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Best Day Brewing Grabs Funding, Willow Growth Backs YSE💄

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CPG WIRE
October 19, 2024

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

  • Pernod streamlines portfolio 🍸

  • Rarebird Coffee raises $1M ☕️

  • CYKLAR relaunches 🔥

  • Orgain bets on protein shots 💪

  • Jack Owoc returns ⚡️

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • French spirits giant Pernod Ricard sold a number of its Nordic brands to Hartwall, a subsidiary of Royal Unibrew. Lapponia, Minttu, Cederlunds Torr, Tapio, and Marinella were all included in the transaction. Pernod divested these brands in order to focus on its international spirits portfolio. Just Drinks

  • Denver-based Integrated Beverage Group (IBG) has acquired Oregon’s Firesteed Cellars for an undisclosed sum. IBG purchased the wine producer out of bankruptcy from Vintage Wine Estates. IBG also owns Duck Pond, Rascal Wines, and Lifevine Wines. Just Drinks

Fundraising

  • Best Day Brewing, one of the fastest-growing non-alc beer brands in the United States, raised an additional $12.5M in funding from new and existing investors. The Bay Area-based brewer has raised a total of $22.5M in 2024. Founded in 2021, Best Day Brewing is available in 35 states and retails at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Albertsons, Target, and many other stores. SEC

  • YSE Beauty (pronounced “wise beauty”), a clean skincare brand founded by Molly Sims, received an undisclosed amount of funding from Willow Growth Partners. Willow Growth specializes in backing consumer brands with revenue between $1-5M. Their investments include Bubble, Coterie, De Soi, Goodles, Kosas, and many others. Business of Fashion

  • Hello Soju, a LA-based purveyor of RTD soju cocktails, raised $5M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. Hello Soju debuted at Coachella in 2023 and is the brainchild of The Hello Group, a global media firm. SEC

  • Rarebird Coffee, a purveyor of paraxanthine-infused coffee products, raised $1M in fresh equity funding. Wired wrote about Rarebird and paraxanthine here. I reckon paraxanthine will be one of the breakout ingredients of 2025. SEC

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Influencer Claudia Sulewski has relaunched CYKLAR, her Los Angeles-based skincare brand, with refreshed branding and reformulated products. The updated packaging is an enormous improvement. CYKLAR partnered with The Center — the beauty incubator behind Naturium — earlier this year. WWD

  • FARM Rio and adidas released a capsule collection to celebrate their 10-year partnership. Hypebae

  • Luxury beauty brand DISCOTHÈQUE launched a fragrance collection that’s inspired by iconic and infamous nightclubs. Very fun concept. Dazed

  • Ovii, a new supplement brand that combats symptoms of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), officially launched. Ovii was co-founded by Dr. Thais Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney. WWD

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Drew Lakin designed some fantastic packaging for Bowl & Kettle, a purveyor of freeze-dried provisions for adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts. Good stuff. Instagram

  • Scotland’s Whitebox Cocktails unveiled their newest canned cocktail, Vieux Carré. The RTD cocktail is a love letter to New Orleans and the legendary Carousel Bar. It’s a beautiful can. Whitebox Cocktails 

  • Clean nutrition brand Orgain just released a range of protein shots. Each 4 oz. serving contains 20g of whey protein and 5g of BCAAs. Impressive. Twitter

  • I’m intrigued by BOLD BAR, a caffeinated protein bar that’s launching in the near future. Each bar contains 20g of protein and 100mg of caffeine. The packaging is memorable and cuts through the noise, too. Twitter

  • Goodles launched a gluten-free version of its pasta range. The new line is available at select Target stores. Instagram

  • GoodPop launched a range of organic, grass-fed dairy ice cream bars. They nailed the packaging. Instagram

  • Jack Owoc, the notorious founder of Bang Energy, is back in the energy drink game with Ai Energy. Ai Energy

  • Hard seltzer brand Quirk is expanding into the hard tea category next year. Brewbound

Data 🖥️

  • Spindrift is on pace for $350M in revenue this year. I’m curious who ends up buying them. PepsiCo seems content with Bubly, and Spindrift would be a formidable compliment to Coco-Cola’s Topo Chico. Bloomberg

Distribution News 🚚

  • Infant nutrition brand ByHeart launched at Walmart, Wegmans, and Whole Foods Market.

  • Another infant nutrition brand, Kabrita, launched at Sprouts and Whole Foods Market.

  • YUZUCO launched storewide at H-E-B.

  • Fancypants Baking Co. launched at Big Y.

  • True Nopal launched at select Whole Foods Market stores.

  • BFY donut brand Drumroll launched at Giant.