AG1 Expands Offering, ECP Growth Raises $100M 💰

Author

CPG WIRE
May 24, 2025

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

  • L’Oreal backs Veminsyn 🧪

  • Eat the Change secures nearly $1M 🍵

  • E.l.f. Beauty raises prices 👀

  • Firehook collabs with TRUFF 🔥

  • Ghia lands at Trader Joe’s 📈

AG1 Expands Offering 👀

After spending the past 15 years meticulously perfecting their flagship greens product, AG1 is taking the plunge into a new category: sleep. 

According to a report from WWD, AG1 is releasing a sleep supplement that consists of herbs, minerals, and adaptogens. The goal, according to CEO Kat Cole, is to leverage clinically backed active ingredients like magtein, saffron, and ashwagandha to support restorative sleep.

The new sleep supplement — cleverly dubbed AGZ — will be available in three flavors: Chocolate, Mint Chocolate, and a third non-chocolate flavor. The company plans on releasing AGZ later this summer.

This category expansion is very on-brand for AG1. Instead of following the supplement playbook and going wide, AG1 went deep and became the de facto expert on daily greens supplements. The company went from $160M in 2021 to $600M in 2024 by focusing on one product and one enormous market opportunity: delivering daily nutrition to nutrient deprived consumers. 

I imagine AG1 has been tempted to chase trends and launch products like colostrum or perhaps creatine, but they remained focused, iterated, and became the domain expert in their category. With sleep, AG1 has identified another enormous, fast-growing market opportunity to tackle, one that could take them to over $1B in annual revenue.

More from WWD here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Birmingham Chocolate, a Michigan-based producer of artisanal chocolate, has acquired Macalat, an organic, sugar-free dark chocolate brand. Macalat is based in Durham, North Carolina and was founded in 2015. Birmingham Chocolate plans on launching a variety of new Macalat products throughout the year. Food Processing

Fundraising

  • Emil Capital Partners rebranded as ECP Growth and raised $100M for Fund IV. The rebrand signals the firm’s shift to growth-stage investing instead of early-stage investing. Their previous investments include Aloha, Base Culture, Bare Snacks, Ollie, and a number of other brands. PR Newswire

  • L’Oreal invested in Chinese biotech startup Veminsyn which develops novel bio-active ingredients for use in beauty products. Veminsyn was co-founded by five PhDs from Peking University and Tsinghua University. The company raised a total of $13.8M in funding this round. WWD

  • Eat the Change, the company behind beverage brand Just Ice Tea, raised just under $1M in fresh equity funding. Just Ice Tea was founded by Seth Goldman and Spike Mendelsohn in 2022. The brand recently secured distribution at CVS and Target. SEC 

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Fast-growing skincare brand Bubble has named Bonnie Szucs as its Chief Commercial Officer. Szucs joined the beauty brand in 2022 as VP of Business Development after spending time at MAC Cosmetics and Bleach London. The Industry

  • Affordable cosmetics brand E.l.f. Beauty is implementing a $1 price increase due to inflation and tariffs. “Not gonna lie, inflation and tariffs are hitting us hard,” the company said in a statement. Business of Fashion

  • Celebrity hairstylist Michael Dueñas launched a sustainable haircare brand called AROVE Beauty. AROVE launched with three products: waterless shampoo, waterless conditioner, and a hair oil. Beauty Packaging

  • French beauty brand PERS Skincare released two new products: Radiance Cleansing Balm and Cleansing Gel. There’s something very compelling about their packaging, especially their retinol and vitamin C serum SKUs. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • San Diego-based Pitaya Foods launched a new product line called Swirl Smoothie Bowls. Three flavors are currently available which you can find exclusively at Target. They really nailed the branding. LinkedIn

  • Gourmet cracker brand Firehook is back with another fantastic collab. The recently acquired company partnered with luxury hot sauce brand TRUFF to launch Parmesan Truffle Crackers. Firehook has spent much of 2025 partnering with the likes of Graza, Fly By Jing, and TRUFF which is a super clever way to connect with younger consumers. PR Newswire

  • Leading sparkling hop water brand HOPWTR launched two sparkling hop tea products: Iced Tea and Lemonade. The new SKUs will be available at Sprouts Farmers Market starting in July. Brewbound

  • THC-infused beverage brand WYNK released a new limited edition flavor: Mandarin Pomelo. Each 12 oz can contains 5mg of THC and 5mg of CBD. Good-looking can. PR Newswire

  • Omoss is a new beverage brand that’s bringing an RTD sea moss line to market in the UK. The branding is pretty similar to Moss, another player in the RTD sea moss category. The Grocer

  • Fast-growing snack brand PRETZELIZED unveiled their newest product — Mediterranean Herb Pretzel Pita Chips. The company has been on a retail heater recently. Instagram

Data 🖥️

  • With beer sales faltering, more craft brewers are turning to hemp-derived THC beverages in order to survive. According to IWSR, the no-alcohol beverage market is expected to grow by 7% through 2028. MJBizDaily

Distribution News 🚚

  • Javvy Coffee launched nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market.

  • Non-alc aperitif brand Ghia launched at Trader Joe’s.

  • Sparkling water brand Not Beer launched at select Walmart stores.

  • Munk Pack launched their probiotic protein bar line at Walmart.

  • Protein bar brand David is now shipping to Canada.

  • CVT Soft Serve launched at 250+ Safeway stores in NorCal.