Distill Ventures Backs Two More Brands 🍸

GM and Happy Thursday, folks. It’s been a quietish few days in CPG Land but fortunately we still have some exciting headlines to dive into. Here’s a preview:

• Advent & Blackstone chase Sanofi 💊

• Molson Coors owns 40% of ZOA 🍻

• LA Brewery crowdfunds 💵

• Target x Diane von Furstenberg 🎯

• Melting Forest debuts 🍄

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Advent International and Blackstone are among the firms circling Sanofi’s consumer healthcare unit. Sanofi owns a wide variety of consumer healthcare brands including Allegra, DulcoLax, Icy Hot, Nature’s Own, and many others. JPMorgan recently valued the business unit at $20B. Bloomberg

• Last year we learned that Molson Coors increased its stake in ZOA Energy, the clean energy drink brand founded by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Thanks to a 10-K filing, now we know that Molson Coors actually owns 40% of ZOA, and has an option to increase its stake to over 50% starting in September. Twitter

• Iowa-based Big Grove Brewing has acquired a majority stake in Climbing Kites, a cannabis-infused sparkling water brand that Lua Brewing launched last year. Big Grove was already the distributor for Climbing Kites. Des Moines Register

• Brand aggregator Society Brands has purchased two Orange County-based brands: Clarifion, a seller of air ionizers, and Cleanomic, a maker of eco-friendly cleaning products. Thus far Society Brands has acquired 11 companies. PR Newswire

Fundraising

• Distill Ventures, a Diageo-backed investor and incubator of spirits brands, has backed two female-owned brands: Jackson McCrea Whiskey and UME Plum Liqueur. Distill has invested in a number of other spirits brands including CASA J Tequila, Lodestar Whiskey, and others. The Spirits Business

• UK-based L.A Brewery has raised just over £590K on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. L.A Brewery was founded by Louise Avery and produces kombucha and other non-alcoholic beverages. The packaging is fantastic IMO. Just Drinks

• Bluestein Ventures, an investor in consumer brands and proprietary food technologies, has secured $45M for Fund III. Their previous investments include Base Culture, Bizzy Cold Brew, Factor, Meati, and others. FoodBev

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What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Maesa, the beauty incubator behind brands like Kristin Ess Hair, Flower Beauty, Frenshe, and many others, has revealed the brands that graduated from its 12-week incubator program. Participating brands include Fuzz Clinic, House of Foster, and Squigs Beauty. Business Wire

• Target is partnering with Diane von Furstenberg on a limited-edition apparel collection. The 200-piece collection will hit stores on March 23rd. WWD

• Inditex, the owner of Zara, is doubling down on its Gen Z-focused apparel brand Lefties as it combats the rise of Shein. Inditex now operates Lefties stores in 17 countries. Reuters

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Casa Azul, the tequila brand founded by serial beverage entrepreneur Lance Collins, has a new CEO in Dennis Carr. Most recently Carr served as a VP at Gallo. Great hire for a young spirits brand. PR Newswire 

• JuneShine has partnered with Mark Wystrach, the lead singer of country band Midland, to launch a new hard kombucha flavor — Desert Cooler. The can is absolutely beautiful. Instagram

• Melting Forest, a new adaptogenic energy drink brand, officially launched. The beverage features 150mg of caffeine along with Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms. The name and packaging are both fun, but I wonder if Melting Forest is a little late to the game. Odyssey, another adaptogenic energy brand, has been on a hot streak. BevNET

• Nona Lim, the Asian food brand that was recently acquired by DayDayCook, launched two new product lines: Instant Noodle Bowls and Heat & Serve Meat Entrees. The Singaporean Chicken Curry sounds incredible. PR Newswire

• The talented folks at The Dieline recently wrote a piece on Beck’s Broth, a Canadian company that makes bone broth-infused instant coffee and hot chocolate. The packaging is brilliant. The Dieline

• Spindrift introduced two new flavors — Grapeade and Island Punch. PR Newswire 

Data 🖥️

• Per an Instagram story, Mid-Day Squares has sold over 30 million bars. They launched four years ago which is super impressive…No link because sadly it was an Instagram story ☹️ 

Distribution News 🚚

• Rap Snacks has launched in the UK, Canada, and Spain.

• Crossfire Hurricane, the rum brand founded by The Rolling Stones, signed a nationwide distribution agreement with Southern Glazer’s.

• Cometeer is now available at Whole Foods Market.