Raphael Stevens

Sustainable diapers brand Kudos is set to launch in 375 Target stores nationwide as it looks to disrupt the legacy consumer products industry.
Kudos, founded by “Shark Tank” alum Amrita Saigal, makes diapers that are 100% lined with cotton and made with other degradable materials like sugarcane and trees.
The diapers are more absorbent than competitors like Pampers Pure Protection, Huggies Special Delivery and Honest diapers, according to independent testing conducted by Diaper Testing International. 

Kudos diapers founder Amrita Saigal with her daughter
Courtesy: Kudos

Throughout modern history, parents have only had one real option when it comes to disposable diapers: plastic.
The single-use products are typically made with fossil fuels like petroleum and can take hundreds of years to break down, making them the third-largest consumer item in U.S. landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Plus, they’re not as breathable as other materials, which could make incidents like diaper rashes more common. 
Still, plastic diapers from mega brands like Procter & Gamble-owned Pampers and Kimberly-Clark-owned Huggies continue to dominate the market. Amrita Saigal, founder and CEO of Kudos, is looking to change that. 
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, mechanical engineer and “Shark Tank” alum developed a sustainable diaper that uses some plastic, but is 100% lined with cotton and incorporates other degradable materials like sugarcane and trees, she tells CNBC. 
Later this month, it’ll be the first diaper of its kind to land in retail stores when it launches in approximately 375 Target locations nationwide. 
“I am so excited to partner with Target to make history as the first 100% cotton-lined disposable diaper to hit retail shelves,” Saigal said in an interview with CNBC. “It’s just a really big deal for us, especially because Target does not carry many brands.”

Kudos Diapers
Courtesy: HatchMark Studio

In the three years since its launch, Kudos has raised more than $6 million in funding. It closed a $3 million round last month with investments from Precursor Ventures, Xfund and Oversubscribed Ventures. 
In the last 12 months, it’s sold more than 20 million diapers and grown sales by more than 100%.

Disruption through innovation 

Saigal says she’s long been fascinated by consumer packaged goods and has spent her career figuring out ways to redesign everyday products, like sanitary pads and diapers, in her bid to disrupt an industry long dominated by corporate superpowers.
Her goal? Reduce the globe’s reliance on fossil fuels by building out new supply chains and developing sustainable products that are just as effective – if not better – than competitors. 
“I’m not launching a product that is not at par or better than Pampers,” said Saigal. 
“Are there eco-friendly alternatives? Yes, but they don’t perform and when it comes to a diaper, we cannot have something that doesn’t perform. You have one blowout, one leak, your parents are already sleep-deprived. They need things that work. They’re not willing to compromise performance for eco-friendly.” 
After three years of research and development, Saigal developed a diaper that can absorb far more fluid than competitors like Pampers Pure Protection, Huggies Special Delivery and Honest diapers, according to independent testing conducted by Diaper Testing International. 

Pampers didn’t return a request for comment. Honest declined comment.
A spokesperson for Kimberly-Clark, which owns Huggies, told CNBC it could not comment because it had not seen the study conducted by Diaper Testing International.
Saigal also developed a proprietary “DoubleDry” technology that brings two layers to the diaper instead of one, which allows it to wick away moisture. 
“If you were just to take out the plastic and replace it with cotton, your diaper would fail miserably, because what would happen is your baby would pee and all the urine would just pool, and then your baby’s butt would be wet,” said Saigal. “How do you quickly wick away that urine and poop and then pull it through the layers of the diaper and then evenly disperse it so your baby’s bottom feels dry. So that’s really what our innovation is.” 
Kudos is far smaller than its mightier competitors, but Saigal said its size has made the business uniquely positioned to build out new cotton supply chains and help suppliers grow alongside the company.
“For a company like P&G to do this, you’re talking … hundreds of millions of dollars in order to reconfigure their equipment to be able to do it … it’s really hard with their existing supply chains to be able to allow natural materials to actually work in their current process,” said Saigal, who worked for P&G as a design and manufacturing engineer after graduating from MIT.
Even sourcing natural materials for use instead of plastics would be challenging for larger companies because of their scale, Saigal said. Suppliers like cotton farmers tend to have buyers and partners locked in before they grow the requested materials, and since there isn’t yet mass demand for cotton from diaper makers, those supply chains don’t really exist yet at scale, she said.
As more and more smaller brands work with natural material suppliers to develop new supply chains, Saigal hopes that big brands will adopt natural materials over plastic more widely, which could reduce the price of those materials and in turn, make plastics more expensive. 
“When do you really get mass adoption of natural materials? The reality is, when natural materials become cheaper than plastic,” she said. 

