Celeb Vodka Heats Up, Health-Ade Launches SunSip 🥤

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Hope y’all had a relaxing weekend a productive Monday.

Here’s what we’re getting into today:

• Arezzo & Grupo Soma merge 🛍️

• Brown Girl Jane wins grant 💰

• SPANX names new CEO 🆕

• Rockstar brand refresh 😍

• OLIPOP x Aldi 🫧

Shout-out to minisocial, the go-to UGC solution for CPG brands.

Celeb Vodka Heats Up 🍸

Two popular comedians and podcasters, Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura, have joined forces to launch Por Osos, a premium vodka brand that will debut in March.

Per the brand, Por Osos Vodka is gluten-free, made from premium ingredients, and uses a patented finishing process that “sets it apart in a crowded market.”

If we’re being honest, though, there isn’t a whole lot differentiating Por Osos from other premium vodka brands besides the sheer popularity of Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura. Fortunately for them, starpower, combined with good timing and execution, can lead to massive outcomes in the spirits category, and they have a lot of the former. 

Kreischer and Segura co-host a weekly podcast together, 2 Bears, 1 Cave, which regularly charts in the top 10 comedy podcasts worldwide. They also combine for nearly 6 million followers on Instagram, and boast formidable audiences on YouTube and other social media platforms. 

Somewhere along the way, vodka replaced tequila as the new celebrity “it” spirits category. Though celebrities are still launching tequila brands — Matthew McConaughey launched one late last year — celebrities have been pouring into the vodka category for a few reasons: there’s way less competition and vodka is very cheap to produce. 

The latest example, besides Kreischer & Segura, is another comedian, Ricky Gervais, who made a “major investment” in Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka, a carbon-neutral vodka brand that hails from the U.K. Prior to that, actor Jason Momoa launched Meili Vodka which is beautifully packaged and produced in Bozeman, MT.

More on the launch of Por Osos Vodka here.

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Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• UK-based spirits producer Innovatus Drinks has acquired Sollasa, a low-ABV aperitif brand that’s inspired by Indian culture and cuisine. Sollasa is based in London and launched in July of 2021. Innovatus Drinks owns a number of other spirits brands like Horse Guards London Dry Gin and Wing Walker Spiced Rum. The Spirits Business

• Two Brazilian fashion firms — Arezzo and Grupo Soma — are merging to form an entity with revenues of more than $2.4B. Arezzo will own 54% of the company while Grupo Soma will own the remaining 46%. Last year Arezzo purchased Milan-based luxury footwear brand Paris Texas. Reuters

Fundraising

• Black-owned fragrance brand Brown Girl Jane has won a $100K grant from Sephora and The Fifteen Percent Pledge. Brown Girl Jane launched in 2019 and produces mood enhancing fragrances. Business of Fashion

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Celebrity hairstylist James Pecis is launching a sustainable haircare brand, Blu & Green Beauty, on Monday, February 12th. The brand will launch with four products which are all packaged without plastic: a solid shampoo and conditioner, a moisturizing mask, and a solid styling oil. Previously James Pecis served as a global ambassador for Oribe, a prestige haircare brand. Business of Fashion

• Scalp care brand Act + Acre is launching something new later today. Instagram 

• SPANX, the leading shapewear brand founded by Sara Blakely, is promoting Cricket Whitton, an alum of Wayfair and Design Within Reach, to the CEO role. PR Newswire

• A terrific article on how Emily Weiss is fixing Glossier. Fun fact: a bottle of Glossier You perfume sells every 40 seconds. Financial Times 

• Luxury fragrance brand Parfums de Marly opened its first APAC store. The new store is located in Sydney’s Strand Arcade. Inside Retail Asia

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Health-Ade officially launched SunSip, its new prebiotic soda brand. Four flavors are available: Cherry Cola, Strawberry Vanilla, Raspberry Lemonade, and Root Beer. The packaging is great. SunSip is available exclusively at Whole Foods Market and will hit other retailers starting in April. PR Newswire

• Rockstar Energy is rolling out a bold new visual identity in the UK and select European markets (Germany and Poland). IMO they knocked this out of the park. The new look was designed in-house by PepsiCo Design + Innovation (PepsiCo bought Rockstar for $3.85B in 2020) ⬇️ PR Newswire

• Cometeer has partnered with Houseplant — the lifestyle brand founded by Seth Rogen — to co-create a line of flash-frozen coffee capsules. Two roasts are available: Bean There Done That and Get Roasted. NOSH

• Malibu, the rum brand owned by Pernod Ricard, just debuted a new line of ready-to-serve cocktails. Malibu’s RTS line is available in three flavors: Strawberry Daiquiri, Pineapple Bay Breeze, and Rum Punch. PR Newswire

• The Good Crisp Company just launched a new flavor — Cheddar & Sour Cream. You can find it exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Their products are really good. Instagram

• Algae Cooking Club is doing a limited first production run of its sustainable cooking oil later this month. The packaging is brilliant. Instagram

Data 🖥️

• GHOST Energy almost hit $600M in FY retail sales in 2023. Incredible. Twitter 

• Footwear brand Skechers is very quietly killing it. In 2023, revenue jumped 7.5% year-over-year to $8B. Fashion Network

Distribution News 🚚

• Better-for-you soda brand OLIPOP is now available at Aldi in California and Texas.

• Hi Seltzer, a Delta 8 THC-infused beverage brand, is rolling out at Spec’s in Texas.