Booze M&A Is Back 💰

Author

CPG WIRE
September 16, 2023

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

  • Sagamore Spirit acquired 🥃

  • Spanish beauty firm Puig explores IPO 💰

  • iHeartMedia backs kombucha brand 📻

  • Kendra Scott partners with Target 🎯

  • PRIME remains a rocket ship 🚀

The Big Story 📰

Sagamore Spirit, the Baltimore-based whiskey distillery that’s known for its award-winning rye variants, was acquired by Italian wine & spirits firm Illva Saronno for an undisclosed sum.

Launched in 2013 by Kevin Plank, the co-founder and former CEO of Under Armour, along with co-founders Bill McDermond and Brian Treacy, Sagamore Spirit has established itself as a global player in the rye whiskey category. The company opened a five acre distillery and visitors center on Baltimore’s waterfront in 2017, and since then they’ve largely taken production in-house instead of relying on contract manufacturers like MGP Ingredients.

Illva Saronno is best known for owning Disaronno, the popular liqueur brand, but they also own spirits brands like The Busker Irish Whiskey and Artic Vodka, as well as wine labels like Corvo and Florio.

The acquisition of Sagamore Spirit marks Illva Saronno’s first foray into American whiskey, a fast-growing category that’s experienced an uptick in M&A lately. Strategics like Campari, Diageo, Edrington, and Pernod Ricard have been buying American whiskey brands left and right.

Late last year, Campari paid $420m (nice) for 70% of Wilderness Trail Distillery, a Kentucky-based bourbon brand that launched in 2012. They also purchased a 15% stake in Howler Head, the official flavored bourbon of UFC. Diageo acquired Balcones Distilling for an undisclosed sum in November of 2022, while Pernod Ricard scooped up Skrewball Whiskey. Edrington, which owns Macallan, bought Wyoming Whiskey earlier this year.

All in all it’s a great time to be an American whiskey brand. The category, especially for premium-and-above brands, is growing fast, and the major spirits players are paying large premiums to buy emerging brands.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Spanish beauty firm Puig has hired bankers to explore a possible IPO. Puig was founded in 1914 and owns Byredo, Charlotte Tilbury, Paco Rabanna, Kama Ayurveda, and others. They also own a number of licenses to produce beauty products for popular apparel brands. In 2022, Puig’s revenue surged 40% to 3.6B EUR. The company could be worth as much as $8.5B. Business of Fashion

  • Scottish spirits firm William Grant & Sons, the owner of Hendrick’s Gin, Tullamore Dew, and Glenfiddich, acquired UK-based gin producer Silent Pool Distillers. Just Drinks

  • American luxury goods distributor MadaLuxe Group purchased a majority stake in Tequila Enemigo. Terms weren’t disclosed. Tequila Enemigo was founded in the UK in 2017. The Spirits Business

  • Eat Just, the group behind plant-based egg brand JUST Egg, is exploring a possible sale of its Singaporean cultured meat division. The company is currently being sued by one of its vendors for $100m. Curious how much longer Eat Just can cling to life…total disaster. Axios

Fundraising

  • iHeartMedia has invested in Health-Ade, the Los Angeles-based beverage brand known for their kombuchas and prebiotic sodas. Terms of the investment weren’t disclosed, but this sounds like one of those weird media-for-equity deals that for whatever reason gives me the willies. PR Newswire

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • If you’re interested in learning more about the beauty brands participating in Ulta Beauty’s MUSE Accelerator program, we broke down the new cohort a few days ago. Twitter

  • Austin-based jewelry unicorn Kendra Scott is launching a new collection exclusively at Target. The 200-piece collection will be available online and in-store. Select Target stores will also offer a dedicated Kendra Scott at Target shopping experience. Retail TouchPoints

  • Department store Kohl’s plans to open 45 more Sephora store-within-a-stores this fall. Beauty sales at Kohl’s jumped 90% year-over-year thanks to the Sephora concessions. Global Cosmetics News

  • Pai Skincare, the natural beauty brand that was acquired by Famille C earlier this year, launched a new night cream called Bonne Nuit. Good-looking product. Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Blue Bottle Coffee opened a pretty stunning coffee kiosk at Hong Kong International Airport. Worth a gander. Inside Retail Asia

  • Mamahuhu, a fast casual Chinese restaurant chain that’s based in the Bay Area, just launched a new line of gluten-free potstickers. Cute packaging although the logotype is a little diminutive. Instagram

  • Ruby Hibiscus Water dropped a fun new collaboration with Adrian Cashmere. Pink Lemonade is available for pre-order online. Ruby

Data 🖥️

  • Per Nielsen, PRIME volume jumped 462.3% during the four weeks ending on August 26th. Total dollar sales for PRIME over the last 52 weeks = $517.8M. Insane growth for a company that launched in January of 2022. Twitter

  • Inditex (the owner of Zara) delivered a stellar first half of 2023. Net sales rose 13.5% to 16.9B EUR and net profit jumped 40% to 2.5B EUR. Reuters

Distribution News 🚚

  • Howler Head is launching in Mexico thanks to Campari Group.

  • Luxury hand care brand Paume launched at Bluemercury.