Diaper economics 

Kudos faces a daunting landscape of scale.
Buzzy brands that start out by selling directly to consumers and then make their way into retail can face difficulties because of the high cost of inventory and onerous payment terms that come with it. 
Hello Bello, a hypoallergenic, sustainable diaper brand founded by celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, filed for bankruptcy in October as it struggled to develop its supply chain after it began selling in retailers like Walmart. 
Over the last few years, a number of other consumer product companies and direct-to-consumer brands have faced similar fates after coming up in a funding environment that prioritized growth over profitability.
“In the heyday of DTC, it was like, ‘Don’t worry about the unit economics now, right?’ Like, just top-line growth, top-line growth, top-line growth, and then once you’re at $100 million, $200 million in revenue, then let’s figure out how to make this profitable,” said Saigal, who founded her company in 2021 and secured funding from “Shark Tank” host Mark Cuban and guest Shark Gwyneth Paltrow in 2023. 
“I don’t think that model works anymore,” she continued. “It’s like grow slower, but have the unit economics work from day one. I think the brands that are going to be successful now have to have a very, very tight lock on their numbers and their unit economics from the beginning.” 
In the year ahead, Saigal’s No. 1 priority for her business is to reach profitability and to get there, she’s keeping her team lean and being strategic with the capital she’s using to pay for inventory ahead of her launch into Target. She’s also had to toe a fine line when it comes to pricing. Her products are more expensive to make than her competitors’, but if the price is too high, she risks alienating potential buyers. 
Currently, parents can buy Kudos for between 41 cents and 70 cents per diaper, depending on the size. That compares with a box of Pampers Pure Protection, which runs between 34 cents and 75 cents per diaper, according to a listing on Target.com. 
“We are a little bit more expensive just because our raw materials are more expensive, but I’ve tried to keep it as minimal as possible,” said Saigal. “I care so much about being premium, but accessible. That is like exactly what I want to do, so that we are accessible to as many people, and cleaner materials are not out of reach.”
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank,” which features Mark Cuban as a panelist. More

Viewership for the Summer Olympics in Paris so far has been blowing past the 2021 Tokyo Games, and the opening ceremony scored a bigger audience than Rio did in 2016.
Hip-hop artist and entertainer Snoop Dogg’s role in the Paris Olympics has been a big part of the draw — and is generating a lot of social media buzz.
Snoop Dogg, whose first role in the Olympics was a highlight show with Kevin Hart in 2021, has been growing his relationship with NBC.
Snoop Dogg will also be a new judge on “The Voice” this fall.

Snoop Dogg attends the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Qualification on day two of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at Bercy Arena in Paris on July 28, 2024.
Arturo Holmes | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Millions of viewers in the U.S. are tuning into the Summer Olympics in Paris — and many of them are getting a big dose of Snoop Dogg as part of the experience.
Beginning with the opening ceremony, the five-day total audience delivery average was 34 million viewers, combining daytime and primetime coverage, up 79% from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, according to an NBC Sports release.

Executives of Comcast’s NBCUniversal — the TV and streaming broadcaster of the Games in the U.S. — have been touting not only the success of their production, but also of the celebrities and personalities employed as part of the coverage, namely Snoop Dogg.
The hip-hop artist turned sports commentator and entertainer has been on the sidelines at the Games in Paris, talking to athletes and their families, trying out sports with Olympic stars and taking a crack at analysis.
Molly Solomon, NBC’s executive producer of the Olympics, referred to Snoop Dogg as an “ambassador of happiness” during a press call this week.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by his popularity, but you never ever underestimate Snoop Dogg,” said Solomon, calling out his “wonderful mix of swagger and positivity and just the charisma and vibes are so positive.”

