Advent Bets on Haircare (Again), BFG Activates Fund III 💰

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

• BCC buys Rowing Blazers 🧦

• Saronno acquires Engine Gin 🍸

• e.l.f. opens London office 🇬🇧

• New from Topo Chico 🫧

• ZitSticka launches at CVS 🧴

Advent Bets on Haircare (Again) 👀

Private equity giant Advent International is acquiring a majority stake in Brazilian haircare brand Skala Cosméticos. Sadly, terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but we know that Skala has been growing at a 30% clip in recent years. 

Founded in 1986 and based in Minas Gerais, Skala is the fourth largest haircare brand in Brazil and a leader in the hair mask category. Per the company, Skala’s products are present in 45% of Brazilian households and exported to over 40 countries. Since July of 2018, Skala has been 100% vegan and cruelty-free.

In connection with Advent’s investment, Cyro Gazola, a 22-year veteran of Procter & Gamble and the former CEO of Caloi, will become the CEO of Skala. Antonio Sousa, who has been Skala’s CEO over the past eight years, will remain a shareholder and join the Board of Directors. 

Advent International is betting on two things: 

• Skala will continue to develop and market innovative haircare products in its home market of Brazil and across Latin America

• Skala has the brand DNA to become a significant haircare player in international markets outside of Latin America

If Sol de Janeiro is any indicator, Brazilian-inspired beauty products have considerable global appeal. L’Occitane Group acquired a majority stake in Sol de Janeiro in 2021 at a valuation of $450M, and so far the bet has been paying off handsomely. For the first half of 2023, Sol de Janeiro’s revenue surged 173% to $270M, and it’s now the #1 skincare brand in Sephora North America. 

It’s unlikely that Advent International will experience this level of success with Skala, but if they can at least reverse engineer some of Sol de Janeiro’s growth playbook, they’ll likely have another win on their hands. 

Advent International has been busy lately: 

• Sold Sovos Brands to Campbell’s Soup for $2.7B

• Acquired Parfums de Marly and Initio Parfums Privés

• Purchased Aussie fashion label Zimmermann for $1B

• Bought three beauty brands from Shiseido Americas

• Took Olaplex public and is in the midst of a turnaround

More on the Skala acquisition here.

BFG Activates Fund III 💰

BFG Partners, a leading investor in early-stage consumer brands, has activated Fund III and raised roughly 70% of its $125M target.

Founded in 2014 by Tom Spier — the former COO of Bear Naked, a granola brand that was acquired by Kellogg’s in 2007, and the co-founder of EVOL Foods which was acquired in 2014 — BFG Partners has written early checks to some of the hottest consumer brands on the market. 

Their portfolio includes a variety of impressive food & beverage brands like 4th & Heart, Graza, OLIPOP, Oats Overnight, Mid-Day Squares, and MUD\WTR. They’ve also backed a number of successful brands in the beauty category like Curlsmith (acquired for $150M), Vacation, and ZitSticka. 

Per Tom Spier, “we know first-hand what a difference growth capital can make for young companies competing for market share, and we're honored to share our learnings from the past decade with the founders that we partner with in the future."

More on Fund III here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Burch Creative Capital (BCC) is acquiring a majority stake in Rowing Blazers, the cult menswear brand that Jack Carlson founded in 2017. Tom Vellios, the co-founder of discount retailer Five Below, and Jason Epstein, partner at Stonecourt Capital, are co-investing alongside BCC. PR Newswire

• Italian spirits firm ILLVA SARONNO has acquired Engine Gin for an undisclosed sum. Saronno is best known for owning liqueur brands like Disaronno and Tia Maria, but they’ve recently prioritized spirits (late last year they acquired American whiskey brand Sagamore Spirit). The Spirits Business

Fundraising

• Rivalz, a purveyor of better-for-you stuffed snacks, has secured $6.1M in seed funding. The round was led by The March Group which has backed brands like Meati, Aqua Cultured Foods, and others. Rivalz is very similar to Combos albeit without all the artificial ingredients and with some functional benefits (higher protein and fiber). Axios 

• DJ Khaled has invested in Aurezzi, a luxury oral care brand that launched in 2021. I’m a little dubious of Aurezzi but the products do look pretty great 👇 WWD

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Vacation has launched yet another new product — SPF 30 Browning Lotion. It’s a beauty. Instagram 

• Fragrance brand Snif is launching some of its most popular scents in laundry detergent form. Absolutely love it. Instagram

• Fin’ery, the mass fragrance brand from beauty incubator Maesa, launched 11 new fragrances which are available exclusively at Target. The prices range from $14.99 to $29.99. PR Newswire

• e.l.f. Beauty has opened its first European office as international sales surged 119% in their most recent quarter. The office is located in London. Happi

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Coca-Cola is expanding Topo Chico into the mixers category. Coca-Cola acquired the brand in 2017 for $220M, and now they’re launching club soda, ginger beer, and tonic water under the Topo Chico brand. They look fantastic. Twitter

• Popular probiotic juice brand GoodBelly is launching a new line of probiotic sparkling waters. Looks like the line will be available at Sprouts Farmers Market in the spring. PR Newswire

• Better-for-you snack brand LesserEvil unveiled a new popcorn flavor — Sugar Cookie. Available exclusively at Target. Instagram

• The newest flavor from PRIME Hydration is Strawberry Banana. A great-looking bottle. Instagram

• Kit NA Brewing, a Portland-based non-alc brewer, is rolling out a packaging refresh. PR Newswire

Data 🖥️

• Monster Energy posted impressive results for Q4 with sales up 15.1% to $1.6B. Twitter

• Beyond Meat, on the other hand, posted a massive loss of $338.1M last fiscal year. Brutal. Food Business News 

• Drew Fallon, the former COO & CFO of Mad Rabbit, wrote a terrific deep dive on Gymshark, the fast-growing UK-based activewear brand. Medium

• Zevia, the better-for-you soda brand that’s under siege from the likes of OLIPOP, Poppi, and Culture POP, had a pretty positive Q4. Sales increased 6.9% YoY to $37.8M, while volume was up 3.7% YoY to 2.8M cases. Business Wire

Distribution News 🚚

• Masstige suncare brand Hello Sunday is launching at Sephora.

• Canadian period care brand nixit launched exclusively at Whole Foods Market in the U.S.

• Skincare brand ZitSticka is now available nationwide at CVS.

• Aussie suncare brand Naked Sundays made its U.S. debut at Target and Urban Outfitters.