Campbell's Sells Yogurt Biz, Forerunner Secures $500M💰

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

• Doisy & Dam acquired 🍫

• OneSkin closes Series A round 🧪

• Electrolit bets on itself 💧

• Guinness x Brooklyn Brewery 🍻

• B.T.R. Nation heads to WFM 📈

Campbell’s Sells Yogurt Biz 🐮

Campbell’s (FKA Campbell Soup Company) is exiting the yogurt category after a very brief stint. On Tuesday, Campbell’s announced that it sold Noosa Yoghurt for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2009 by Koel Thomae, an Australian expat, and Rob Graves, a Colorado dairy farmer, Noosa Yoghurt was the first brand to popularize Australian-style yogurt in the United States. After launching more than 40 SKUs and finding success at the likes of Target and Walmart, Noosa Yoghurt sold a majority stake to Advent International in 2014.

Subsequently, in 2018, Noosa Yoghurt merged with Sovos Brands, a fellow portfolio company of Advent International and the owner of Rao’s Homemade and Michael Angelo’s.

Campbell’s entered the picture in 2023 when the soup & snacks giant acquired Sovos Brands and its portfolio of brands for $2.7B. Campbell’s primary interest in acquiring Sovos was Rao’s Homemade, the Italian pantry staples brand whose net sales grew at a CAGR of 52% from 2017 until 2022. Michael Angelo’s, whose frozen Italian entrées had a household penetration of 4.7% in 2022, was of secondary interest to Campbell’s.

Despite Noosa posting net sales of $177M for the 12 months ending in October, Campbell’s has little interest in competing in the yogurt set, which is why they disposed of the brand so quickly.

Noosa’s new owner is Lakeview Farms, a Cincinnati-based producer of dips, desserts, and specialty products. This is a surprise only because Lakeview Farms is best known for its hummus, salsa, and dessert products, and they have zero presence in the dairy aisle. A more likely buyer would’ve been Danone or Lactalis, but perhaps Noosa was too small to warrant a gander.

More on the transaction here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Doisy & Dam, a UK-based ethical chocolate brand, has been acquired by Food Thoughts, a purveyor of organic chocolate and baking products. The seller is Nurture Brands who acquired Doisy & Dam out of bankruptcy in late 2022. Last week, Nurture Brands divested Indie Bay Snacks, a UK-based pretzel brand. Vegconomist

• High Basin Brands (HBB), a premium spirits firm based in Dripping Springs, Texas, acquired Treaty Oak Brewing & Distilling, one of the oldest distilleries in Texas. HBB also announced $4M in seed funding ahead of the launch of Ghost Hill Organic Vodka. Business Wire

Fundraising

• Divi, a fast-growing scalp and hair health brand, secured a minority investment from Norwest Venture Partners, a global venture and growth equity firm with $15.5B AUM. Divi was founded in 2021 by Dani Austin, an influencer with over 3M followers across various social channels. Norwest’s other consumer investments include Kendra Scott, Ritual, and Vuori. PR Newswire

• OneSkin, a San Francisco-based biotech skincare brand, closed its Series A funding round. Selva Ventures led the round. Additional investors include PLUS Capital, Unilever Ventures, Able Partners, SOSV, and Meta Planet. OneSkin’s core ingredient is OS-01, a patented peptide that’s capable of reversing the skin’s biological age. PR Newswire

• Forerunner Ventures, a leading investor in consumer brands and consumer tech startups, secured $500M for Fund VII. Forerunner is an investor in Ritual, Prose, Glossier, Nécessaire, and a variety of other startups. PitchBook

• Stryve Foods (NASDAQ: SNAX), a Texas-based purveyor of air-dried meat snacks, raised $2.9M via a priced-at-market public offering. The company will use the funds primarily for working capital. GlobeNewswire

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• New York-based fashion label WeWoreWhat partnered with Parlux to launch its debut fragrance. The fragrance will be available online in the coming weeks and will hit shelves at Ulta Beauty in 2025. WWD

• Kendra Scott collaborated with Dolly Parton on a new jewelry collection. Kendra Scott x Dolly Parton will be a multi-year partnership. Refinery29

• Luxury fashion label Loro Piana is opening two new stores in Toronto, Canada. Earlier this year, Loro Piana opened stores in Beverly Hills and Montecito. WWD

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• The Good Crisp Company just launched their cheese balls in bags vs. canisters. The bags look great and they have a lot more real estate to play with branding 👇 Instagram

• One of the fastest-growing hydration brands in the U.S., Electrolit, is building a $400M manufacturing facility in Waco, TX. The 600,000-square-foot facility is expected to create 200 jobs and will open in early 2026. KWTX

• Mini Melts, a leading purveyor of beaded ice cream products (think Dippin’ Dots), just unveiled a new visual identity. It’s definitely an improvement. Altamont Capital Partners acquired a controlling interest in Mini Melts earlier this year. Business Wire

• Idris Elba has partnered with Maison Ferrand, an independent French spirits producer, to launch Porte Noire Cognac. The cognac market has taken an absolute beating lately — sales in key global markets have dipped for the last few years — but booze is cyclical so maybe it’s smart to zig when everyone else is zagging. The Spirits Business

• Guinness and Brooklyn Brewery collaborated on a limited-edition beer — Guinness Fonio Stout. Fonio is an ancient West African grain that’s drought-resistant and packed with nutrients. Brands like Brooklyn Brewery and Yolélé have been busy popularizing Fonio in the West. PR Newswire

• Loverboy, the bev alc brand co-founded by Bravo stars Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula, is apparently launching a THC-infused soda brand called Flowerboy. Starcasm

Data 🖥️

• On had another very impressive quarter. In Q3, On revenue jumped 32% to 636M CHF while their DTC channel revenue surged 49.8% YoY. On also achieved its highest gross profit margin since IPO. Business Wire

Distribution News 🚚

• B.T.R. Nation launched at Whole Foods Market in AZ, CA, and NV.

• Maazah is now available nationwide at Whole Foods Market.

• Aura Bora is now available at all Chopt Salad locations in NYC.

• Happy Wolf launched at 300+ Whole Foods Market stores.

• Real American Beer is now available in Arkansas.