Alec's Ice Cream Bags $11M, Huel Lands at Target 🎯

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

• Flow Water finds new home 💧

• Curate Capital backs Nori 🧳

• Dezi Skin collabs with Snif 🔥

• Smash Kitchen expands range 🍳

• Carbone refreshes label 🍝

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Flow Water, a Canadian producer of naturally alkaline mineral water, has been acquired by Boston-based family office Rucker Investments. Flow Water was forced into receivership early last month by a number of dissatisfied lenders. PR Newswire

• Society Brands, an e-commerce holding company in the health & personal care space, has acquired clean skincare and makeup brand Crunchi for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition brings Society Brands’ portfolio to 13. Beauty Independent

Fundraising

• Alec’s Ice Cream, a fast-growing purveyor of A2 dairy ice cream and other frozen novelties, secured $11M in Series A funding. The round was led by Imaginary Ventures. Founded in 2020 by Alec Jaffe and based in Petaluma, Alec’s is now a nationwide player with distribution at Sprouts, Target, Wegmans, and Whole Foods Market. Alec’s will use the funding to support retail expansion and its burgeoning supply chain. Logan Langberg, a partner at Imaginary Ventures, is joining the board. Forbes

• Nori, a New York-based startup behind a sleek, handheld steam iron for on-the-go consumers, closed a Series A round led by Curate Capital. Founded by former college roommates Courtney Toll and Annabel Love, Nori is now valued at $40M. This is Curate’s first investment from Fund II. LinkedIn

• The Plug, a Los Angeles-based liver support supplement brand, secured $5M in debt and equity funding from undisclosed investors. The company was founded in 2019 and offers various herbal liver detox treatments. FinSMEs

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Wonderskin, the London-based beauty brand that went viral for its long-lasting lip stain line, just expanded into foundations with its Hyper-Bond Serum Foundation range. 20 shades are available and the serum-foundation hybrid is engineered for all-day performance. Wonderskin raised $50M in a round led by Insight Partners earlier this year. WWD

• Creator-led lifestyle brand Ballerina Farm doubled down on wellness by releasing an electrolyte drink mix line. The new line, dubbed Farmer Hydrate, is surprisingly clean label and comes in two flavors: Raspberry Lemonade and Berry. It’s only a matter of time until they launch colostrum or perhaps even creatine. Ballerina will reportedly bring in more than $70M this year. LinkedIn

• Latina-founded Dezi Skin partnered with Snif on a limited edition body lotion called Paleta Punch Body Gloss Ultra-Rich Body Lotion. The product drops later today and the packaging is excellent. Instagram

• Fazit, the beauty brand that Taylor Swift helped go viral late last year, just launched its Show Stopping Speckles collection in conjunction with Swift’s new album release. The new line is merchandised in a sidecap display exclusively at Walmart. Instagram

• Seed Health released a “Co-Biotics” line with three SKUs. The outer capsule releases key nutrients and compounds in the upper GI tract where they’re more effectively absorbed, while the inner capsule releases prebiotics and postbiotics. Trend Hunter

• LBDO, an elevated sexual wellness brand from Australia, officially launched in the U.S. A number of their bedroom essentials are now available for purchase via their website. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• BeatBox, the RTD cocktail juggernaut that’s on pace to exceed $250M in sales this year, is launching a sister brand called Chillitas. The canned, carbonated beverage is a high-ABV michelada meets fruity cocktail. Chillitas will launch with four flavors and distribution will initially be focused on the Southwest. LinkedIn

• Glen Powell’s clean condiments brand Smash Kitchen expanded into cooking oils with 9 SKUs. The collection features products made with organic olive oil, pure avocado oil, and organic coconut oil. The new line is available nationwide at Walmart. PR Newswire

• MUSH just hired Jackie Cassis-Mayer as its first Chief Customer Officer. Cassis-Mayer joins MUSH from KIND Snacks where she served as VP of Sales Strategy. Prior to that, she was VP of Sales at Pete & Gerry’s. Food Business News

• Coconut yogurt brand cocojune just dropped an Unsweetened Protein Yogurt line. Two flavors are available — Plain and Vanilla — and the protein content per serving ranges from 9 to 10g. Love the understated branding. Instagram

• Carbone Fine Food spiced up their labels a bit. The brand incorporated a new color system to better differentiate their various flavors. Independent graphic designer Jason Villanueva handled the refresh. LinkedIn

• Evergreen released a new Thick & Fluffy Waffle line which is available nationwide at Whole Foods Market. Each serving includes 5g of protein and hidden veggies. Instagram

• Death Wish Coffee Company is suing Liquid Death over the latter’s soon-to-be-launched RTD coffee line. According to the complaint, Liquid Death’s upcoming coffee line would cause widespread consumer confusion and irreparably harm the Death Wish brand. Gerben IP

Data 🖥️

• Leisure Hydration just delivered its first $1M revenue month. Even more impressive, the company posted a 10% net profit in the period and is on pace to grow 3x year-over-year. Brothers Steve & Alex Michaelsen launched Leisure Hydration in May of 2022. LinkedIn

• Prime, the creator-led beverage brand that did $1.3B in sales in 2023, is on pace to do just $300M in sales in 2025. It’ll be interesting to see how the Prime story unfolds in the coming years. The two likeliest options appear to be distressed acquistion or bankruptcy unless they aggressively rightsize the brand. Twitter

• DUDE Wipes will do upwards of $130M in sales at Walmart this year, up from $75K 8 years ago. LinkedIn

Distribution News 🚚

• Ketone-IQ launched storewide at Target.

• Actual Veggies launched storewide at Publix.

• Huel launched a number of SKUs nationwide at Target.

• Brightland launched its Everyday Oils at Whole Foods Market.

• Mission Craft Cocktails launched at Bristol Farms.

• Sobo launched at nearly 90 H-E-B stores in Texas.