Danone Ditches Russia, Geologie Launches at Target 🎯

CPG WIRE
February 27, 2024

Welcome back to This Week in CPG, folks. Yesterday was a frenetic news day so we a lot to cover this morning. Here’s a quick preview:

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions

French dairy giant Danone is selling its Russian assets for around $192M. The buyer is a consortium led by Yakub Zakriev, the nephew of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. The Kremlin placed Danone’s Russian operations under new management in July of 2023, and now they’re selling it at a massive discount. Reuters
Driscoll’s, the California-based berry giant that’s owned by Paine Schwartz Partners, is acquiring Costa Group, a leading Australian grower and marketer of fresh fruits. Progressive Grocer
UK-based fashion & retail giant NEXT is in talks to acquire The Body Shop out of bankruptcy. NEXT is a very opportunistic buyer and has purchased a number of brands out of bankruptcy. The Industry

Fundraising

Centroid Investment Partners, the Seoul-based owner of TaylorMade, is raising $500M for more golf acquisitions. Bloomberg
Better Foods, a Sacramento-based producer of alternative meat products, has secured $1.49M in fresh equity funding. It appears that Chicago-based venture firm Cleveland Avenue is the investor. SEC

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

Happy Hair People, a new masstige haircare brand, officially launched and is available exclusively at Target. The products contain MoodScentz, Givaudan’s fragrance technology that purportedly has mood-boosting capabilities. PR Newswire
Two molecular scientists and an Estée Lauder alum have launched SickScience, a skincare brand that’s using a proprietary technology to “biohack beauty.” Their debut product is the ShapeShift V-Line Jaw Defining Serum which utilizes pineapple-derived exosomes to sculpt the jawline. The packaging is very similar to another skincare brand, SpoiledChild. WWD
Sara Jane Ho, the host of Netflix series Mind Your Manners, has launched a new intimate care brand that’s inspired by Traditional Chinese Medicine. The company is called Antevorta and the branding is terrific. Beauty Independent
Leading hair health brand Nutrafol is expanding into a new category with the launch of Nutrafol Skin. Nutrafol Skin is a daily supplement that helps combat moderate acne. PR Newswire
Popstar Dua Lipa is joining YSL Beauty as a Global Makeup Ambassador. Business of Fashion
Supergoop has named the former CEO of JLo Beauty, Lisa Sequino, as its new CEO. Blackstone Growth (BGX) acquired a majority stake in Supergoop in 2021. In 2022, the brand reached $250M in sales, a year-over-year increase of 65%. Business Wire

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

BFY soda brand OLIPOP announced a new partnership with FC Cincinnati. TQL Stadium will be the first pro sports venue to carry and sell OLIPOP. I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot more of these partnerships from OLIPOP and its competitors. Twitter
Speaking of BFY soda brands…Poppi officially unveiled their new 16 oz tallboys and they look great. Instagram
Another beverage brand, Texas-based Big Country Organic Brewing Co., also unveiled some good-looking tallboys. Instagram
Oatly has been dialing up the innovation lately…the category leader in oat milk just launched an organic version of its very popular Barista Oat Drink. The Grocer
Hibiscus beverage brand Ruby just revealed a fantastic brand refresh. I loved their old packaging, but the latest iteration will definitely appeal to a more mainstream audience. Twitter
Moxie Sozo did a great job on the branding for desserts brand Sommerly. Love the warm, nostalgic vibes. Instagram

Hims & Hers had a massive Q4. Revenue surged 65% to $872M while gross margins improved by 400 bps. Their subscriber base also grew 48% to 1.53M. Impressive. Twitter
LA-based pasta sauce brand Sauz now owns the top two performing SKUs in the category at Erewhon. Love seeing a young brand execute and win local. Twitter
Keurig Dr Pepper carbonated soft drink volume was off 4.3% for the four weeks ending on February 10th. Poppi acquisition incoming? Twitter

Gender-neutral skincare brand Geologie launched at 800 Target stores.
Poppi is launching their 16 oz cans nationwide at 7-Eleven.
SadieB, a personal care brand that’s on a mission to empower girls, launched at 500 Target stores.
Troy Aikman’s beer brand, EIGHT, is now available in Oklahoma.
Skin Rocks launched at Liberty in the UK.