Ayoh Secures $4.5M, Equip Launches Bars 🍫

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

• Coty seeks buyer(s) 💄

• Taste Tomorrow backs Better Sour 🍭

• Veracity raises $6M 🧪

• Liquid Death x WhistlePig collab 🥃

• Zahav Hummus lands at Target 🎯

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Multinational beauty firm Coty is reportedly looking for a buyer. In order to extract as much value as possible, the company is looking to sell its luxury and its mass beauty divisions separately. Coty’s share price has dipped considerably this year and their market cap currently sits just north of $4B. Reuters

Fundraising

• Ayoh, the boldly flavored condiment brand co-founded by Molly Baz and David McCormick, raised $4.5M from an impressive roster of investors. The round was led by Imaginary Ventures with participation from Lerer Hippeau, Simple Food Ventures, Habitat Partners, and Great Circle Ventures. PR Newswire

• All In Food, the snack bar brand formerly known as This Bar Saves Lives, relaunched and raised $4M to support its growth. The round was led by Obvious Ventures. Actress Kristen Bell originally launched the brand in 2013 but sold it to GOOD Worldwide in 2022. The new brand identity is a considerable upgrade and the bars are already available at Starbucks. PR Newswire

• Taste Tomorrow Ventures (TTV), the venture arm of L.A. Libations, just invested in Better Sour, a better-for-you candy brand that launched in 2023. This is TTV’s second investment after they backed Just Ice Tea in May. Better Sour was founded by Bella Hughes and Semira Nikou. Business Wire

• Isima, the new haircare brand from global superstar Shakira, secured $12M in funding to support its ambitious growth plans. Investors include Stelac Capital Partners, LMDV Capital, Northstar, and WME. Isima will make its retail debut at Ulta Beauty in the U.S. and Mexico later this summer. PR Newswire

• Veracity, a New York-based purveyor of metabolic health supplements, raised $6M in fresh funding. The round was co-led by Maveron Ventures and Melitas Ventures. Veracity is best known for Metabolism Ignite, a $75 GLP-1 boosting supplement. The company also hired Giorgio Dell’Acqua, formerly the chief science officer at Nutrafol. WWD

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Ben Gorham, the founder of Byredo and its Chief Creative Officer, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Spanish beauty firm Puig acquired a majority stake in Byredo at a reported valuation of €1B in May of 2022. Gorham founded the luxury fragrance brand in Stockholm in 2006. WWD

• DUDE Wipes is getting into the baby biz with their newest line — LiL’ DUDE Wipes. The flushable wipes are hypoallergenic and contain no parabens, phthalates, dyes, chemical binders, or alcohol. They’re available nationwide at Walmart. PR Newswire

• UK-based haircare brand LUNESI officially launched. The brand’s products are formulated to combat dryness, slowed growth, dullness, and scalp imbalance. Candice Swanepoel, the Victoria's Secret icon, is the face of LUNESI. PR Newswire

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Equip Foods just launched a grass-fed beef protein bar line with two flavors: Chocolate and Mixed Berry. The new bars have impressive clean label bonafides: 20g of protein, naturally sweetened with dates and honey, and no seed oils, binders, fillers, or refined sugars. Last week, Equip Foods announced a partnership with HighPost Capital, the consumer-focused private equity firm. Business Wire

• Brightland expanded its lineup with two new products: Everyday Cooking Oil and Everyday Salad Oil. The new products are packaged in sleek squeeze bottles and will launch at Whole Foods Market in August. Instagram

• Liquid Death and WhistlePig collaborated on a casket-aged whiskey. Dubbed WhistlePig GraveStock Wheat Whiskey, the liquid is partially aged in an actual casket and made with Liquid Death’s mountain-sourced water. CNN

• MOSH, the brain health-focused protein bar brand founded by Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger, launched a vegan protein bar collection. Three flavors are available: Chocolate Chip Cookie, Peanut Chocolate Chip, and Hazelnut Chocolate Chip. Each bar contains 11g of protein, 2g of sugar, and Cognizin (their core active ingredient). NOSH

• Naked Nutrition, a Miami-based clean supplements brand, launched a super clean line of energy drinks. The products are formulated with six simple ingredients: carbonated water, lemon juice, natural flavors, cane sugar, monk fruit, and caffeine. The minimalist branding works really well. Stack3d

• Kraft Heinz and General Mills both announced that they will eliminate artificial dyes from their U.S. products by the start of 2027. This is another big win for the MAHA agenda and for advocates like Jason Karp. AP News

• THC beverage brand Cann released a great-looking infused aperitif called Spritz. The branding is terrific and each bottle retails for $64. Instagram

• Chamberlain Coffee partnered with Pinterest on a limited-edition coffee blend: Sea Salt Toffee Flavored Blend. Instagram

• Creator-led coffee brand Top of the Mornin’ added K-Cups to its lineup. Two roasts are currently available in K-Cup form. They look great. Twitter

Data 🖥️

• According to Forbes, clean ice pop maker JonnyPops is expected to do $100M in annual sales this year. The company was founded in a dorm room at St. Olaf College in 2011 and has been profitable since year one. Forbes

Distribution News 🚚

• Zahav Hummus launched at 485 Target stores.

• Urban Remedy added 27 Whole Foods Market stores in Texas.

• Realsy launched at select Hy-Vee stores.

• Ayoh is launching storewide at Whole Foods Market in July.