COUNTER SERVICE | SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 Counter Service is our daily 60-second serving of consumer news; here, we go one level deeper into what the headlines mean for the business.
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Jay Shetty bets on bedtime
Jay Shetty has invested in Sleep or Die, which makes fast-dissolving sleep strips. A man known for a calming podcast voice backing a brand called Sleep or Die is a fairly dramatic way to say goodnight. The interesting part is the format. Sleep is already a crowded shelf of gummies, capsules, powders, and promises. A strip gives the brand something concrete to explain beyond another ingredient list. Shetty can help get people to notice it. Whether they buy it again is a different question. An endorsement is not evidence that a sleep product works.
SIDE DISH: La Colombe puts matcha in the fridge
La Colombe’s new canned lineup includes Everyday, Strawberry, and Vanilla Matcha Lattes, made with Japanese matcha and lactose-free whole milk. The company says matcha sales at its own cafés have grown 188 percent since 2023. That last detail matters. This is an existing customer behavior moving into another format, not just a coffee brand discovering green drinks on TikTok. The opportunity is to serve the morning when someone wants matcha but is not stopping at a café. The test is whether the can delivers enough of that experience to stay on the shopping list.
WHO’S COOKING: On heads for the pitch
On is entering football with Kylian Mbappé, who will work with its teams on developing and testing future footwear and apparel. Thierry Henry is also joining as Director of Football after working behind the scenes on the entry. This is bigger than putting a famous face in running shoes. On is taking its performance reputation into a sport where it still has to prove the product. Mbappé supplies both attention and an elite player’s feedback. Neither makes execution optional.
THE CHECK
Bedtime, the morning drink, the football pitch: three very different places to earn repeat use. Celebrity gets the introduction. Convenience gets the trial. The product has to give people a reason to return. Subscribe to Deeter Digest for more on the brands, products, and business decisions shaping what we buy.