Constellation Sells SVEDKA, Alex Cooper Unveils Beverage Brand 💧

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

• Sojourner bets on Hawaii Coffee ☕️

• Silas Capital backs Violette_FR 💄

• Kardashian snack brand raises $4.5M 🍿

• Premier Protein launches waffles 🧇

• Tatcha heads to Ulta 👀

Constellation Sells SVEDKA 🍸

On Tuesday, Constellation Brands announced that it divested SVEDKA Vodka for an undisclosed sum. The buyer, Sazerac, is a New Orleans-based spirits firm and the owner of Buffalo Trace, E.H. Taylor, Fireball, Van Winkle, and a wide variety of other brands.

Constellation dumping SVEDKA shouldn’t come as a major surprise. In September, Constellation reduced the value of its wine & spirits division by $2.5B, largely due to slowing sales and flagging consumer interest. Their beer division, on the other hand, home to brands like Modelo and Corona, has performed well and posted single-digit net sales growth and double-digit operating income growth in Q2.

In short, Constellation is selling SVEDKA to focus on what’s working — premium craft spirits and beer — while also getting some liquidity for a pretty solid asset (SVEDKA sold over 4.7M cases in 2020 and is the 4th largest vodka brand in the United States). With this liquidity, Constellation can fund acquisitions in categories that are working or pay off some of their $10B debt load. 

This move makes a lot of sense for Sazerac, too. Despite managing over 500 brands across beer, wine, and spirits, Sazerac’s vodka portfolio is pretty limited. Their only vodka brand of note is Wheatley Vodka which most of you will have to google in order to recognize. 

With SVEDKA, Sazerac not only fills a considerable void in its portfolio, but they get an asset that they can realistically return to growth. Also it’s likely that Sazerac paid very little for SVEDKA, but we’ll know for sure when Constellation reports earnings in early January.

For context, Brown-Forman sold Finlandia Vodka, a top 20 vodka brand, to Coca-Cola HBC in 2023 for $220M.

More on the transaction here.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Molson Coors acquired Cruz Blanca, a Chicago-based producer of Mexican-inspired beers. Founders Manny Valdes and Jacob Sembrano will stay with company and retain ownership of their Chicago brewpub. Just Drinks

• Sojourner Consumer Partners acquired a stake in Hawaii Coffee Company, a leading roaster of packaged coffee in Hawaii. Sojourner will look for additional acquisitions in the packaged and RTD coffee categories. Business Wire

Fundraising

• Violette_FR, a multi-category beauty brand that launched in 2021, raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding in a round led by Silas Capital. Other investors include Experienced Capital, Monogram Capital Partners, and Felix Capital. Violette_FR was founded by French makeup artist Violette Serrat and plays in the skincare, makeup, and fragrance categories. The Industry

• Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner raised around $4.5M for a mysterious new brand called Khloud. According to trademark filings, it’s a popcorn brand. SEC

• Superlativa, a Spanish wellness brand focused on women’s stress management, secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Iris Ventures. Superlativa was founded by Teresa Pueyo, a mother of three, and is available at 400 pharmacies across Spain. Femtech Insider

• Rosy Soil, a purveyor of sustainable soil products, raised $3.6M in seed funding from Draper Associates, Superorganism, Climate Capital, and Boost VC. The company’s products are intended to offset the negative environmental impact of traditional peat-based potting mixes. The packaging is pretty compelling 👇 PR Newswire

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Plus Two Ventures is a brand development studio that’s helping influencers create brands. The studio will launch three creator-led brands next year, the first of which will launch in January. The Industry

• Fast-growing beauty brand Sol de Janeiro opened a unique garden pop-up in Miami for Art Basel. The multi-sensory installation will remain open until December 8th. PR Newswire

• Rhode is feeling festive and released their viral Peptide Lip Treatment in a new scent — Peppermint Glaze. Instagram

• Clean beauty brand Merit collaborated with Completedworks, a UK-based jewelry brand, on a collection of gold, silver, and pearl earrings. Hypebae

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Popular podcast host Alex Cooper is launching Unwell Hydration early next year. The RTD hydration brand will be available exclusively at Target for $2.49 per bottle or $15 for an 8-pack. I don’t know if the marketplace needs yet another creator-led beverage brand, but Cooper has a massive audience and a very credible partner in Nestle. Here’s what it looks like 👇 People

• Foxtrot will reopen its fifth store in Chicago later today. The store is located at 401 N. Wells Street. It appears that Foxtrot is officially back. Excited for them to reopen in Dallas. Instagram

• Premier Protein, best known for its protein powders and RTD shakes, released a range of high-protein waffles. Each serving contains 13-15 grams of whey protein. FoodBev

• STōK Cold Brew Coffee just released two decaf cold brew coffee SKUs. The new line is available at select retailers across the country. PR Newswire

Data 🖥️

• Campbell’s (FKA Campbell Soup Company) reported mixed results for Q1 of fiscal 2025. Net sales increased 10% thanks to the acquisition of Sovos Brands, but organic net sales dipped 1%. Their Meals & Beverages unit performed largely due to Rao’s Homemade and Prego, but their snack division net sales dipped 2%. Campbell’s

Distribution News 🚚

• Tatcha, the skincare brand that Unilever acquired for around $500M in 2019, launched at Ulta Beauty.

• Hydration brand Magna is now available at SoulCycle.

• Beverage brand Don’t Quit launched at Vons.