Aussie Beauty Stays Hot 🔥

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. Here’s what we’re getting into today:

• Aria circles Ultra Violette 🌞

• REV GUM scores funding ⚡️

• Big week for consumer VC 💰

• New from Nopalera 🌵

• REBBL refreshes packaging 😍

• Ritual breaks into sleep 💤

The Big Story 📰

Ultra Violette, the popular Australian suncare brand that reportedly sells one unit every 30 seconds, is close to selling a minority stake to Aria Growth Partners, a New York-based growth equity firm.

Founded in 2019 by Rebecca Jefferd and Ava Chandler-Matthews — both alums of luxury beauty retailer MECCA — Ultra Violette has carved out a niche for itself in a crowded marketplace by combining efficacious, nourishing skincare ingredients with the protection of SPF.

One of their best-selling products, for example, offers SPF 50+ protection along with hydrating active ingredients like Kakadu plum, a native Australian plant that has 50x more vitamin C than an orange.

Ultra Violette’s thesis is not too dissimilar from what made Supergoop a $250M/year brand. Produce high quality SPF products that customers can easily incorporate into their preexisting skincare routine, and they’ll buy an awful lot of it.

Aria Growth Partners has a good eye for cosmetics brands. In early 2021, Aria invested in skincare brand Hero Cosmetics, and just over 20 months later, Hero exited to Church & Dwight for $630M. They also invested in The Inkey List which was on pace for $100M in revenue last year.

The larger Australian beauty category has experienced a flurry of M&A lately. Aesop was acquired by L’Oreal for a whopping $2.5B earlier this year, and self-tanning brand Bondi Sands was purchased by Kao Corp for $450M soon thereafter. Another Aussie self-tanning brand, Loving Tan, was scooped up by Texas-based Gauge Capital.

Australian brands have been in great demand outside of beauty, too. Advent International recently acquired a majority stake in fashion label Zimmermann for over $1B, and mixers brand StrangeLove was purchased by Japanese beverage giant Asahi for an undisclosed sum.

The sudden interest in Australian brands from multinationals and private equity firms makes sense. Aussie brands tend to perform well in the West, and their proximity to China and key ASEAN markets makes scaling internationally a more reasonable proposition.

This is true of Ultra Violette, too. Despite being a young brand, they already have a fast-growing retail presence in the U.K. (Liberty, Harrods, Space NK), and they’ve already made the leap across the Western Pacific Ocean into southeast Asia.

If Ultra Violette wishes to launch in the United States, though, they’ll have to reformulate their entire product portfolio due to the FDA’s very outdated sunscreen regulations.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• French spirits firm Pernod Ricard has hired bankers to explore the possibility of selling select Australian and New Zealand wine labels. Pernod has been very acquisitive lately but they’ve also divested brands like Clan Campbell and Tormore. AFR

• Debt-laden HanesBrands is exploring a possible sale of athletic apparel brand Champion. Business of Fashion

Fundraising

• REV GUM, a caffeinated, zero sugar gum brand that launched in 2019, secured $6M in Series A funding led by YETI Capital. Other investors include Walter Robb (former CEO of Whole Foods), Lance Armstrong (needs no introduction), and the co-founders of Drunk Elephant. REV GUM is based in Austin, TX and has over 20,000 retail partners. PR Newswire

• There are two new consumed-focused investment firms in the marketplace. Unfold Ventures, a venture firm from Scott Norton, Suzanne Agnello, and Shamez Kanji, secured $300M for its debut fund. Thus far they’ve invested in brands like Beekeeper’s Naturals and Live Tinted. Bloomberg Another investment firm, Humble Growth, announced $312M for its debut fund. Humble’s partners include Peter Rahal (RXBAR), Andrew Abraham (Orgain), and CPG lawyer Nick Giannuzzi. WSJ

• Kliro Capital Partners has invested in Solo Coffee, a UK-based RTD coffee brand that’s known for their coffee concentrates and on-the-go espresso shots. Solo will use a portion of the funding to launch in the U.S. Just Drinks

• Organic popcorn and salty snacks brand LesserEvil Snacks received a minority growth investment from Aria Growth Partners. Terms weren’t disclosed but it was a mix of primary and secondary investment, so some of LesserEvil’s early backers received liquidity. The brand is on pace for $100M in sales this year. Business Wire

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Nopalera, the bath and body brand that’s powered by Mexican botanicals, opened a pop-up in Los Angeles and launched their first products that aren’t in bar form. Nopalera’s new shower gel, which is packaged in an aluminum bottle, is gorgeous ⬇️ Beauty Independent

• Ritual, the premium supplements brand that’s focused on ingredient transparency and traceability, introduced their first sleep product. The product is designed such that melatonin is released in phases, so it helps people get to sleep and stay asleep. It’s also packaged in a beautiful vessel. Ritual

• Tiffany & Co. collaborated with luxury travel brand RIMOWA on a limited-edition travel set. The gaudy collection launches on September 26th. Instagram

• Luxury lifestyle brand Kith will open their first-ever store in Canada on September 22nd. The store features a Kith Treats ice cream counter and a Sadelle’s restaurant. In the words of Gen Z, this store is an absolute movie. Footwear News

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Two fun, fast-growing brands — Aura Bora and Graza — collaborated on a new non-alcoholic Olive Oil Martini. The product is available for purchase here. Even though, I imagine, many consumers are starting to experience collaboration fatigue, this one works very well. The Dieline

• Danish brewer Mikkeller also dropped a fun collaboration with Budvar called #YEAROFTHELAGER. Mikkeller’s cans are always so fun ⬇️ Instagram

• Mindful Brands launched a new non-alcoholic tequila called Soldadera. I’m pretty dubious of most non-alc spirits brands — there just aren’t enough surplus consumer dollars to support the plethora of brands in the marketplace — but Soldadera is a great-looking brand and the founders are experienced. Rooting for them. The Spirits Business

• REBBL, the functional beverage brand that SYSTM Foods acquired last June, unveiled a sleek brand refresh. They knocked it out of the park IMO ⬇️ BevNET

• Playboy Spirits launched a new line of vodka seltzers called PLAY HARD. Playboy Spirits raised $13M in January and thus far they’ve launched a rare tequila, Rare Hare Anejo Conejo, and a 17-year old bourbon called Rare Hare 1953. Given that they started out focused on ultra-premium spirits, I’m not sure why they’re turning their attention to mass market seltzers. Seems like a strategic misfire. PR Newswire

• Hidden Valley Ranch partnered with This Little Goat to launch a new Chili Crunch product. Even though the product looks absolutely revolting to me, I bet all the ranch heads out there will love it. PR Newswire

Data 🖥️

• Vital Farms, the Austin-based ethical food company that’s known for their butter and eggs, expects 2023 net revenue to exceed $465M. Adjusted EBITDA should be around $35M for the year, too. I had no idea Vital Farms was such a monster. Yahoo Finance

Distribution News 🚚

• PRIME launched their hydration line at Kaufland in Germany.

• Skincare brand Ourself expanded its product offering at Bluemercury.

• NotCo launched their NotCo Barista at Joe Coffee across NYC.

• Tea Drops launched nationwide at Sprouts Farmers Market.