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Diageo Looks To Sell Three Brands, Casatera Scores $500K šŸ’°

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CPG WIRE
February 24, 2024

GM and Happy Saturday, folks. Hereā€™s what weā€™re covering this morning:

  • Stuffed Puffs lands $6M šŸ«

  • Nirvana Super raises debt šŸ’¦

  • Osāna Naturals debuts šŸ§“

  • Marques Brownlee joins Ridge šŸ“ˆ

  • SKU reveals Spring ā€˜24 cohort šŸ‘€

If any agencies or SaaS companies are interested in sponsoring the newsletter, feel free to email [email protected].

Diageo Looks To Sell Three Brands šŸø

Spirits giant Diageo has hired Rothschild to find a buyer for three brands: Pimmā€™s, Pampero Rum, and Safari Liqueur. Pimmā€™s, the iconic gin liqueur brand that was first produced in London in 1823, is likely to fetch the highest price, closely followed by Pampero Rum. If anyone buys Safari Liqueur, itā€™s because they have to buy all three brands. 

Though Diageo is known for making aggressive acquisitions ā€” they shelled out $1B for Casamigos one year after the tequila brand surpassed 120,000 cases ā€” they often fine-tune their portfolio and sell brands that are no longer of strategic importance. 

Diageoā€™s recent divestitures include Archer Schnapps, Guinness Cameroon, TYKU Sake, Windsor Global, and Picon. Their recent acquisitions, on the other hand, include 21 Seeds Tequila, Balcones Distilling, Don Papa Rum, and Mr Black Coffee Liqueur. 

If their acquisition history is any indication, Diageo is looking to sell the above-mentioned brands in order to focus on larger opportunities like tequila, super-premium rum, and, of course, American whiskey. 

More on the news here.

Deals šŸ’°

Fundraising

  • Stuffed Puffs, a producer of chocolate filled marshmallows, has secured $6M in debt financing. Stuffed Puffs was founded by Michael Tierney who also co-founded better-for-you baked goods brand Mikeyā€™s. SEC

  • Nirvana Super, a Florida-based purveyor of functional beverages, has secured $6M in debt financing. Last year the company raised $2.65M in equity funding. Their packaging is pretty great IMO. SEC  

  • Tequila seltzer brand Casatera scored a $500K convertible note from undisclosed investors. The company was founded in 2021 by Kyle King and George Cultraro II. Twitter

Whatā€™s New šŸ¤©

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

  • Jaimee Lupton, the beauty entrepreneur behind MONDAY Haircare, has launched a new personal care brand called Osāna Naturals. The products are cruelty-free and contain a mood-boosting scent technology. Osāna Naturals is already available at Target and Walmart in the U.S. šŸ‘‡ PR Newswire

  • One of the co-founders of TULA Skincare, Dr. Roshini Raj, has joined forces with Colin Walsh, the CEO of haircare brand OUAI, to launch a new wellness brand called YayDay. Their first product is a daily fiber supplement that targets the gut-brain axis. The packaging is fantastic. PR Newswire

  • Popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee has joined accessories brand Ridge as a board member, investor, and Chief Creative Officer. This move, especially from an already successful brand like Ridge, underscores the importance of brands having creators on their side. Fortune

  • Matter of Fact, the luxury skincare brand that launched at Sephora last year, is sadly laying off its entire staff as it failed to secure additional funding. Business of Fashion

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

  • Austin-based CPG accelerator SKU has revealed its Spring 2024 cohort. Participating brands include Curation Beverage Co., Heatherā€™s Choice, Sanara, and four others. PR Web

  • Functional beverage brand Karma Water is launching a new line of energy waters at Expo West next month. The beverage will feature 150mg of natural caffeine and 250mg of Cognizin, a focus agent. NBR

  • Diageo has launched a new line of Captain Morgan RTDs called Sliced. Four flavors are available: Pineapple Daiquiri, Strawberry Margarita, Passion Fruit Hurricane, and Mango Mai Tai. Sliced is malt-based so these arenā€™t actual RTD cocktails. Rum Raiders

  • Unilever has teamed up with food tech startup Perfect Day to produce a lactose-free ice cream. Breyers Lactose-Free Chocolate will begin rolling out across the country this month. PR Newswire

Data šŸ–„ļø

  • Danoneā€™s turnaround is coming to fruition. For FY 2023, Danoneā€™s revenue increased 7% to ā‚¬27.6B. The company also posted free cash flow of ā‚¬2.6B. Danone owns a number of brands like International Delight (creamer), Oikos (yogurt), and Silk (creamer). Financial Times

Distribution News šŸšš

  • Siete launched a number of their salsa products at Walmart.

  • BFY ramen brand immi launched at Fresh Thyme in the Midwest.