Campari Sells Howler Head, Coca-Cola Doubles Down on Booze 🍸

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

• Forward buys Bar Keepers Friend 🧼

• WHP Global chases Guess 👖

• New Culture raises $5M 🧀

• Augustinus Bader launches sunscreen ⛱️

• Catalina Crunch refreshes packaging 🥣

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Italian spirits firm Campari Group sold flavored whiskey brand Howler Head for an undisclosed sum. The buyer is Infinium Spirits, a San Diego-based spirits company. Campari acquired a 15% stake in Howler Head for $15M in 2022. The company had an option to purchase the remainder of Howler Head in 2025, but it looks like they passed the onus onto Infinium Spirits. The Spirits Business

• Private equity firm Forward Consumer Partners has acquired Bar Keepers Friend, a trusted brand in the household cleaning category. Bar Keepers Friend was founded in 1882 by renowned chemist George William Hoffman. Over the past decade, Bar Keepers Friend has grown net revenue at a double-digit CAGR. This acquisition is a slight departure for Forward Consumer Partners seeing as their last two deals have been for premium snack makers (Firehook Bakery and Xochitl). There’s a common thread between all three brands, however. Business Wire

• Interparfums SA has acquired the intellectual property rights for Maison Goutal, a luxury fragrance brand, from South Korean beauty firm Amorepacific. Interparfums SA will take over operations for Maison Goutal in 2026. WWD

• WHP Global submitted a take-private offer to Guess (NYSE:GES) for $770M. WHP Global is a brand management firm with over $7B in global retail sales. Their brand portfolio includes Lotto, Vera Wang, Rag & Bone, Joe’s Jeans, and a number of other apparel brands. Reuters

Fundraising

• New Culture, a Bay Area-based producer of animal-free cheese products, secured $5M in funding from a number of chefs and restaurant operators. New Culture was founded in 2018 and last year they partnered with legendary chef Nancy Silverton. Food Business News

• Growth equity firm Stripes is raising its seventh flagship fund. The New York-based firm is an investor in Siete, Vuori, On, Erewhon, Khaite, Kosas, PopUp Bagels, and many other consumer brands. SEC

• Aora, a Mexico City-based luxury makeup brand, raised an additional $1.4M in pre-seed funding. The company will use the additional capital to expand its presence in the United States. Beauty Independent 

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• London-based fragrance brand DIEM is looking to disrupt the industry with luxury scents in sustainable packaging at affordable prices. The packaging is pretty spectacular 👇 The Industry

• Isle of Paradise reformulated its self-tanning drops range. They removed alcohol, coconut oil, and fragrances while adding niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and azelaic acid. PR Newswire

• Skincare unicorn Augustinus Bader revealed its first-ever sunscreen product. The Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 comes in a 30-milliliter bottle and retails for $150. L’OFFICIEL 

• Peace Out Skincare released two new products: Overnight Bio-Collagen Recovery Mask and Retinol Eye Jelly Stick. Happi

• EXPERIMENT launched a moisturizer called Molecular Mesh. Great-looking SKU. Instagram

• Ghost is expanding its Basics range with a creatine SKU. The product contains 5g of Creapure and 50mg of AstraGin (a nutrient absorption aid). Instagram

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Force of Nature, a leader in regeneratively-raised meats, is expanding into poultry with pasture-raised, organic-fed chicken. According to co-founder Katie Forrest, “this is the first step toward meaningful change in the poultry industry — and if anyone can do it, it’s Force of Nature.” Business Wire

• Better-for-you snack & cereal brand Catalina Crunch just unveiled a packaging refresh. The updated packaging features superior product photography and much clearer callouts. PR Newswire

• C4 expanded its Jolly Rancher energy drink range with a new flavor — Peach. Stack3d

• Enso Chips is a new player in the seed oil-free, small batch chip space. The branding is killer. Enso will be on the shelf at Happier Grocer in NYC starting next week. Enso Chips

• Coca-Cola continues to prioritize booze as it chases growth. Red Tree Beverages, Coca-Cola’s alcohol subsidiary, launched an RTD vodka lemonade under its Minute Maid brand. Food Dive

• London-based Oat Cult is a new player in the gut-friendly overnight oats category. Each single-serve sachet contains 8g protein, 8g of fiber, and no artificial sweeteners or added sugar. Oat Cult

• Austin Eastciders revealed their newest flavor — Mango Lime. Instagram

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Data 🖥️

• According to Fast Company, Athletic Brewing did an impressive $130M in sales in 2024. Fast Company

Distribution News 🚚

• Protein Pints launched nationwide at Kroger.

• Bloom Sparkling Energy is now available nationwide at Albertsons.

• Children’s nutrition brand Amara launched nationwide at Target.

• SideDish went nationwide at Whole Foods Market.

• Lalo launched online and in-store at Target.

• RTD cocktail brand Thomas Ashbourne partnered with Southern Glazer’s.

• BERO launched at Selfridges in the UK.