The Bouqs Co. Raises $23M, Elephant Gin Under New Ownership 🍸

CPG WIRE
July 13, 2024

Congrats on making it to the weekend, folks! Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions

Elephant Gin, a German gin brand that was founded in 2013, has been acquired by Carl-Lambert Leisewitz. Elephant Gin was acquired by Compagnia dei Caraibi in 2022 but the latter failed to secure financing, so Elephant Gin filed for bankruptcy. Now Elephant Gin’s future is secured. The Spirits Business

Fundraising

Flower delivery service The Bouqs Co. secured $23M in debt and equity funding. Existing investors provided the equity funding while CrowdOut Capital provided the debt. The company also opened flower shops at three Whole Foods Market stores throughout California. PR Newswire
Kudos, a disposable diaper company that uses 100% cotton instead of plastic, raised $3M in additional funding. The company launched in 2021 and has sold over 20M diapers over the past 12 months. Precursor Ventures, Xfund, and Oversubscribed Ventures participated in the round. TechCrunch

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

David Beckham is launching a consumer health brand, IM8, with biotech firm Prenetics. Beckham is an investor in Prenetics which went public via SPAC in 2021. Business of Fashion
Apparel brand PacSun launched a men’s activewear brand called A.R.C. (Active. Recreation. Comfort). The new collection honestly looks pretty good. PR Newswire
Amanda Baldwin, the new CEO at Olaplex, has juiced up her C-suite with a few key hires. Catherine Dunleavy will be joining Olaplex as COO & CFO, while Katie Gohman will become CMO. WWD

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

Lonkero, an English producer of Finnish long drinks, officially made its debut in the UK. The London-based company was founded by Joe Harris and won Best New Alcohol Beverage at In-Drinks Glasgow. The Spirits Business
Ripple Foods, a Berkeley-based purveyor of plant-based milk alternatives, launched a new of range of protein shakes for kids called Ripple Shake Ups. Vegconomist
CaliBagels launched a very fun new product — Old Bay Seasoned Bagel Chips. Sign me up. PR Newswire
Oatside slashed their prices by 30% in Malaysia in order to make their products more accessible. The price reductions were achieved through economies of scale so there were no changes to the product formula. Algae Cooking Club recently passed on savings to consumers and I think it’s largely a smart move if you have the margin to sacrifice. SAYS
Stumptown Coffee partnered with LAIKA, an animation studio, to release Coraline Cold Brew. IMO a lot of Media x Brand collabs seem inauthentic but this passes the sniff test because a) both companies are based in Portland and b) it’s a great-looking can. PR Newswire
The Coconut Collab released a protein yogurt that features 10g of protein per serving. The new line will be available at Tesco and Ocado. KamCity
Spanish pantry staples brand Don Molinico revealed a colorful packaging refresh. Great work by Florence-based Auge Design. Instagram

PepsiCo reported mixed quarterly results on Thursday. Net sales rose nearly 1% to $22.5B but Frito-Lay North America’s volume dipped 4% and PepsiCo’s beverage volume declined by 3%. CNBC