Every Man Jack Up For Sale 🧼

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

• Carlyle looks to sell Every Man Jack 💰

• More luxury wine M&A 🍷

• The 7 Virtues scores funding 📈

• Kylie Jenner launches KHY 🆕

• E.L.F. delivers monster quarter 💄

The Big Story 📰

According to Reuters, Carlyle Group is preparing to sell Every Man Jack, a men’s grooming brand that the private equity firm purchased in 2020. 

Founded in 2007 by Ritch Viola, Every Man Jack is best known for selling dozens of clean grooming products like body wash, beard oil, deodorant, shampoo, soap, etc. In addition to their direct-to-consumer business, Every Man Jack also retails at Costco, Kroger, Target, Walmart, and pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens. 

When it was purchased in 2020, Every Man Jack was reportedly doing just north of $60M in net sales, and now the brand does upwards of $100M in annual sales. 

Carlyle hopes to sell Every Man Jack for around $400M. 

With Unilever selling a majority stake in Dollar Shave Club last week, and Carlyle ditching the men’s grooming space after only three years, it feels like the end of an era for the category. Though the category has gotten extremely competitive in recent years, these moves from Unilever and Carlyle aren’t correlated. 

Carlyle has openly deemphasized the consumer sector in favor of technology and financial services, while Unilever has other grooming franchises like Axe and Dove to fall back on. The men’s grooming category does seem like a race to the bottom, though, and I don’t foresee Carlyle, Unilever, or anyone finding meaningful profits there over a sustained period.

More info from Reuters.

Deals 💰

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Swiss luxury goods firm Lalique SA purchased a majority stake in French luxury wine producer Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey for €18M. Lalique now owns 75% of the vineyard. On Monday, Treasury Wine Estates shelled out $900M plus a possible $100M earnout to buy DAOU Vineyards, a California-based luxury wine label. Bloomberg

• South Korean cosmetics firm Amorepacific increased its stake in COSRX to 93.2%. COSRX is a hypoallergenic skincare brand that launched in 2013. For the first half of this year, COSRX generated around $140M of revenue. PR Newswire

• Society Brands, the brand aggregator that raised $25M last month, acquired a majority stake in Club EarlyBird for an undisclosed sum. Club EarlyBird produces supplements that help with energy and focus. PR Newswire

Fundraising

• The 7 Virtues — a clean fragrance brand that uses sustainably sourced ingredients — secured growth funding from Unilever Ventures and True Beauty Ventures. This is the first time Unilever Ventures or True Beauty Ventures has backed a fragrance brand. The 7 Virtues was founded in 2010 by Barb Stegemann. The brand retails at Sephora in 18 countries and expects 80% year-over-year sales growth. Beauty Independent

• Nootropic beverage brand EVERMIND raised $1.3M at a $4M pre-money valuation and officially launched. EVERMIND’s cognitive elixirs feature omega-3s, lion’s mane, guayusa, and 10G of plant-based protein. Good-looking products 🔽 BevNET

What’s New 🤩

Apparel, Cosmetics, and Wellness

• Kylie Jenner launched her new fashion label, KHY, alongside Emma & Jens Grede, the pair who helped Kim Kardashian launch shapewear juggernaut SKIMS. The first collection from KHY, dubbed Drop 001, features faux leather and base layers. The $198 Faux Leather Trench Coat pictured below sold out in hours 🔽 KHY

• Kendra Scott, the Austin-based jewelry unicorn that launched in 2002, is pushing into fragrance with a new line of perfumes. On November 8th, the brand will unveil three fragrances: Ruby Musk, Amber Aura, and Jade Blossom. Kendra Scott will offer three different sizes which range from $30 to $120. Pushing into fragrance is a no brainer for them. GRAZIA 

• Adidas by Stella McCartney and outdoor specialist Terrex debuted their first-ever ski collection. Very fun collection. Adidas

Food, Beverage, and Alcohol

• Influencers Krista & Bryce Horton launched a new RTD cocktail brand called Horton Cocktails. The canned cocktails are coconut rum-based and come in three flavors: Lime Soda, Pineapple Soda, and Diet Kola. Absolutely love the packaging 🔽 PR Newswire

• Plant-based food & beverage startup NotCo partnered with Yellowbird on a new product — NotChicken Spicy Patties — which is available at select Whole Foods Market stores nationwide. The packaging is pretty great. Business Wire

• 7-Eleven revealed the 50 food & beverage startups that were selected for its Brands with Heart showcase, a program that gives early stage brands that opportunity to enter 7-Eleven, Speedway, and Stripes. Participating brands include Deux, Doughp, Leisure Project, MOSH, and many others. PR Newswire

• Premium mixers brand Q Mixers unveiled a rather uninspiring brand refresh. Instagram

• McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream collaborated with Martinelli’s on the perfect holiday treat — Apple Cider & Cranberry Jam ice cream. Need this ASAP 🔽 McConnell’s

Data 🖥️

• e.l.f. Beauty delivered another impressive quarter. Net sales increased 76% to $215.5M while net income surged 184% to $33.2M. It was the 19th consecutive quarter of growth for e.l.f. Beauty. Business Wire

Distribution News 🚚

• British handmade cosmetics brand LUSH is now available at Ulta Beauty.

• London-based KOBA Skincare launched at goop.

• GOODLES launched their better-for-you pasta line at Target.