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 5d ago
← 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 · 5d ago
  • @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 · 5d ago
  • @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 · 5d ago
  • Category trend "beverage" — rising, avg90d 61
    ↗ slope rising · avg90d 61 · peak 100
    serpapi.trends · google_trends_category · 65% conf · 5d ago
  • 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 · 5d ago
  • 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.