Signal trace · beverage

Rootberry

Every press hit, ad, BSR data point, Instagram metric, and Claude thesis the pipeline used to score Rootberry. Click any signal to inspect the source.

watchlast scored 8/24/2026
← Pipeline

At a glance

Founded
2021
HQ
St. Louis, MO
Total raised
$3.5M
Last round
Seed · Jun 2025
Founders
Marc Connor · Founder & President
Retailers
Sprouts Farmers MarketFresh Thyme MarketHy-VeeCentral Market
Instagram
@rootberry

Rhymes with

Sweet Earth Foods

Plant-based frozen bowls with regional grocery distribution scaling nationally — same shelf, same freight math, same buyer conversations.

Jeff's verdict

Your vote biases future scoring. Hot = +8. Pass = -15.

Composite score
45/100
+3 vs prior run
Score label
Research
76% confidence
Signals captured
18
7 sources live
Scoring runs
2
since 8/10/2026

Rubric breakdown

Traction & velocity
3/25
Team pedigree
10/20
Authenticity / fit
6/20
Capital signal (pre-raise)
11/15
Category timing
12/12
Defensibility
3/8
Scoring rationale
WATCH. Rootberry is a St. Louis-based plant-based frozen meals brand (not a beverage, despite the category tag) founded by Marc Connor that raised $3.5M Seed on 2025-06-13 and secured Otter & Co. backing for nationwide expansion per the St. Louis Business Journal (Sep 9, 2025). Retail traction is real — nationwide launch at Sprouts (Nosh, Aug 2026) plus Fresh Thyme, Hy-Vee, and Central Market per LinkedIn — but social velocity is weak (IG 870 followers, TikTok dark) and the category is frozen meals, not F&B beverage as Jeff targets. At a $3.5M Seed already closed with an institutional lead, the pre-Series A window is narrowing but not shut.
Traction: 2 press · 0 ads · BSR Δ28% · TikTok 0 → 3/25
Authenticity: IG 870 · TT 0 · -4 Amazon reviews · 7 subreddits → 6/20
Capital: 0 funding press (penalty 0) · TM sweet-spot no · 0 ads → 11/15 (higher = pre-raise)
Category timing: beverage trend rising · brand trend rising → 12/12

Score history

  • Aug 24, 03:09 AM45
    76% confidence · Research
  • Aug 10, 03:03 AM42
    76% confidence · Research

Signal sources

Press signal

SerpAPI · Google News · 4

Ad activity

Foreplay · 0

No ad activity signals captured.

Amazon traction

Keepa · Jungle Scout · 2

Instagram

Apify · 2
  • @rootberry: 870 followers
    A Rookie Photographer Sharing Inspiration & Health with Natural Food & Lifestyle Shots | Join the community on discord: https://discord.gg/NMSvTKs
    @rootberry · 870 followers · 52 posts · avg engagement 281
    apify.instagram · social_followers · 85% conf · 8/24/2026
  • @rootberry: 869 followers
    A Rookie Photographer Sharing Inspiration & Health with Natural Food & Lifestyle Shots | Join the community on discord: https://discord.gg/NMSvTKs
    @rootberry · 869 followers · 52 posts · avg engagement 281
    apify.instagram · social_followers · 85% conf · 8/10/2026

TikTok

Apify · 2
  • @rootberry: 0 followers · 0 hearts · 0 videos
    @rootberry
    apify.tiktok · tiktok_followers · 80% conf · 8/24/2026
  • @rootberry: 0 followers · 0 hearts · 0 videos
    @rootberry
    apify.tiktok · tiktok_followers · 80% conf · 8/10/2026

USPTO trademarks

USPTO TSDR · 0

No uspto trademarks signals captured.

Reddit organic

SerpAPI · reddit.com · 2

Google Trends

SerpAPI · google_trends · 4
  • Google Trends for "Rootberry" — rising, avg90d 17, peak 100
    ↗ slope rising · avg90d 17 · peak 100
    serpapi.trends · google_trends_brand · 70% conf · 8/24/2026
  • Category trend "beverage" — rising, avg90d 61
    ↗ slope rising · avg90d 61 · peak 100
    serpapi.trends · google_trends_category · 65% conf · 8/24/2026
  • Google Trends for "Rootberry" — flat, avg90d 2, peak 100
    → slope flat · avg90d 2 · peak 100
    serpapi.trends · google_trends_brand · 70% conf · 8/10/2026
  • Category trend "snack" — rising, avg90d 70
    ↗ slope rising · avg90d 70 · peak 100
    serpapi.trends · google_trends_category · 65% conf · 8/10/2026

AI thesis

Claude Opus 4.7 · 2
  • WATCH. Rootberry is a St. Louis-based plant-based frozen meals brand (not a beverage, despite the category tag) founded by Marc Connor that raised $3.5M Seed on 2025-06-13 and secured Otter & Co. backing for nationwide expansion per the St. Louis Business Journal (Sep 9, 2025). Retail traction is real — nationwide launch at Sprouts (Nosh, Aug 2026) plus Fresh Thyme, Hy-Vee, and Central Market per LinkedIn — but social velocity is weak (IG 870 followers, TikTok dark) and the category is frozen me
    verdict WATCH
    claude.synthesis · thesis · 80% conf · 8/24/2026
  • WATCH. Rootberry is a St. Louis-based plant-based frozen meals and snacks brand (founded 2021 by Marc Connor) that has quietly stacked $7.04M across multiple seed rounds per Tracxn, most recently a $3.5M seed dated June 2025 and a follow-on investment from Otter & Company Capital Holdings announced September 9, 2025 to double retail doors. Regional retail is real — Dierbergs, Schnucks, Straubs, Fresh Thyme, and Hy-Vee — but consumer-side signal is thin: IG at just 869 followers, no TikTok presen
    verdict WATCH
    claude.synthesis · thesis · 80% conf · 8/10/2026
●Reading live from Supabase deal_flow · brand_id rootberry · 18 signals on file.