Built Explores Sale, Starboard Takes KDP Stake 🥤

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CPG WIRE
October 16, 2025

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Here’s what we’re covering this morning:

  • Sprinter secures $4M 🍸

  • TAG backs Shift Naturals 👀

  • La Bonne Brosse opens NYC store 🍏

  • Liquid Death appoints CFO 💀

  • Alice launches at Target 🍄

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Fast-growing protein bar brand BUILT has enlisted Houlihan Lokey as the company explores a possible sale. Founded in 2018 and based in American Fork, Utah, BUILT has turned its novel puff protein bar into an omnichannel juggernaut. The protein bar category has been on a sustained heater with 1440 Foods, Ferrero Group, and Hershey all making acquisitions in the past year. Reuters

  • Activist investor Starboard Value revealed a stake in Keurig Dr Pepper just months after the beverage giant announced its $18B acquisition of JDE Peet’s and subsequent restructuring (KDP plans on splitting into two entities à la Kellogg). KDP shares nosedived after the JDE Peet’s acquisition was announced and Starboard Value smelled opportunity. Financial Times

  • Unilever continues to divest non-core brands as it just sold skincare brand Kate Somerville for an undisclosed sum. The buyer is Rare Beauty Brands which also owns Patchology, Dr. Dana, and Dot Dot Dash. Global Cosmetics News

Fundraising

  • According to an SEC filing, Sprinter Spirits raised just over $4M in equity funding from undisclosed investors. Founded in 2023 by Kylie Jenner, Sprinter is best known for its canned vodka cocktails and is reportedly growing very fast. Larry Goodrich was recently named the CEO of Calabasas Beverage Company, the operating company associated with Sprinter and 818 Tequila. SEC

  • UK-based All Things Butter secured £2M in funding to expand its retail presence in the UK and abroad. The premium, chef-quality butter brand offers 10 SKUs at more than 2,000 doors across the UK. Thomas Straker and Toby Hoppy launched the brand in early 2023. LinkedIn

  • Shift Naturals, a purveyor of hemp-infused beverages and functional gummies, scored an undisclosed amount of funding from The Angel Group (TAG) and former hooper Kevin Love. Shift Naturals has two beverage lines — Downshift Sparkling Water and SHIFT Cocktails — in addition to their Downshift Gummies which help consumers unwind. PR Newswire

  • UK-based women’s wellness brand Unfabled raised $1.7M from Arāya Ventures, Atomico Angels, Exceptional Ventures, and others. Unfabled originally launched as a marketplace for women’s health & wellness products but pivoted to creating its own product ten months ago. Their debut range, Unfabled Essentials, is now carried at over 730 Boots stores across the UK. The Industry

  • Science-backed scalp care brand KilgourMD closed a $5M funding round led by Willow Growth Partners. Joyance Partners and Able Partners also participated in the round. James Kilgour, MD launched the brand in 2024 which combats hair loss by improving scalp health. WWD

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Rhode, the skincare brand that e.l.f. Beauty acquired for $1B earlier this year, recently released a hydrogel eye patch line called Peptide Eye Prep. The new product is available online and in-store at Sephora. Instagram

  • French luxury hairbrush maker La Bonne Brosse just opened its first U.S. store in New York City. The company also announced retail partnerships with Bloomingdales and BeautySpace. La Bonne Brosse operates two stores in Paris in addition to its New York location. PR Newswire

  • Vital Proteins, the #1 collagen brand in the U.S., launched a new product called Active Complex. The product is formulated with collagen peptides and Boswellia Serrata extract to support joint mobility and reduce muscle soreness. PR Newswire

  • Small Act is a new high-performance electrolyte drink mix brand. The product is formulated with 100mg of magnesium, 300mg of potassium, and a whopping 1000mg of sodium. The branding is compelling but I’m not sure how many more electrolyte drink mixes the marketplace can support. Small Act

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Barebells is launching a protein soda line in the U.S. market. It’s really more of a protein energy drink as it contains 10g of clear whey protein and 200mg of caffeine. Three flavors are available for pre-order now: Sweet Cherry, Wild Strawberry, and Pineapple Sunrise. The branding is pretty slick. Instagram

  • Liquid Death named Ricky Khetarpaul as its Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Liquid Death, Khetarpaul was CFO at Health-Ade and held senior roles at Lavazza and PepsiCo. Business Wire

  • Equip Foods just unveiled a fantastic brand refresh as it prepares to take on the retail channel. It’s unclear which brand agency facilitated the refresh, but they did an excellent job. Equip Foods partnered with consumer-focused PE firm HighPost Capital earlier this year. LinkedIn

  • Food tech startup Celleste Bio announced a key milestone. The company successfully utilized cell culture technology to produce chocolate grade cocoa butter. Celleste is in the process of building a manufacturing facility to scale production. Vegconomist

  • Pitaya Foods, a leader in frozen smoothie bowls and pops, launched a new Protein Smoothie Bowl line with four flavors. Each bowl contains 10g of plant-based protein. PR Newswire

  • Drumroll Snacks expanded beyond better-for-you donuts with a new line of Mini Muffins. Two flavors, Blueberry and Double Chocolate Chip, are now available exclusively at Sprouts. Instagram

  • BeatBox dropped a limited-edition flavor, Sweet Heat Cinnamon, for the holiday season. PR Newswire

  • Low-sugar candy brand SmartSweets partnered with UTA for licensing representation. Looks like we’re about to see SmartSweets sodas and perhaps even energy drinks. TPG Growth acquired a majority stake in SmartSweets in 2020. License Global

Data 🖥️

  • According to a report from Piper Sandler, Bubble is now the #4 favorite skincare brand amongst female teens. Shai Eisenman launched Bubble five years ago and now it’s in the conversation with incumbents like CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, The Ordinary, and others. LinkedIn 

  • Bloom is on the cusp of hitting a major milestone next week: 100 million cans sold across its beverage portfolio. For context, Bloom only expanded into RTDs last summer. Instagram

Distribution News 🚚