulated Gen Z consumers — who have shown preference for products that combine efficacy with expressive branding and social-native marketing over clinical positioning alone. Creator-led commerce has become a meaningful go-to-market strategy in functional CPG, particularly for brands launching direct-to-consumer before pursuing retail distribution. The 10,000-person pre-launch waitlist and 60-minute sell-through rate, while early-stage metrics, suggest FINNSUL has generated the kind of qualified demand that DTC wellness brands typically take considerably longer to build.
What's Next
"Our generation expects products to work, but we also expect creativity, personality and brands that move at the speed of culture," said co-founders Sully and Finn McDonough in a statement. "To see this response only five months after launch showed us that people are ready for something different." For operators and buyers watching the functional beverage and supplement powder segment, FINNSUL's velocity raises relevant questions about retail readiness and channel expansion. The brand has not announced wholesale or foodservice distribution, but the DTC traction — combined with the name recognition Maureen Kelly carries from building a billion-dollar beauty brand — positions FINNSUL as a credible candidate for specialty natural retail or regional grocery placement in the near term. Whether Cognizin citicoline and L-theanine can sustain a structure-function claim narrative as the brand scales, and how the formula holds up to evolving label-claim scrutiny, will be key formulation and regulatory considerations as FINNSUL moves beyond its launch phase.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
