As the protein craze grows in the national snack scene, Brentwood-based brain nutrition startup Mosh PBC is facing major retail expansions with a new $13 million series A investment.
Led by Main Street Advisors, the funding round also featured participation from Great Circle Ventures, Rogers Healy and Morrison Seger, among others. Jeffrey Gamsey, who serves as president and chief operating officer at Mosh, said the fund would go towards scaling the brand’s national retail presence and investing in its high-protein lines. It would also be used to build internal capabilities to prepare for sustainable scaling.
Originally rolling out in Erewhon three years ago – where it reached the top four best-selling protein bars in the luxury supermarket – Mosh has since expanded into The Kroger Co. and its largest subsidiary Ralphs, and Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. This May, Mosh launched its high protein line in more than 2,000 Target Corp. stores across the U.S.
“Mosh sits at the intersection of two very powerful consumer shifts happening at the same time, which is one, the rise of brain health awareness, and two, the continued growth of high protein nutrition,” Gamsey told the Business Journal. “The retail strategy specifically is built around a very disciplined, velocity‑first approach. Rather than chasing door count, we really focused on proving that we could win at shelf first.”
The ‘brain blend’
Founded in 2021 by Maria Shriver and her son Patrick Schwarzenegger, the brand makes protein bars with a proprietary “brain blend,” including citicoline, lion’s mane mushroom and ashwagandha. Gamsey shared that the company’s wholesale channel is on track to experience triple growth this year.
The development came at a time when the boundary between food and medicine was blurring. A Deloitte survey in 2024 found that 76% of Americans leaned towards using food instead of prescription medication to boost their health, no matter their age, household income, insurance status or health condition.
San Francisco-based Grand View Research also projected the U.S. brain health supplements market to almost double from $3.56 billion to $6.80 billion by 2030.
