Purely Elizabeth, a privately held challenger brand that lays claim as the No. 1 granola in the U.S., is poking fun at protein mania as it looks to differentiate its own offering in the booming snacking space, Marketing Dive can share. A new Protein Ancient Grain Granola line is supported by a national campaign that represents the company’s largest media investment in a product launch to date, speaking to confidence in carving out a share of a protein market that is, for some, starting to feel oversaturated.
Ads debuting Monday will appear across linear US Open broadcasts, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, paid social, programmatic and an out-of-home takeover of the Columbus Circle subway station in New York City that extends through the end of July. The effort, titled “Protein Product Madness,” ribs the idea of protein-maxxing, or eating copious amounts of products rich in the macronutrient, no matter the source. Messaging eschews targeting the gym-obsessed crowd to instead highlight quality and taste.
“From a broad perspective, we know we want to resonate against that growing mainstream wellness consumer,” Purely Elizabeth CMO Cherry Joh said.
A 30-second spot opens with a woman enjoying Purely Elizabeth’s granola before encountering an array of oddball protein indulgences, such as candy, wine and even toothpaste, leading to a skeptical response. Purely Elizabeth, in brainstorming the concept with its partners, went down a “rabbit hole” of finding real protein-packed products like beer and gummies to inform its approach, according to Joh. The ad closes by explaining that Purely Elizabeth doesn’t add protein to its food in the form of isolates and fillers that maximize performance, but rather starts with the macronutrient by using natural ingredients like nuts, seeds and oats.
“It's just leaning into a little bit more of that comedic take, so you could see a little bit more of the personality of Purely Elizabeth also come through,” Joh said. “We just thought, ‘Hey, let’s not take ourselves too seriously.’”
This is Purely Elizabeth’s first work with Wpromote x Giant Spoon since naming the shop its media agency of record in April. TDA_Boulder, an existing partner that is also based in Purely Elizabeth’s hometown of Boulder, Colorado, handled the creative.
Notching the CPG marketer’s media account builds on other recent wins for Wpromote x Giant Spoon, which was formed after performance marketing agency Wpromote acquired the creative shop Giant Spoon late last year. The firm in February was named paid media agency of record for fast-casual chain Sweetgreen.
Breaking into protein
For Purely Elizabeth, a crack into the red-hot protein category could be read as belated but makes sense as granola consumption habits continue to expand. A hefty campaign behind Protein Ancient Grain Granola also comes as 70% of U.S. consumers say they’re trying to eat more protein in their diet, up 8 percentage points from 2021, per data from the International Food Information Council. The craze has led to shortages of ingredients like whey protein concentrate and resulted in an explosion of food and beverage products that emphasize protein content.
“What's really interesting about how the granola market has evolved is it's no longer just a breakfast food. It has evolved into snacking, into treat, etc.,” said Joh. “When you look at that and the protein trend overall, there was an opportunity for us to be the complement to Greek yogurt, the complement to even froyo and ice cream.”
As a soft launch for the protein line, Purely Elizabeth in May hosted a two-day pop-up in Los Angeles centered on a Protein Granola frozen yogurt truck run in partnership with Go Greek. Product seeding was also done through mailers, TikTok Shop affiliates and work with influencers like Dairy Boy founder Paige Lorenze.
The CPG brand has broadly been investing more in experiential, digital and creator-first marketing, including through experiments on TikTok Shop, which it began using late last year, according to Joh. While TikTok Shop provides an opportunity to boost sales, it’s more valuable as an awareness and engagement driver for key growth audiences for Purely Elizabeth, Joh explained. The brand overindexes with Gen Z and younger millennials.
“TikTok for us has been a really unique channel that has brought in a lot of Gen Z consumers into the brand,” the CMO said.
Those same young cohorts helped guide Purely Elizabeth’s decision to promote Protein Ancient Grain Granola around the US Open.
“We chose that because we really are seeing that live sports has a way to break through in a way that a lot of other media doesn't have anymore from a fragmentation approach,” said Joh. “Tennis continues to resonate with consumers, and particularly younger consumers.”
Extending sales growth
The bet on protein could contribute to existing sales momentum for Purely Elizabeth, which has doubled in size in the last two years and achieved $200 million in total brand sales in 2025. It is targeting $300 million in sales in 2026, per previously shared figures.
The company, which was founded in 2009 by holistic nutrition counselor Elizabeth Stein, says it is now No. 1 in the U.S. granola segment in both dollar and unit sales, outpacing older rivals like Quaker Oats and Kind. The granola market is estimated to represent about $1.3 billion, according to multioutlet data analyzed by Spins.
Protein Ancient Grain Granola, which hit store shelves in May, surpassed category thresholds in its first month on the market, Purely Elizabeth said. The product lineup, which comes in Cinnamon Toast, Almond Butter & Berries and Dark Chocolate Blueberry flavors, is available at Target, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Publix and select Costco locations by region. As it vies to maintain pole position in granola, Purely Elizabeth plans to continue to push against the grain of packaged foods category norms.
“Our approach is that we’ve never thought of ourselves as a food brand, we’ve always thought about ourselves as a modern wellness lifestyle brand, and that is reflected in how we go to market from our campaigns, as well as the type of creators that we end up working with,” said Joh.