Snoop Dogg carries the Olympic flame during the last stage of the Olympic torch before the opening ceremony in Seine-Saint-Denis, France, on July 26, 2024.
Victoria Valdivia | Hans Lucas | AFP | Getty Images

Snoop Dogg, who joined the Olympic torch run, has generated considerable buzz on social media — from clips of him cheering alongside Olympians’ family members to snapping numerous selfies with athletes and those on the sidelines, including tennis legend Billie Jean King.

He has spurred some viral moments, including by cheering alongside U.S. swimmer Caeleb Dressel’s wife and baby son when Team USA won its first gold medal and dancing in the crowd as the U.S. women’s gymnastics team responded from the mat.
His swimming lesson from Olympic legend Michael Phelps also floated around the internet.
“The first time I ever actually watched him on Olympic coverage was the track and field trials back in June,” said Krissy Birdsall, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, adding she has been watching more of the Games due to the favorable time difference in Paris. “He was pretty entertaining. And he kind of brought a different perspective into the world of track and field.”

Pumped-up audience

NBCUniversal had been banking on the success of the Paris Olympics, and Snoop Dogg, for the past few years.
The rapper, once known for hits such as “Gin and Juice,” got his first spin at the Olympics in 2021 when he hosted a highlight show with comedian Kevin Hart on Peacock. While viewership for the Tokyo Games that year was lackluster, and few live events aired on Peacock, their show captured the audience, with various clips going viral.

Snoop Dogg is interviewed at the beach volleyball event on day five of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris on July 31, 2024.
Carl Recine | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

“Snoop set the Olympic world on fire in Tokyo,” Solomon said in an interview with CNBC. The following year, NBC’s executives met with Snoop Dogg to discuss his future place in the Olympics broadcast, she said.
“He really wanted to go to the Olympic city, and tell the athletes’ story,” Solomon said.
Solomon and “Primetime in Paris” host Mike Tirico talked up Snoop Dogg’s work before the Games during a press call in July, noting his early arrival ahead of the opening ceremony and his relationships with athletes.
For his part, Snoop Dogg made his prep work sound a bit simpler.
“My preparation for prime time is being me,” he said during the press call, adding he was “sliding into the practice facilities with different teams. … I’m one of those individuals that likes to get involved.”
Ahead of the Games, Snoop Dogg was also present at the Olympic trials earlier this summer, and since then has popped up in various places. While Tirico, singer Kelly Clarkson and former National Football League star Peyton Manning led the opening ceremony, Snoop Dogg was interviewing American athletes while donning the same Ralph Lauren blazer as them.
“Snoop Dogg is one of those people that can totally just transcend and be versatile,” said Kendall Wright, a student at Northwestern University.
He has been decked out in USA gear, including an NBC jacket emblazoned with his name and T-shirts with the faces of star athletes such as Coco Gauff and Kelly Cheng.

Snoop Dogg cheers the USA team for women’s gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Wally Skalij | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

“It’s a sporting event, but it’s not your traditional audience,” John Fortunato, a communications and media management professor at the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, said of the Olympics. “You see him at the various events, and he has so much personality that he can relate to the audience as a fan. That’s really where his appeal is.”
Snoop Dogg is sticking with NBC. Fans will get more of him on NBC and Peacock this fall when he joins the coaching seats on “The Voice.”
“I understand why Snoop Dogg and Alex Cooper have been looped into the Olympics, especially for the millennial and Gen X audience,” said Jenna Mindes, a human resources professional from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
She is a big fan of gymnastics and went to the Olympic trials in Minneapolis this summer. However, she has not loved the inclusion of celebrities in the Olympics.
“I think for gymnastics and maybe less mainstream sports, big fans are kind of gatekeepers who take their sports very seriously … and celebrities entering the conversation almost seems to dilute the sport,” she said.
There has been “a lot more pop culture, celebrities and a lot more Snoop than we’ve had before,” said NBC Sports President Rick Cordella, adding that this has helped to popularize the Paris Olympics.

Snoop Dogg poses for photos with American sportscasters Bob Costas (L) and Al Michaels at beach volleyball on day five of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris on July 31, 2024.
Carl Recine | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Meanwhile, the “Gold Zone” show on Peacock, which shows multiple live sports at once and is led by Scott Hanson of “NFL Red Zone” in a similar format, has become a big hit, as has the watch-along show led by Alex Cooper, host of the podcast “Call Her Daddy.”
“We’ve really taken a different path at how we approach this,” Cordella said of Peacock’s Olympics strategy, which has been a big part of the viewership numbers.
The success of the Paris Olympics follows the lowest-ever rated Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, as well as the lesser-watched Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
The Tokyo Olympics faced myriad issues. They were delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic; no family and fans were present at the events; few, if any, events were available on streaming service Peacock; and there was a severe time difference for U.S. viewers.
Since July 26, the Paris Olympics audience has been on a roll, according to NBC Sports. The opening ceremony, which took place on the Seine River, had 28.6 million viewers, compared to 17.9 million for Tokyo and 26.5 million for the 2016 Rio Games, making it the most-watched Opening Ceremony since 2012 in London. 
During a recent interview with NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt, Snoop Dogg said he never expected to play this role “in his wildest dreams,” especially after watching the Olympics when he was a child.
“I’m the biggest kid in the crowd,” he told Holt of his cheering on the U.S. athletes at the games.
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

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DraftKings is planning a tax on consumers in states with the highest sports betting tax rates, as the company looks to boost profit.
Starting January 1, it will implement a gaming surcharge on winning bets in states with multiple betting operators and where the tax rate is above 20%.
The announcement came as the sports betting operator released its second-quarter earnings, which marked the company’s first-ever profitable quarter as a public company.

Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Mobile betting powerhouse DraftKings is planning a tax on consumers in states with the highest sports betting tax rates, as the company looks to boost profit.
The company announced Thursday that starting next year, it will implement a gaming surcharge on winning bets in states with multiple betting operators and where the tax rate is above 20%. That includes Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

“We decided that the best course of action is to do what really every other industry [does] — whether it’s hotels, taxis — whatever else you buy generally has some kind of tax,” DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins told CNBC.
The announcement came as the sports betting operator released its second-quarter earnings, which marked the company’s first-ever profitable quarter as a public company. DraftKings reported revenue of $1.1 billion, roughly in line with consensus estimates, according to LSEG.
Fears of tax hikes in gaming pressured DraftKings stock and other betting companies such as FanDuel back in May, when Illinois approved a tax hike on sports betting revenue. The sliding tax rates impose 40% levies on companies with the largest adjusted gross revenue. New York and New Hampshire each maintain 51% tax rates on sports betting companies.
In a letter to shareholders Thursday, Robins said the new surcharge will be nominal for the customer. In Illinois, for example, it will amount to a low- to mid-single-digit percentage of net winnings.
“If you made a $10 bet to win $20, you would pay like 30 cents,” Robins said, citing an example.

Arrows pointing outwards

An illustration of the DraftKings app, introducing a new gaming surcharge.
DraftKings

DraftKings is believed to be the first U.S. operator to implement a tax on the winnings of a bettor. Robins said he weighed it heavily and hopes it causes states to think twice about the tax rate.
“I do think that if states start to realize that above a certain level, we can’t invest in our product and customer experience in the way that we need to … it might make them think differently about it,” he added.
He is also considering customers’ response. “We’re not going to hide it,” Robins said. “Obviously, we could see some customers drop off, and player betting activity, if they don’t like it.”
Robins says DraftKings is not including the new tax in its guidance.
The company raised revenue guidance to a range of $5.05 billion to $5.25 billion from previous guidance in the range of $4.80 billion to $5 billion. The updated guidance equates to 38% to 43% year-over-year growth.
But the sports betting giant lowered its 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $340 million and $420 million, down from previous guidance of $460 million to $540 million.
The company reported a profit during the second quarter for the first time, posting net income for the three-month period that ended June 30 of $63.8 million, or 10 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $77.3 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier. 
Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected a per-share loss of 1 cent for the period.
Revenue rose to $1.1 billion, up 26% from $874.9 million a year earlier. The company said the revenue increase was driven primarily by continued healthy customer engagement, expansion into new jurisdictions and the acquisition of lottery app Jackpocket.
“The overperformance that we are seeing with customer acquisition, the launch of Washington D.C., our expectation for Jackpocket to deliver positive EBITDA next year as well as underlying trends with our existing customers and our performance on the handle side, all should offset the Illinois tax increase next year,” Robins said on the company’s earnings call. “So even if we don’t get any benefit from the fee, we will see still $900 million to $1 billion in adjusted EBITDA next year.”
More than 30 states now allow some form of sports wagering, and many of them permit mobile and online betting. DraftKings is live with mobile sports betting in 25 states and Washington, D.C. The company’s iGaming division is live in five states.
The company said so far this year, 10 more jurisdictions have either introduced legislation to legalize mobile sports betting or introduced a bill that may result in a mobile sports betting referendum during an upcoming election.
DraftKings also announced its first ever $1 billion share repurchase program. The company has a market cap of about $14 billion.

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All doses of Eli Lilly’s highly popular weight loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro are now available in the U.S., according to an update on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database.
The update comes one day after Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said shortages of Mounjaro and Zepbound would end “very soon.” 
Demand for weight loss and diabetes drugs has trounced supply for months, pushing Eli Lilly and its rival Novo Nordisk to invest billions to ramp up manufacturing. 

An injection pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug, is displayed in New York City on Dec. 11, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

All doses of Eli Lilly’s highly popular weight loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro are now available in the U.S., according to an update on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database on Friday. 
A previous update said some doses of the treatments were still in short supply. Some doses of Mounjaro have been in shortage since as early as 2022, while doses of Zepbound joined the FDA’s shortage list earlier this year following its U.S. approval in November. 

Demand for weight loss and diabetes drugs has trounced supply for months, pushing Eli Lilly and its rival Novo Nordisk to invest billions to ramp up manufacturing. 
The FDA’s update comes one day after Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told Bloomberg that the shortages of Mounjaro and Zepbound would end “very soon.” 
“I think actually today or tomorrow we plan to exit that process,” he told the outlet in an interview. 
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the FDA’s update on Friday. 
All doses of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes injection Ozempic are available in the U.S. as of Friday, according to the FDA’s database. Meanwhile, the FDA said some doses of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy have limited supply.

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The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 22 basis points to 6.4% Friday, according to Mortgage News Daily.
The drop followed a weaker-than-expected monthly employment report, which sent bond yields falling fast.
The recent high on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.52% in late April, and home sales have been falling ever since.

A “For Sale” sign in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 22, 2023.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 22 basis points to 6.4% Friday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the lowest rate since April 2023. The 15-year fixed rate fell to 5.89%, its lowest level since early May 2023.
The drop followed a weaker-than-expected monthly employment report, which sent bond yields falling fast. Mortgage rates loosely follow the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury.

“Between [Federal Reserve Chair Jerome] Powell’s equivocal openness to ‘multiple cuts’ in 2024 on Wednesday and this morning’s sharply weaker jobs report (something Powell didn’t even know about on Wednesday), the more aggressive rate cut narrative is quickly coming into focus,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily. 
There are still two inflation reports and another employment report before the Fed’s September meeting, Graham noted, adding, “If they don’t offer strong counterpoints to recent data, the rate cut cycle has not only begun, but it will likely involve a certain sense of urgency.”
The 30-year fixed rate started the week at 6.81%, so the drop in just the past five days is dramatic. The recent high was 7.52% in late April, and home sales have been falling ever since. Buyers were battling not just high interest rates, but also high home prices and a lack of supply. Supply has since improved, but prices are still overheated.
The difference in just a few months is stark when it comes to affordability. In April, a buyer looking to purchase a $400,000 home with a 20% down payment and a 30-year fixed mortgage would have been facing a monthly payment of about $2,240, not including insurance and property taxes. Today, that monthly payment would be about $2,000. More buyers would also qualify for the loan at today’s lower rates.
Mortgage applications to purchase a home have been running about 15% below where they were at this time last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This latest drop could kick-start demand.
“The market is moving ahead of the Fed, bringing down longer-term rates including those for mortgages, which should lead to both more home purchases and a pickup in refinance activity,” wrote Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, in a news release.

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